The Dutch middle class face many uncertainties and it is important that the government focuses on reducing it, according to recommendations made by the scientific council for government police WRR on Wednesday. There is no sign that the middle class is falling, but people in this group have to put in extra effort to maintain their social position, the WRR concludes, ANP reports.
middle class
Dec 13 '16 16:20
The housing policy of the current Dutch government is creating a crisis, with the middle class bearing the brunt of the situation, according to TU Delft professor of housing Peter Boelhouwer and Karel Schiffer, former leader of NHG-hypotheek, the Financieele Dagblad reports.
According to these two experts, the housing market in the Netherlands today still faces a shortage of housing, the sale and rental sector hardly relate to each other and the steep rent increases combined with a decline in purchasing power is creating a "poverty trap" in the rental sector.
Oct 29 '15 16:10
Rentals within the private sector in the Netherlands have risen by 5.2 percent when compared to the same quarter last year. Housing brokerage firm Pararius attributes this rise to the stagnation on the supply side of the market. Their website was only able to offer 10,194 new rentals to the third quarter of this year.
Sep 25 '15 10:56
Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher hit out at his party’s coalition partner for “stabbing the middle class in the back,” according to the Volkskrant. The Labour party member serves jointly as the Minister of Social Affairs, and accuses the conservative VVD party of increasing the wealth gap by not doing enough to maintain a middle class.
Jun 11 '15 15:00
According to Rick van der Ploeg, former PvdA State Secretary and prominent party member, party leader Diederik Samsom is focusing too much on the coalition with the VVD and too little on the PvdA's own values.
