Deception That Was False

The state of welfare of each state reflects the spirit of that state. Take Holland, an egalitarian state, as well as deep Calvinist and bureaucratic roots. The social benefits offered by the Netherlands are very Generous. Inequity in income is among the smallest in the European Union. But social benefits are subject to complicated rules meant to exclude those who do not deserve it. Over the past decade, systems aimed at preventing child - care abuse by mistake had labeled more than 20,000 parents as cheaters, with many of them sinking into poverty. On January 15th, Mark Rutte, the prime minister, along with his entire cabinet, resigned after the scandal. This could herald a modest turn to the left for the Dutch social policies.

Child care in the Netherlands is private, but the tax authority gives parents relief to pay their bills, depending on the income they receive. After Mr. Rutte and his centre-right party took power in 2010, laws to fight fraud were constantly strengthened and strengthened, especially in 2013, when Bulgarian frauds were found to benefit from payments. Tax authority was given additional power to pursue fraud.

Some Dutch lawyers began to accept complaints from parents who had not only lost their benefits but were also told to return all the money they had received. Those who had not returned the money had even been fined. Without child care, many parents lost their jobs. Some also lost their homes. Among them was an extremely high number of immigrants. The parents had to prove that they had applied correctly, but when they testified, the tax authority did not answer.

And then you never heard of them,” said Leigh-Anne Janssen, a dual citizenship citizen who was a student with a little girl when her benefits were cut off in 2014. She and her husband, who is Turko-holandez, were ordered to return 30,000 euros. Because the authorities refused to offer evidence, parents could not appeal.

A report by the Ombudsperson in 2017 had criticised tax authority for mistreatment of parents, yet the benefits to stop it. Parliamentary investigations received little information from the ministers, with large sections being edited. By the end of 2019, the government accepted its wrongdoing and set up a fund for compensation [appreciated 1.3 billion euros], but nearly no payment has been paid. In July last year, the authority of personal data revealed that tax service had used algorithms in which parents with dual citizenship [such as Mrs. Janssen and his husband were labeled a suspect of fraud. This violated the constitution.

The latest blow to the government was a parliamentary report in December that labeled the mistreatment of citizens as “incorrupted injustice”. “There were some really nasty things: ethnic profile, black lists, and citizens labeled fraud for no reason and financially destroyed citizens,” said Pieter Omtzigt, deputy who was instrumental in uncovering the scandal.

The government cabinet's resignation is in an empty gesture: general elections were only scheduled for 17 March. Mr. Rutte's racing again, with polls showing he's committed first. The only party leader to resign is Lodewijk Asscher of the Laborists, who had served as deputy prime minister until anti-fraud policies were developed. It seems impossible that Mr. Rutte, who had led the Netherlands during the profit scandal, faces any political consequences.

However, his party [vvd] says it is ready to discuss proposals from the Laborist and Green Party for direct government financing for child care. Mr. Rutte recently moved slightly from his Orthodoxy to the smaller government, saying the pandemic had demonstrated the public's desire for the strong “states”.

Parents are at least getting a little justice. The government has promised to compensate every family for at least 30,000 euros.

All these years we've heard it's very complex, that nothing can be done,” said Eva Gonzalez Perez, a lawyer representing 40 families. “And now suddenly he can?”

* Article translated by The Economist.