After a ride to parliament in golden carriage, Dutch king declares end to welfare state

[unhappycamper]

Last edited Thu Sep 19, 2013, 08:59 AM - Edit history (1)

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/17/dutch-king-tells-citizens-to-take-responsibility-as-pm-implements-austerity/



After a ride to parliament in golden carriage, Dutch king declares end to welfare state
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 18:15 EDT

The Dutch government heralded the end of the welfare state on Tuesday as the fifth-largest eurozone economy presented an austerity-driven budget for 2014.

“The classic welfare state is slowly but surely turning into a society of participation,” King Willem-Alexander told parliament, laying out the Liberal-led government’s plans for the year.

“It is asked of all those who can to take responsibility for their own life and that of those around them,” the king said in the speech written by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The king, who travelled through the streets of The Hague to address MPs and senators in an ornate horse-drawn golden carriage, said the transformation would be particularly noticeable in social security and long-term healthcare policies.



unhappycamper comment: The Dutch may have ended part of the people part of the welfare state. but their corporate welfare state is doing just fine:

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2013/09/joint-strike-fighter-lockheed-martin

Will It Fly?
By Adam Ciralsky
September 16, 2013

~snip~

On October 26, 2001, the Pentagon announced that it had chosen Lockheed Martin over Boeing to build what Lockheed promised would be “the most formidable strike fighter ever fielded.” The Pentagon’s ask was huge: Build us a next-generation strike-fighter aircraft that could be used not only by the U.S. military but also by allied nations (which would come to include the United Kingdom, Italy,the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Japan, and Israel). On top of that: Produce three versions of the airplane—a conventional version for the air force, a short-takeoff and vertical-landing version for the Marines, and a carrier-suitable version for the navy. The idea was that a single stealthy, supersonic, multi-service airplane could entirely replace four existing kinds of aircraft. And the expectation was that this new airplane would do everything: air-to-air combat, deep-strike bombing, and close air support of troops on the ground.


Om edit to add: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/business/global/dutch-choose-f-35-fighter-jets-but-fewer-of-them.html?_r=1&