Well....this is a comical story of a mess that was allowed to continue for several years.
The Dutch government went out in 2004 (long ago) and made up a allowance (from the government to the parent) for child care. It was with good intentions...I should state here.
The allowance said....BOTH parents had to work in some capacity. A single parent? They had to work, as well.
A year into this....because of so many small issues...the government created a new regulation, which basically said that hardships could occur, and waivers could be created. In simple terms....you might have a case where the parents were not fully employed or working under the umbrella that the original 2004 situation was created for.
You can blame regulations for this mess, but they simply allowed this to get worse....month after month. So the money went out....with the waivers created.
Fraud started to be uttered.
Five years pass (going into 2010). The government decides that these parents (roughly 26,000 of them) ought to pay back the money.
This goes to court, and appeals...but by 2012....the court says the owe-back situation is legit.
Cost? In some cases....up to around 30,000 Euro. Some families had to sell their cars and take up extra jobs to cover the cost.
Well....this mess finally came up in 2020, and went through several corrective measures. The government now paying back the parents? Yes. But trust in the coalition government is near zero.
New election? Yes, but here's the amusing thing....it was already scheduled for a regular election....March 2021. So it's not a big deal.
Frustration around the country? I would suggest that more than half the public is shaking its head.....as much good as the government intended back in 2004....it crapped all over an entire generation of Dutch people. Those 26,000 people won't be viewing anything positive about the political parties....for the rest of their lives.
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