A new economic crisis is a real possibility and everyone will have to help pay the bill, is the central message in the government’s 2012 spending plans.

A number of difficult and uncertain years are ahead of us, the government warns. Spending power will fall across the board for the next three years and almost everyone will affected by cutbacks. Next year’s pay rises will almost entirely be eaten up by inflation, which will remain around 2%.
In his introduction to the budget, finance minister Jan Kees de Jager states that the effects of the previous economic crisis were almost entirely absorbed by the government and industry. But the man in the street was largely unscathed, enjoying an increase in spending power of around 2%, De Jager said.
Uncertain times
Those days are over, the finance minister wrote in the main document, entitled Koersvast in onzekere tijden (staying on track in uncertain times). The state debt has soared, spending on healthcare is booming and the new eurozone crisis threatens the treasury again.
‘The buffers have gone. We cannot continue to pass the bill on to the next generations,’ De Jager said. The cabinet aims to get government spending in order and the effect of many already agreed cuts will become apparent next year.
Analysts say middle income households will feel the cuts most, as child, housing and healthcare benefits are cut, and there is less money available for child care. Healthcare premiums will also rise next year, as agreed in the coalition deal.
In total the government plans to make €5.8bn-worth of spending cuts and savings next year, while spending will go up by around €1bn. New cuts will be inevitable if the Greece crisis continues, De Jager said.
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What the papers say
The main points of the budget so far: