Cuts in housing and child benefit and higher health insurance costs mean some families will have much less to spend next year than the government estimates, according to calculations by white collar union MHP in Tuesday’s Telegraaf.

While the government admitted the cuts will hit middle-income families and spending power will go down by an average 1%, the drop could be up to 10% for some groups, the union says.
In particular, families with children, older workers, civil servants and people with chronic health conditions will be hard hit. This is due the cumulative effect of the cuts, the union says.

Save as you earn
For example, the cuts in childcare payments and the abolition of the save as you earn system (spaarloon) will lead to a 4.2% cut in spending power for some families, the MHP calculations show.
Meanwhile, research by the Volkskrant and opinon pollster Maurice de Hond shows people do not want cuts in spending on healthcare and education and are prepared to pay more tax to head off the plans.
The Volkskrant survey also shows that home owners are prepared to accept changes in mortgage tax relief to help generate savings.
Ministers
Ministers will defend their 2012 spending plans for the first time later today. The official budget documents were published last week but will not be formally presented in parliament until Tuesday afternoon.