2019 promises to be a special year!
Of course, best wishes to everyone in this sparkling new year. It promises to be a special year in many ways. First of all because after the coup on May 22, 2014, free elections will be held in Thailand for the first time this year. Another special fact is that Thailandblog has existed for no less than 10 years on October 2019, 10. We will of course come back to that in due course.
There will also be elections in the Netherlands in 2019 for the Provincial Council and the Senate. That can get tense because the cabinet could lose the majority in the first chamber. Also special is the emergence of newcomer Forum for Democracy by Thierry Baudet and Theo Hiddema. The party is not only doing well in the polls (about 16 parliamentary seats if parliamentary elections are now held, source: Peil.nl) but also in terms of membership it is almost the largest party in the Netherlands (27.074 members). Only the VVD is slightly larger with 27.692 members. GroenLinks is also on a seat gain and the PVDA seems to be climbing out of the valley again. However, politics is just as unpredictable as the weather in the Netherlands, so it can still go either way.
And everything is getting more expensive….
If expats and pensioners in Thailand complain that everything is getting more and more expensive, in 2019 the same will apply to the Netherlands, mainly thanks to the VAT increase. Since its introduction in 1969, the standard VAT rate has already risen from 12% to 21%. As of 1 January 2019, the low rate will also increase from 6% to 9%. In my opinion, the latter is quite anti-social because it concerns the basic necessities of life of the population such as food, water, medicines and aids. In addition, the energy bill will rise sharply in 2019 by an average of 160 euros. This is due to substantial tax increases and rising grid management costs. In addition, gas and light themselves will probably also become more expensive. In some cases this can amount to € 350 per year for a family. And the end is not yet in sight….
Nevertheless, we should not complain. Especially not if we are healthy, that is the most important thing and money cannot buy it.
The bloggers and editors will continue to entertain readers in 2019 with information about Thailand and sometimes with some trips to the Netherlands or Belgium.
Bring on 2019, we are ready!
2019 will certainly be an interesting year as other years have also had challenges.
Yellow vests, dissatisfaction, complaining will also continue because in NL people no longer have any awareness of what real poverty is.
Take your freedom, take your opportunities and a world will open up. If you don't see this, it is your own shortcoming.
Life can be hard in 2019, but that's how it has been since before the era.
Oh yeah. Only mention what will become more expensive, do not mention that the average working people will simply gain 57 to 58 euros. And we are all helpless victims of the government again.
Oh Diederick, before we start cheering or complaining, let's wait for the salary slip from the end of January, then we can say more. I can still remember somewhere at the end of 2017 we were going to go ahead in terms of income in 2018, in the end it was not too bad or against depending on which side you look at it and now 2019, seeing is believing.
Maybe nice for the average, but I fear for my group, AOW people with a supplementary pension, because with the VVD at the helm I foresee a considerable decline.