Solutions for the future
Figure 10: http://profilerehab.com/_covers/scenic/Netherlands_windmill_cover_1.jpg
For The Netherlands, preventing issues brought on by high population density and a high dependency load is key. This should be accomplished by a combination of modified government expenditures and immigration policies. Although the government has sufficient funds to deal with a high dependency load, when combined with high population density, this becomes a big issue.
The key to solving this two-pronged problem lies in government spending. In 2011, The Netherlands spent 4.7 Billion euro on a health care allowance, which is about 0.9 billion more than in 2010 (Daily Dutch News). This is due to an increase in standard healthcare premiums, a trend which will continue. Allocating funds to prepare for the future aging population is imperative. Short term pain in other government expenditure categories will lead to a fruitful long term gain, with less reliance on immigrants, alleviating the population density issue.
The spending categories that will need to be cut down on in order to increase social protection, housing and healthcare, are as follows: Education (11.6% of government spending), Defence (2.6%), and Public Safety and Order (10.7%) (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development- OECD). Although these spending categories are quite important to maintaining a country, a lighter dependency load probably means less pressure on the younger generation, bringing with it a probable decrease in crime, better education, and lower unemployment rates. This means that the government doesn't need to be spending this much money on the given categories and can instead commit itself to preparing for the future.
To sum it all up, careful government spending is the ultimate solution. This will lighten the dependency load, lessen the need for immigration, and stop The Netherlands from getting more crowded. Immigration policies will obviously need to become stricter, as The Netherlands cannot handle many other immigrants, and need the jobs for those who have older relatives potentially relying on their offspring to support them.
The key to solving this two-pronged problem lies in government spending. In 2011, The Netherlands spent 4.7 Billion euro on a health care allowance, which is about 0.9 billion more than in 2010 (Daily Dutch News). This is due to an increase in standard healthcare premiums, a trend which will continue. Allocating funds to prepare for the future aging population is imperative. Short term pain in other government expenditure categories will lead to a fruitful long term gain, with less reliance on immigrants, alleviating the population density issue.
The spending categories that will need to be cut down on in order to increase social protection, housing and healthcare, are as follows: Education (11.6% of government spending), Defence (2.6%), and Public Safety and Order (10.7%) (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development- OECD). Although these spending categories are quite important to maintaining a country, a lighter dependency load probably means less pressure on the younger generation, bringing with it a probable decrease in crime, better education, and lower unemployment rates. This means that the government doesn't need to be spending this much money on the given categories and can instead commit itself to preparing for the future.
To sum it all up, careful government spending is the ultimate solution. This will lighten the dependency load, lessen the need for immigration, and stop The Netherlands from getting more crowded. Immigration policies will obviously need to become stricter, as The Netherlands cannot handle many other immigrants, and need the jobs for those who have older relatives potentially relying on their offspring to support them.