When you’ve run out of other people’s money, things begin to change, specially when those other people are running out of money themselves. This is the new mood of welfare reform in Holland:

The Dutch have just announced a massive reform of their welfare system, designed to reduce dependency and put a new emphasis on work. For example, welfare applicants will now be required to prove that they spent at least 4 weeks actively searching for a job before they become eligible for any assistance. And once they begin to receive benefits they will either have to work or perform volunteer community service. Dutch welfare recipients would be required to take available jobs even if they had to move or commute up to three hours per day. . . .

Other reforms would reduce benefits by treating families as a single unit, rather than as separate individuals. For instance a mother with two children would receive a single payment rather than three separate payments. The combined payment would be less, based on the assumption of ‘shared expense.’

According to the Dutch government, the reforms will ensure that welfare is seen as ‘a safety net, rather than a right.’