Transcription
According to a new PWC report, co-authored by economist Barbara Baarsma, the business climate in the Netherlands has deteriorated for three consecutive years. In 10 years, our country has fallen from the top 3 globally to spot 5, with increasingly difficult conditions for entrepreneurs. SME advisor Pim van Rijwijk already warned about this 3 years ago during his first visit to our editorial office at Blackbox in 2022.
So, I am Pim van Rijswijk, and yes, I myself have been hearing for a long time that there is a lot of unrest among entrepreneurs, and I therefore found it important to broadcast that on television. And I myself had been awake for a long time, and well, then you also attract people who want to talk about it with you. About people who see all sorts of things coming at them. I call it the perfect storm. Those who see those risks, those who want to talk about it. What should I do? And that's why I added that perfect storm, and it consists of about seven points. We'll go through them. And all those points together are that perfect storm and ultimately lead to the large bankruptcies in the Netherlands of companies. Yes.
Yes, Pim, that was a while ago, that man. Yes. Yes. But with glasses too. I mean, back then it was the VO, for entrepreneurs and the business climate in the Netherlands. How late is it now? Yes, it's difficult to add an exact time to that, of course. It was 12 o'clock then because at that moment you didn't yet see the concrete number of bankruptcies reflected in the figures. Many companies were also on government life support for a long time due to all the corona support measures and tax deferrals for a long time. So you saw that things were going wrong or would go wrong. Only you didn't see that reflected in the figures yet. That was very strange. For a long time, I also felt like I was crying in the wilderness. Yes, I thought, guys, look at what's happening. Yes, you warned about that perfect storm three years ago. I mean, but what did you already see coming then? What we are in and what we are still in, nothing has changed.
Look, all those points, whether you're talking about legislation. Actually, it's sickening legislation for SMEs. Mention all those nitrogen measures and mention all those zero-emission zones and so on, making it almost impossible for farmers and fishermen. Yes. SMEs and outside it becomes impossible to earn a few cents in this country. So it's all falling apart. Yes, it's all falling apart. It's terrible. Yes, it's truly terrible what's happening. Do you think you are being listened to now? Of course, I'm not being listened to. This is, but this is also the intention. Yes, look, and that's what many people think, like, yes, but now maybe with a new cabinet or now that report from that Baarsma, yes, now they will finally realize it. Guys, this is intentional. It is deliberately created. It is intended to destroy this country. It is also intended to let this country be overrun by immigrants. The next cabinet won't do anything about that either. In fact, no one can do anything about it, because that is all European legislation. Yes.
In other words, be prepared that we are now living in great misery, but that misery will become many times greater. Heartbreaking situations. That's the direction we're heading. And that's why I always feel like, yes, of course, we can follow the news, and the news, and then we have another report, and then we follow again. I have much more with Tom, with what you just mentioned, just certain wisdoms. It's always nice to listen to universal wisdoms and not to the whims or the news of the day. Yes, because you are overwhelmed by it. It also distracts you from what it should be about, I think. In that regard, Bas, the editor-in-chief of Lighthouse, contacted me this week to ask if I wanted to say something about the report from this Ms. Baarsma. I said, "Bas, honestly, I haven't read the report and I'm not going to read it. Because why would you read such a report?" All those reports from government or semi-government agencies, it's all nonsense what's in them. Yes.
Okay, but you haven't read it, but maybe I can clarify a part of it for you. Because Barbara Baarsma investigated the business climate in the Netherlands for PwC. Let's first listen to her findings, which she explained this week on BNR. Actually, we see a trend of deterioration over the past 3 years. And that is worrying, because it not only leads to what you said in the introduction, companies not wanting to establish themselves here, but it also means that doing business in the Netherlands is becoming increasingly difficult for companies that are already established here. But where the shoe particularly pinches is, I would say, a few points, but let me highlight two. One is when it comes to human capital, its availability. So, labor shortage, well-known, high labor costs, declining productivity growth. That is one, let's say, red flag. The second red flag is very much related to government, to government policy, its effectiveness. Because the implementation is increasingly coming under pressure. Because the rules have become increasingly complex. Not only for companies to comply with, but also for the implementing organizations to comply with. That comes at the expense of the government's implementation capacity. It comes at the expense of the predictability of government policy. Because, well, the stability of the political climate, that is another red flag. Yes. Yes.
So she's actually stating those two causes. Too little human capital and unstable policy. To what extent is she right about this? Well, but what is the cause and effect? Look, what she doesn't mention is what is the reason that we have a shortage of human capital in the Netherlands? One of the reasons, for example, and I call it the poverty trap, is that if you have a benefit and you were to work, you would ultimately have less left than you had when you had that benefit. Or another is if you work three days, you lose your benefits as soon as you work more. And that's why the Netherlands is a leader in part-time work. You can say, "Yes, Dutch people don't want to work." Of course, they want to work, but they can also calculate. And that's why many women often have a part-time job of three days. So a poverty trap. So that is also deliberate policy, to always keep people small and dependent, poor and dependent. You see that seeping into many systems. So the legislator could have done something about it. It's very easy to change that legislation. Yes. But they don't. Housing, ditto. Why do we have that housing problem? That was created by Hugo de Jonge, wasn't it? It's not like it's just a housing problem or that people suddenly can't find a rental house anymore. No, this problem surrounding houses, rental houses, was deliberately created. But she also says that, it's a government policy problem, right? I mean, yes, that it is deliberate, that it's not like, oh, how did that happen all of a sudden? Because then you would only be looking at the outcome. No, this was deliberately created. And but we saw this coming for a long time. And that's why I also say to Bas, I say, man, that whole report, why are you suddenly making such a big deal out of it? And then you call me and you say, "Yes, Pim, it's in that report now too." Yes, but that's A, we've known it for a long time. B, by doing so, you suddenly give a lot of weight to such a report from such an agency, while we've known for a long time that you shouldn't make such a big deal out of it. But what would you want to make a big deal about? What now? I think you should always zoom out. Really zoom out. And not look at the whims of the day, at what is being thrown at us now. With which we are being distracted. They are mirrors and beads. They are smoke screens, red herrings. So zoom out and look at the big picture. And I said that back then too. We are simply talking about a great reset. We are talking about an agenda 2030. It has been mentioned many times, and that is what is happening. In other words, we are in a society that is aimed at taking away everything we have. Yes, you see that, and you see that happening with everything that happens. But who are they then? Because you keep talking about it being done deliberately, with the outcome that the system or the provisions are destroyed. Yes, but who is pulling the strings then? Because it is not a natural phenomenon. It is human action. Yes, but we won't get there now. Well, it's election time, guys. The PWC report was naturally planned for this. You can see in that report which street, which party this fits into. Where in the election process does this report fit? And Barbara Baarsma is now with PwC, which of course has a complete cartel function. Yes. And, well, I don't know if I can say that without penalty, but it's as corrupt as the whole other bunch of crooks. I mean, the signatures of PwC, they only serve to approve their own friends, of course. And yes, she comes from Rabo Bank. Same kind of clique, you know. It's all that agenda 2030. They pop up everywhere, and what kind of strange role did she play during the corona time with that Netherlands on Action? That was also a very strange one, but maybe I can pick up on that, because Barbara Baarsma herself writes in the introduction what she thinks should happen. I'll read it out. The economy is increasingly hampered by limited capacity. Labor space, nitrogen space, and clean water are all scarce. Without government intervention, stagnation looms. Stimulating economic growth requires difficult choices. Decisions must be made about which activities need to be adjusted, scaled down, or relocated. Especially those that consume large amounts of scarce resources but yield relatively little value. These choices will be uncomfortable, but they are unavoidable. So, isn't she saying very, very explicitly that she just wants to scale down and relocate the farmers, to push through the nitrogen state city plan, among other things? Then you indeed have farmers gone, property gone, the largest landowners in the Netherlands abolished. All small middle-class citizens we become, with all due respect. That is simply the intention. So she presents a problem statement. But be prepared that it will also happen. And in the introduction, you also indicated that Pim also makes podcasts. Yes, I have my own podcast, Springplank voor Vertrek. Yes. And I recorded a very nice interview with Wouter Ooms this week. I will broadcast it next Saturday. And Wouter, with his family, sold his house. He took his equity. He bought a caravan of 9.5 meters and is now driving through the Netherlands and Europe with it. And he also earns his money by helping people create their own home energy center with solar panels, batteries, and inverters. Brilliant story. And I think, and that may sound a bit extreme, of course, but I think it could be the salvation for many people to step out of the system, the slave system. And not to have two people, father and mother, both working almost full-time, children, no time for children, too little money to get through the month, only stress, stress, stress. That's not a life. It's not a life. But that is the reality for more and more people. So if you want to escape that perhaps slave system, then it might be better to say, now that it's still possible, now that house prices still have some value, because that won't last too long either. Grab it, sell that hut, take that equity, and get out. And free yourself from that matrix, from that slave system. Because we were, of course, all raised to buy a house and get a mortgage. That is about the biggest goal, the highest goal in life. Yes, but you're in that noose, aren't you? Do you know what the biggest threat is, I think now, that Pim hinted at it a bit. And the biggest form of capital destruction is the destruction of capital that we think we have but don't have. So we all have mortgages based on two incomes. We all have Bitcoins. We all have, I don't know how many people around me have all that junk. You know, I'll just say it bluntly. You're not a fan then. No, pump and dump. K Austin Fit says it very often, you see those bubbles in the housing market, in stocks, in bonds, in digital currencies. It's such an enormous, yes, and that capital destruction is coming. Because at a certain point, it has happened before with Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Enormous pump and dump strategy. Large parties deliberately entered in large numbers. The same thing is happening again. Large parties are entering those currencies in large numbers. The housing market is being stretched to its limit with only a few stupid nitrogen regulations that make no sense. So they will also be abolished at some point. Yes. And then suddenly that boom is over, and half of the Netherlands is underwater because they all bought those houses with enormous mortgages in the last 10 years. Yes.
Okay. So there are a few options then. One is to sell now and leave. Yes, leave. Not literally leave. No, but I mean, free yourself from that noose. Okay. On the other hand, I mean, we are now fifth. There are a number of countries that are doing better. What are those countries doing better than us, Pim? Yes, but but again, that applies there too. Who says we are fifth somewhere? I also read lists sometimes that we have the happiest population in the world, that we are at the top. But then you have a million people on antidepressants. Okay. Well, I mean, what kind of lists then, and where does that come from, and who says that? That list is arbitrary, of course. If you look at the criteria used for it, everyone can make a different list with a different outcome. I disagree with the story about selling your house and that everyone is trapped, because on average, Dutch people do not have Bitcoins. Average people. Average people. 2 million people have crypto in the Netherlands. Yes. 2 million. Yes, that's a lot. 2 million. Yes, those are people who took a gamble. There are also people who have stocks. But I don't think 2 million is that much. It's really not the case that if that market collapses, or if the stock market collapses, that half of the Netherlands will be on its backside. The same applies to homeownership. There are still millions of people living in rental properties. There are people with mortgages, there are people with paid-off homes. So I think it's not that bad. One thing is certain, but those are results. They are actually transitions, right? So let's say if a quarter of the Dutch people have their mortgage underwater, maybe 20%. And that will collapse when, indeed, unlimited construction is allowed because those regulations are finally abolished. Then that house price will crash again. Everyone builds like crazy. Yes, then you get a result, you get a transition. But that 20% of those Dutch people will pull a lot with them, regardless of whether the current tenants benefit, because they will be able to buy, they might be able to build themselves. That's true. Only it's not like, yes, I don't entirely agree with you, Harry, that you can't sweep that under the rug. Even 2 million Bitcoin holders or crypto owners. That's something. Yes, but they are people who take a gamble, just like people take a gamble on the stock market. Sensible advice from someone who doesn't have stocks like me. Gamble only with money you can afford to lose. And I think that's also the message that is always given when buying stocks, and certainly when buying cryptocurrencies. Gamble only with money you can afford to lose. And people should do that. Yes.
Okay. And yet there are still countries that are better than us. Because according to Baarsma's score, the Netherlands now ranks fifth as a country for establishment. 10 years ago, it was still third place. In the past 3 years, the score has been steadily declining, and we are losing out to countries like Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Pim, final question. If we want to reverse this trend, what needs to happen now? Oh, that's Because those countries are doing better than us. Yes. No, let's forget that list, man. That's not what it's about at all. Should we remove it then? Yes. Yes, but it's not interesting. That list is not interesting. We are still high, right? That's why, and then from three to five, out of all countries in the world. I mean, he's gone. I'll park it for a moment. You have to do a lot, of course. You can't start with just one thing, but we've talked about the FVD. I am now also a candidate for the FVD, and I am at position 45. Yes, what is such a position? Well, what does it mean, nothing, right? No, that's crazy. No, I gave him that spot. I was on it last year, this year it's Pim's turn. Yes, I had a conversation with Thierry about that. I haven't voted for years. I've been enduring for a long time, man. Voting doesn't make any sense at all. Nonsense. No, nothing changes. I had a good conversation about it with Thierry, and he said, "Yes, Pim, you're right. I mean, it's not that we can be in a coalition or govern. That's not going to happen at all. Only we are the thorn in the side. So as long as we exist, and I also heard a fantastic piece from Gideon this week, he raises fantastic points. I think, yes, it's really great that they can voice that sound, our sound, as long as this political puppet show called democracy still exists. Yes.
Well, and yet I am glad that we have discussed this, so that we can all think about it carefully. We can watch your podcast and think again about what else has been discussed here. But thank you, sir. You're welcome. Are you an entrepreneur who values what we do? Do you want to advertise to our target audience, which reaches almost a million people monthly? Then quickly contact Mol.flavio.Lighthousetv.nl.