Mike, I found that a lot of Dutch have an over positive idea about the states, they think everything is better there, the grass is greener there... I live in Australia and the grass is definitely not greener here, we have the same problems as the Netherlands. Inflation is a huge problem here as well, prices have gone through the roof, rents as well, the prices for homes are insane, insurances have gone up... Oh, and good luck trying to find a home to rent,that is near impossible, we have people living in tents with children😢 I'm not a negative person, but with everything going on in this world it makes it very hard to stay positive at times...
@@Lilygirl283 Hi Lily.👋 I know just what you mean. It is more of a challenge than ever to stay positive in the face of so many unfortunate developments. I do my best to count my blessings and help lift others whenever possible. The issues in the Netherlands, and that you report in Australia, are present in the U.K., the U.S. and Canada, among other places. These are truly global concerns. Thank you for your comment. I appreciate your perspective. 😊
Thank you for another wonderful video, Mike. You and I are similar in that way, I think, of seeing the good in things (and people) - Life is definitely what you make it. We have choices in where we spend our time, who and what we give energy to. Even in the most challenging of times, we can choose differently. Toxic positivity? Nah. That person hasn't captured the essence of who you are. Thats ok. If they stick around they might. Or not. Either way, you are appreciated for who you are and what you choose to share with us. That said, I enjoyed this video, so thank you, negative comment leaver, for inspiring Mike to put out some more amazing content. 🎉😂
@@kristiina-f9h That’s the spirit, Kristiina. 😃 I can always count on you for positive vibes. We are a lot alike from the sound of it. As you said, we always have a choice. 👍 I had to laugh when you thanked the negative comment leaver for inspiring me to make another video. Nice. ❤️
Hey Mike goeiemorgen, I guess some people equal being a very positive person to being unrealistic, which yes some people are, but a lot of people are both. I personally really appreciate your positivity. (without losing your realistic view on things) I agree with the issues you've mentioned, they are the topics that most people I know talk about. Thanks for another good one Mike, I hope you'll have a great day. 😊🌷
@@BabzV Goeiemorgen…oops..middag Babs. 👋 You’re my ray of southern sunshine. ☀️ I’m always happy to hear from you. Thank you for your encouraging words. Wishing you a wonderful day. Groetjes uit Haarlem. 😃
Again a very interesting video, Mike, and perhaps it’s a comfort te know that these problems do not occur only in the Netherlands but in all Western Europe.(and in the whole world?)So wherever people go they will have to face them. And have to think about solutions. Have a good night.
@@Annemie43 You are absolutely right, Annemie. No country is immune to these issues. These are global concerns. I am comforted that the Netherlands is taking climate change seriously and making strides to mitigate this existential threat. Thanks for your good words. ❤️ I wish you a good evening as well.
Home is where the heart is Mike. My greatest worry about our nation is the scale of our highly- industrialised agriculture. We are the world's second largest exporter of produce and that comes at a price. It has a huge impact on our environment caused by the amount of pesticides an fertiliser used on such a small piece of land. Only a very small percentage of our farms are organic and there are no insentives to change that. Al Gore would call it an inconvenient truth 🤠
@@gertstolk You raise a very valid concern, Gert. The use of pesticides and fertilizers at such an industrial scale is alarming. It is an inconvenient truth, indeed. Thank you for your comment and for bringing more awareness to this issue. 😊
@BetterTogether-UnIr1 I was just enjoying a 1984 video on youtube of my all time favorite bluegrass band, the Seldom Scene. I still have hand written letters from Mike Auldridge the dobro player. There was a p.o.box adress on a solo album and we corresponded for a few years. He resided in Silver Spring, Maryland and sadly is no longer with us. There modern twist and impeccable close harmony really got me hooked. I've got all their albums 🤠
@ What a great way to spend the evening, listening to good music and reminiscing about old acquaintances. ❤️ 🎶 p.s. - I noticed the new photo of your trusty auto. 👍🚙
@ Gosh, Gert, they are so good. Just listened to “Walk Through This World with Me”, which my favorite George Jones once sang. Their rendition is out of this world: th-cam.com/video/rx7-ejO3UlI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=6HFkcQ3lXA6VDckZ
I totally agree with you that we need to look to our own sphere of influence and our surroundings to experience contentment and happiness. For us, my husband and me, that's true. We can get ridiculously happy hearing the first blackbird sing in spring. At the same time the geopolitical situation, over which we have no control except for our votes, scares the crap out of us. We can't blind ourselves to that. Too many people in the thirties here in Europe did that and we know how that ended. So more than climate change, more than immigration, our biggest issue is the hate among people. It's gotten to the point where I lay awake at night thinking about possible hiding places in our home for persecuted people. But still. The first blackbird song makes us ridiculously happy.
@@sophiesmeenk1076 Hello Sophie. I love that you and your husband find such pleasure in the song of the first blackbird in spring. There is a fat blackbird that visits my garden regularly. I have become so attached to him that I wrote a song for him: “Black feathers and yellow beak”. I read that blackbirds often return to the same garden year after year. ❤️ Thank you for the important reminder that, although we may choose to focus on more positive things, we should by no means turn a blind eye to potentially dangerous developments. The terrible human tragedy that you speak of must not be forgotten lest it be repeated. It is incumbent upon each of us to not only vote, but to be “the change we wish to see in the world”. I confess that I am an eternal optimist, but I believe that peace and love will prevail if each of us makes a concerted effort to extend peace and love to others, as I know you do. 😊 This, at least, is within our sphere of influence. You and me, your husband and mine can lead by example. It pains me to think that you are kept up at night with such thoughts, although I understand why. I am so sorry for that, Sophie. I wish you peace of mind and faith in the future. ❤️
I am a bit envious. As you probably know, due to a virus most blackbirds have died out. 25 years ago I stood on my balcony every evening in the Summer to listen to their song. Unfortunately no blackbirds here, have not heard one in 10-15 years, while I live in a suburb with lots of greenery. All types of birds...but no blackbirds😢. However I like to get out on my balcony at 4.30 in the morning during summer, when hot weather is expected.. Just sitting there and waiting for the first bird to wake up...and slowly but surely the rest starts to answer...so peaceful. At that particular moment all is well in the world 😇
@ That time of day is magical, isn’t it? I once got up before daybreak to ride my bike into Kennemerland National Park, where I sat on a bench beside a lake to watch the sun rise, and the skies came alive with a symphony of birdsong…beautiful. It is those simple pleasures that restore our soul. ❤️
@@annemieke186 in spring early mornings are magical to me. We have a lot of greenery and trees around us, but due to a bit of overpopulation of magpies, who are predatory birds, we have much less songbirds here than we used to have. But still in spring, we have a small bird choir. Blackbirds come on our balcony to pick the ripe grapes from the vine, usually after nesting season, so I let them have them, because they are quite worn out with child care 🥰
The housing crisis is much more complicated than just "supply and demand" and the influx of immigrants. Keyword: Nitrogen preventing to get licenses to build. On top of that, there is a shortage of building capacity (workers).
@@ronaldderooij1774 Thanks, Ronald. Indeed, there are various factors influencing the supply of houses here in the Netherlands. As with many issues, I suppose, there’s not one isolated cause and certainly no one-size-fits-all solution. We’re all going to have to think “outside the box” to address the housing issue. 🏘️ Converting unused commercial spaces into residential spaces is one such way. 👍 And I have read reports of students occupying spaces in old age facilities in exchange for companionship for the elderly, which addresses two issues.
@@dittedatte8046 Hi there Freckleface. 👋 I think you’re right. It probably says more about them than me. They really did come across as a Negative Nancy. 😆
Olive-oil and rice, two things that got really expensive due to bad harvests because of climate change. Still we eat produce from other countries that are so bad for the environment. Complaining about palmoil, but eating avocado which is just as bad or even worse. Prices have gone up, but we also like to stick to our ways. And then complain about the price instead of choosing an alternative. Nice video...😊
Just to clarify: Especially in the younger generations, the Dutch partake in both Dutch and foreign (mostly US) social media and streaming services, and they like to throw English expressions, one-liners or single words, in their daily lingo. Think "oh my god", "whatever", "oh no he didn't", and many curses. Especially among peers in their bubble they reinforce themselves, with often hilarious effect among the young ones as they parrot one another over and over; the pronunciation and perceived meaning starts to warp and the entire group starts using it wrong or out of context. Not just the young ones either come to think of it. The few times I watch some Dutch tv clip it is "tenenkrommend" to see (hard to watch, shameful) 🙈🙉, including among presenters, politicians, supposedly higher educated, or just the everyday person from the street. Then again, I'm over 40, I grew up here and hardly left the Netherlands. My source of English is just a lot of reading books, watching series, online or in person conversations with English speaking foreigners (in work or private setting), so maybe I'm not to judge. 😅
Oh and among the older generations, also English work, political, social and technical jargon is (mis)used a lot. Then again, from what I can see that also seems to happen with people from the US so... :shrug: Sometimes language just (d)evolves I guess 😅
I was wondering what your (you being a expat immigrant) opinion is about the dutch expat tax rules where expats get a tax reduction up to 30% on income tax and not contributing to the dutch society as much as a native dutch person would. Thus encouraging more immigration.
@@npajoordens This did not apply to me. I contributed to the Dutch tax base from my first day of employment. In my case, I did not work for the first five years, although - as a property owner - I paid transfer and property taxes. From my understanding, to qualify for the 30% ruling, a worker must be a highly skilled migrant. This means they must have a specific expertise that is scarce or unique in the Dutch labour market. Moreover, they must be recruited from abroad or transferred within a multinational company to work in the Netherlands. This is a tax incentive maintained by the Dutch government to attract, it seems, highly skilled labour that is not available locally. The Dutch government must consider it a reasonable trade off. I have no strong opinion about it one way or another. What are your thoughts?
Spring Holliday for children is coming. Sport training and competition is cancelled due to absence of a lot of the teamplayers because of most of them go on a Holliday. Included mine. We have it so bad.... So many parents go on a spring Holliday. Just keep on complaining. Renovating your house is difficult because of the lack of handyman, we need immigrants. Yes housing is a problem for new buyers. But most dont want to make consessions to free nitrogen and nox levels.
@BetterTogether-UnIr1 2014 local elections were postponed because is would be in spring Holliday and right after carnaval.... Postponed because they were afraid most people would not show up because they would be on a Holliday or would stil be drunk/sick from the amount of partying.... What a great country
Any public discussion, and especially immigration is subject to polarization. Each side of the discussion will have pushers flooding the discussion with (mis)information to gather as many followers as possible. Social media is an important platform for these pushers to gain influence. There's always a silent middle group who don't have loud representation, causing a skewed view by many people who follow one or the other polar pushers. It's in this middle where the actual important questions are asked. The press should represent this group as much as possible. But sadly, the poles sell better news. Once you notice how many discussions are polarized and how pushers operate, things become a little clearer. Not always easier, but the hysteria subsides a little.
@@TheHighlander71 We live in the misinformation age, the era of fake news and “alternative facts”. Journalism has become conjecture and opinion. It is often difficult to sift through all the information at our fingertips and determine what is real. This seed of doubt is potentially dangerous because it means that people question everything, even scientifically demonstrable facts such as climate change. I agree that the “truth” is most often somewhere in the middle, in the glorious grey area. There usually are (at least) two sides to every story. Without a doubt, though, immigration is a hot button subject. Thanks for your comment. 👍
@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 I think it is important to educate people on how the system of polarization works. Once they realise, it becomes easier to detect misinformation, or at least to identify what the source is trying to accomplish: create more followers.
No worries here Mike. Holland is not at war (yet). So when that time comes I am really worried. Life is short and I am a reserved kind but positive as well. In my case and it's for you too 🙂: "I keep a close watch on this heart of mine I keep my eyes wide open all the time" and let it be as it comes naturally ;-) th-cam.com/video/OiVneXof1oo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=gEX9j6dB3-DBNxL2
@@RickLane-x4j Words to live by, Mark. 😊 In the meantime, “let there be songs to fill the air”… th-cam.com/video/5yJmBC7cMTM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ytCrDr7nN-Tvyf4e
@@RickLane-x4j p.s. - I see that you updated your photo. 👍 I thought, at first, that it was another picture of the legendary man in black. And then, upon closer examination, I realized it was the legendary man in black. 😃
@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 1) Nice song you sent... I recall that one indeed. The man in black from Holland loves to wear that too. It's me in 2015 I guess 🙂
Like we haven't heard this nonsense before. A healthy society does not need immigration and the current mass immigration will only make the problem of an aging population bigger at only a slightly later stage, so it's really shortsighted. Immigration for personal individual reasons is good, mass immigration is bad for the people who's government it is. A government that serves the Dutch people ends mass immigration, period.
I like positivity and i 'm dutch so just be who you are and i enjoy yourre video's. Kind regards Tim
@@tricepbrachi Thank you, Tim. 👍 I appreciate your encouraging words. Nice to meet you here. 😊
Mike, I found that a lot of Dutch have an over positive idea about the states, they think everything is better there, the grass is greener there...
I live in Australia and the grass is definitely not greener here, we have the same problems as the Netherlands. Inflation is a huge problem here as well, prices have gone through the roof, rents as well, the prices for homes are insane, insurances have gone up...
Oh, and good luck trying to find a home to rent,that is near impossible, we have people living in tents with children😢
I'm not a negative person, but with everything going on in this world it makes it very hard to stay positive at times...
@@Lilygirl283 Hi Lily.👋 I know just what you mean. It is more of a challenge than ever to stay positive in the face of so many unfortunate developments. I do my best to count my blessings and help lift others whenever possible.
The issues in the Netherlands, and that you report in Australia, are present in the U.K., the U.S. and Canada, among other places. These are truly global concerns.
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate your perspective. 😊
Thanks Mike👋and hi back!@BetterTogether-UnIr1
My old neighbour bought his house for 26000 guilders (11798 euro), it's now 350000 euros. Something went really wrong here.
@@piepkwiep4312 Yes, and I can imagine that his tax bill has skyrocketed along with the house value. 😮
Just be yourself if people don’t like it they can leave. I think you’re doing a great job
@@dgraveth Thanks so much, Dave. 🙏 I appreciate your encouraging words. 😊
Thank you for another wonderful video, Mike. You and I are similar in that way, I think, of seeing the good in things (and people) - Life is definitely what you make it. We have choices in where we spend our time, who and what we give energy to. Even in the most challenging of times, we can choose differently. Toxic positivity? Nah. That person hasn't captured the essence of who you are. Thats ok. If they stick around they might. Or not. Either way, you are appreciated for who you are and what you choose to share with us. That said, I enjoyed this video, so thank you, negative comment leaver, for inspiring Mike to put out some more amazing content. 🎉😂
@@kristiina-f9h That’s the spirit, Kristiina. 😃 I can always count on you for positive vibes. We are a lot alike from the sound of it. As you said, we always have a choice. 👍 I had to laugh when you thanked the negative comment leaver for inspiring me to make another video. Nice. ❤️
very encouraging thank you Mike
Thank you so much. And a special thanks for joining me LIVE. 😃
Hey Mike goeiemorgen,
I guess some people equal being a very positive person to being unrealistic, which yes some people are, but a lot of people are both.
I personally really appreciate your positivity. (without losing your realistic view on things)
I agree with the issues you've mentioned, they are the topics that most people I know talk about.
Thanks for another good one Mike, I hope you'll have a great day. 😊🌷
@@BabzV Goeiemorgen…oops..middag Babs. 👋
You’re my ray of southern sunshine. ☀️ I’m always happy to hear from you. Thank you for your encouraging words.
Wishing you a wonderful day. Groetjes uit Haarlem. 😃
The only price that has gone down, is the price of a human life, it seems 😢
@@NeoOnyx Sad but true.
Thoughtful again.
@@carlkuss Thank you very much, Carl. 😊
Thank you Mike😊
@@alexanderwillemsen5904 Thank you for watching, Alexander. 👍
Great video
@@MartinWebNatures Thank you, Martin. 👍 Nice to catch you briefly during the premiere. 😊
Again a very interesting video, Mike, and perhaps it’s a comfort te know that these problems do not occur only in the Netherlands but in all Western Europe.(and in the whole world?)So wherever people go they will have to face them. And have to think about solutions. Have a good night.
@@Annemie43 You are absolutely right, Annemie. No country is immune to these issues. These are global concerns. I am comforted that the Netherlands is taking climate change seriously and making strides to mitigate this existential threat. Thanks for your good words. ❤️ I wish you a good evening as well.
Every country has its own problems.
@@StrawberryHills211 Absolutely true. 👍
Home is where the heart is Mike. My greatest worry about our nation is the scale of our highly- industrialised agriculture. We are the world's second largest exporter of produce and that comes at a price. It has a huge impact on our environment caused by the amount of pesticides an fertiliser used on such a small piece of land. Only a very small percentage of our farms are organic and there are no insentives to change that. Al Gore would call it an inconvenient truth 🤠
@@gertstolk You raise a very valid concern, Gert. The use of pesticides and fertilizers at such an industrial scale is alarming. It is an inconvenient truth, indeed. Thank you for your comment and for bringing more awareness to this issue. 😊
@BetterTogether-UnIr1 I was just enjoying a 1984 video on youtube of my all time favorite bluegrass band, the Seldom Scene. I still have hand written letters from Mike Auldridge the dobro player. There was a p.o.box adress on a solo album and we corresponded for a few years. He resided in Silver Spring, Maryland and sadly is no longer with us. There modern twist and impeccable close harmony really got me hooked. I've got all their albums 🤠
@ What a great way to spend the evening, listening to good music and reminiscing about old acquaintances. ❤️ 🎶 p.s. - I noticed the new photo of your trusty auto. 👍🚙
@ Gosh, Gert, they are so good. Just listened to “Walk Through This World with Me”, which my favorite George Jones once sang. Their rendition is out of this world: th-cam.com/video/rx7-ejO3UlI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=6HFkcQ3lXA6VDckZ
@ I couldn’t resist sharing a bit of the late, great George Jones: th-cam.com/video/aLiOD0laJbQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=wBfZBryFaerxq8Wg
I totally agree with you that we need to look to our own sphere of influence and our surroundings to experience contentment and happiness. For us, my husband and me, that's true. We can get ridiculously happy hearing the first blackbird sing in spring. At the same time the geopolitical situation, over which we have no control except for our votes, scares the crap out of us. We can't blind ourselves to that. Too many people in the thirties here in Europe did that and we know how that ended. So more than climate change, more than immigration, our biggest issue is the hate among people. It's gotten to the point where I lay awake at night thinking about possible hiding places in our home for persecuted people. But still. The first blackbird song makes us ridiculously happy.
@@sophiesmeenk1076 Hello Sophie. I love that you and your husband find such pleasure in the song of the first blackbird in spring. There is a fat blackbird that visits my garden regularly. I have become so attached to him that I wrote a song for him: “Black feathers and yellow beak”. I read that blackbirds often return to the same garden year after year. ❤️
Thank you for the important reminder that, although we may choose to focus on more positive things, we should by no means turn a blind eye to potentially dangerous developments. The terrible human tragedy that you speak of must not be forgotten lest it be repeated. It is incumbent upon each of us to not only vote, but to be “the change we wish to see in the world”. I confess that I am an eternal optimist, but I believe that peace and love will prevail if each of us makes a concerted effort to extend peace and love to others, as I know you do. 😊 This, at least, is within our sphere of influence. You and me, your husband and mine can lead by example.
It pains me to think that you are kept up at night with such thoughts, although I understand why. I am so sorry for that, Sophie. I wish you peace of mind and faith in the future. ❤️
I am a bit envious. As you probably know, due to a virus most blackbirds have died out. 25 years ago I stood on my balcony every evening in the Summer to listen to their song.
Unfortunately no blackbirds here, have not heard one in 10-15 years, while I live in a suburb with lots of greenery.
All types of birds...but no blackbirds😢.
However I like to get out on my balcony at 4.30 in the morning during summer, when hot weather is expected..
Just sitting there and waiting for the first bird to wake up...and slowly but surely the rest starts to answer...so peaceful.
At that particular moment all is well in the world 😇
@ That time of day is magical, isn’t it? I once got up before daybreak to ride my bike into Kennemerland National Park, where I sat on a bench beside a lake to watch the sun rise, and the skies came alive with a symphony of birdsong…beautiful.
It is those simple pleasures that restore our soul. ❤️
@@annemieke186 in spring early mornings are magical to me. We have a lot of greenery and trees around us, but due to a bit of overpopulation of magpies, who are predatory birds, we have much less songbirds here than we used to have. But still in spring, we have a small bird choir. Blackbirds come on our balcony to pick the ripe grapes from the vine, usually after nesting season, so I let them have them, because they are quite worn out with child care 🥰
That is wonderfull...❤@@sophiesmeenk1076
The housing crisis is much more complicated than just "supply and demand" and the influx of immigrants. Keyword: Nitrogen preventing to get licenses to build. On top of that, there is a shortage of building capacity (workers).
@@ronaldderooij1774 Thanks, Ronald. Indeed, there are various factors influencing the supply of houses here in the Netherlands. As with many issues, I suppose, there’s not one isolated cause and certainly no one-size-fits-all solution. We’re all going to have to think “outside the box” to address the housing issue. 🏘️ Converting unused commercial spaces into residential spaces is one such way. 👍 And I have read reports of students occupying spaces in old age facilities in exchange for companionship for the elderly, which addresses two issues.
Toxic positivity? That is a new one for me... But please keep intoxicating us with your positivity 😉
@@AbeIJnst Thank you, Abe. I’ll keep on keeping on. 😊
Toxic positivity? That Person must be a Chronic Negative 😢
@@dittedatte8046 Hi there Freckleface. 👋 I think you’re right. It probably says more about them than me. They really did come across as a Negative Nancy. 😆
Olive-oil and rice, two things that got really expensive due to bad harvests because of climate change.
Still we eat produce from other countries that are so bad for the environment.
Complaining about palmoil, but eating avocado which is just as bad or even worse.
Prices have gone up, but we also like to stick to our ways.
And then complain about the price instead of choosing an alternative.
Nice video...😊
@@annemieke186 Thank you, Annemieke. You make some very valid points. 👍
There have always been bad harvests, it would take climate change to end that.
I spoke to a Dutchman , he smoked weed daily and used to visit the red light district . Swore a lot in English .
@@k.k.5046 That wasn’t a Dutch man. 😆
@BetterTogether-UnIr1 he spoke English with a dutch accent 😀
@ Ah, haha…OK…then he was definitely Dutch. 😃
Just to clarify: Especially in the younger generations, the Dutch partake in both Dutch and foreign (mostly US) social media and streaming services, and they like to throw English expressions, one-liners or single words, in their daily lingo. Think "oh my god", "whatever", "oh no he didn't", and many curses. Especially among peers in their bubble they reinforce themselves, with often hilarious effect among the young ones as they parrot one another over and over; the pronunciation and perceived meaning starts to warp and the entire group starts using it wrong or out of context.
Not just the young ones either come to think of it. The few times I watch some Dutch tv clip it is "tenenkrommend" to see (hard to watch, shameful) 🙈🙉, including among presenters, politicians, supposedly higher educated, or just the everyday person from the street.
Then again, I'm over 40, I grew up here and hardly left the Netherlands. My source of English is just a lot of reading books, watching series, online or in person conversations with English speaking foreigners (in work or private setting), so maybe I'm not to judge. 😅
Oh and among the older generations, also English work, political, social and technical jargon is (mis)used a lot.
Then again, from what I can see that also seems to happen with people from the US so... :shrug:
Sometimes language just (d)evolves I guess 😅
I was wondering what your (you being a expat immigrant) opinion is about the dutch expat tax rules where expats get a tax reduction up to 30% on income tax and not contributing to the dutch society as much as a native dutch person would. Thus encouraging more immigration.
@@npajoordens This did not apply to me. I contributed to the Dutch tax base from my first day of employment. In my case, I did not work for the first five years, although - as a property owner - I paid transfer and property taxes.
From my understanding, to qualify for the 30% ruling, a worker must be a highly skilled migrant. This means they must have a specific expertise that is scarce or unique in the Dutch labour market. Moreover, they must be recruited from abroad or transferred within a multinational company to work in the Netherlands.
This is a tax incentive maintained by the Dutch government to attract, it seems, highly skilled labour that is not available locally. The Dutch government must consider it a reasonable trade off. I have no strong opinion about it one way or another. What are your thoughts?
You must live in a beautiful home, if I see the background of your video 👍😉
@@vanderquast Thank you, Jacobus. I love this old Dutch house, c. 1901. It’s been my happy home for 20 years. Thank you for the compliment. 😊
Spring Holliday for children is coming. Sport training and competition is cancelled due to absence of a lot of the teamplayers because of most of them go on a Holliday. Included mine.
We have it so bad.... So many parents go on a spring Holliday. Just keep on complaining.
Renovating your house is difficult because of the lack of handyman, we need immigrants.
Yes housing is a problem for new buyers. But most dont want to make consessions to free nitrogen and nox levels.
@@peterk3008 Thank you, Peter. We do have it good here, don’t we? Like I said, life is largely what we make of it. 😊
@BetterTogether-UnIr1 2014 local elections were postponed because is would be in spring Holliday and right after carnaval.... Postponed because they were afraid most people would not show up because they would be on a Holliday or would stil be drunk/sick from the amount of partying.... What a great country
@ Haha. It is remarkable. I have come to learn that holiday is HOLYday in the Netherlands. 😃
Any public discussion, and especially immigration is subject to polarization. Each side of the discussion will have pushers flooding the discussion with (mis)information to gather as many followers as possible. Social media is an important platform for these pushers to gain influence. There's always a silent middle group who don't have loud representation, causing a skewed view by many people who follow one or the other polar pushers. It's in this middle where the actual important questions are asked. The press should represent this group as much as possible. But sadly, the poles sell better news.
Once you notice how many discussions are polarized and how pushers operate, things become a little clearer. Not always easier, but the hysteria subsides a little.
@@TheHighlander71 We live in the misinformation age, the era of fake news and “alternative facts”. Journalism has become conjecture and opinion. It is often difficult to sift through all the information at our fingertips and determine what is real. This seed of doubt is potentially dangerous because it means that people question everything, even scientifically demonstrable facts such as climate change.
I agree that the “truth” is most often somewhere in the middle, in the glorious grey area. There usually are (at least) two sides to every story.
Without a doubt, though, immigration is a hot button subject.
Thanks for your comment. 👍
@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 I think it is important to educate people on how the system of polarization works. Once they realise, it becomes easier to detect misinformation, or at least to identify what the source is trying to accomplish: create more followers.
No worries here Mike. Holland is not at war (yet). So when that time comes I am really worried. Life is short and I am a reserved kind but positive as well. In my case and it's for you too 🙂: "I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time" and let it be as it comes naturally ;-) th-cam.com/video/OiVneXof1oo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=gEX9j6dB3-DBNxL2
@@RickLane-x4j Words to live by, Mark. 😊 In the meantime, “let there be songs to fill the air”… th-cam.com/video/5yJmBC7cMTM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ytCrDr7nN-Tvyf4e
@@RickLane-x4j p.s. - I see that you updated your photo. 👍 I thought, at first, that it was another picture of the legendary man in black. And then, upon closer examination, I realized it was the legendary man in black. 😃
@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 1) Nice song you sent... I recall that one indeed. The man in black from Holland loves to wear that too. It's me in 2015 I guess 🙂
@ Nice pic. You’re channeling Johnny. 😊
Like we haven't heard this nonsense before. A healthy society does not need immigration and the current mass immigration will only make the problem of an aging population bigger at only a slightly later stage, so it's really shortsighted. Immigration for personal individual reasons is good, mass immigration is bad for the people who's government it is. A government that serves the Dutch people ends mass immigration, period.
Great video
@@RFGfotografie Thank you, Remco. 😃
@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 There' a mini mini ice age on the cards, and it's already making its presence being felt
@ This could well be true. Scientists say that there have been five or six major ice ages. The Earth does its thing with or without us. 🌎