Monday, 06 Febr. 2012
Hi, I can spend a lot of time in Holland
at the moment as England is in safe
hands; OK, it is nagged by the dodgy
US credit rating agency “Poor & ......
that claim to rule the world’s finance
systems. Holland and Germany are “spared” by the
American Credit Guru’s; however, you don’t need to be a
financial whizz kid to understand why these countries are
surviving the crisis rather well. They export more than they
import; Germany did not sell out their manufacturing
industries to Asia and were able to keep the work ethics in a
decent shape; I remember the uproar in the 90th as hars
Harz IV new labour laws made it easier to employ and lay-
off people. Now the Germans are more than happy about
executing these changes long before the world economy
melt-down.It allows them to extend carnival for 2 days. and
still raise enough tax revenues to balance the budget in
2014. Holland reformed labour laws in the 90ties with the
help of a “purple coalition”. All parties and unions agreed to
freeze wages, taxes and made working contracts a lot less
threatening for employers. Also a lot of Dutch companies
perform great on the world market; for example ASML, the
largest supplier of photolithography systems for the
semiconductor industry. DSM (Chemicals) employs half of
the South of Holland excelling in Nutrition and Pharma-
ceutical products, plastics and fibres. Talking about
restructuring a region in time: The DSM company is
located on top of the mines that closed in the 60thies.This
gave the mining workers new jobs and kept the infra-
structure in a healthy shape.Most Crash Tests to certificate
new car models are done in Holland; big business as they
smash up to 50 cars per new model at € 25.000 per crash.
(For the author of this column English, French, German and Spanish are not native languages. Please excuse mistakes!)
MaxiCosi baby seats are made in Holland and
Sidijk is world leader in the production of inflatable
constructions, large enough for sports venues or
cattle stables. The agricultural and flower industry is
still “flourishing”;tHowever dining out in Holland can
be risky. Read my disastrous dining experiences in
my travel blog on www.eventttravelservice.com
But Germany and Holland have to implant the same
cuts as the in UK due to governments overspending
and acid banking; some people lost more than 25%
of their company pensions as insurances invested
their precious savings in hazardous projects. About
working ethics: some German workers have choosen
to work longer hours to keep the company and their
salary afloat; Dutch employers refreshed the look of
their companies and upgraded the skills of their
employees instead of discounting prices and laying
off people. Oh France; the only impression I head
recently was in a supermarket in Dunkirk. The largest
queue was at the seafood counter with lobster,
scallops and Dover sole. How do they do it? Je ne
sais pas! Luckily they started selling their best wines
at 2for1. Yes I packed my reasonable priced car with
St. Emillon and sang all the way home: Allons enfants…
I am not sure about the French are up to and will ask
a Dutch friend living in the Provence about the crisis;
he has overcome the obstacles of French burocracy
and enjoys his life in France with a (hidden) smile
on his face. (cont. next page)
Hi, I can spend a lot of time in Holland
at the moment as England is in safe
hands; OK, it is nagged by the dodgy
US credit rating agency “Poor & ......
that claim to rule the world’s finance
systems. Holland and Germany are “spared” by the
American Credit Guru’s; however, you don’t need to be a
financial whizz kid to understand why these countries are
surviving the crisis rather well. They export more than they
import; Germany did not sell out their manufacturing
industries to Asia and were able to keep the work ethics in a
decent shape; I remember the uproar in the 90th as hars
Harz IV new labour laws made it easier to employ and lay-
off people. Now the Germans are more than happy about
executing these changes long before the world economy
melt-down.It allows them to extend carnival for 2 days. and
still raise enough tax revenues to balance the budget in
2014. Holland reformed labour laws in the 90ties with the
help of a “purple coalition”. All parties and unions agreed to
freeze wages, taxes and made working contracts a lot less
threatening for employers. Also a lot of Dutch companies
perform great on the world market; for example ASML, the
largest supplier of photolithography systems for the
semiconductor industry. DSM (Chemicals) employs half of
the South of Holland excelling in Nutrition and Pharma-
ceutical products, plastics and fibres. Talking about
restructuring a region in time: The DSM company is
located on top of the mines that closed in the 60thies.This
gave the mining workers new jobs and kept the infra-
structure in a healthy shape.Most Crash Tests to certificate
new car models are done in Holland; big business as they
smash up to 50 cars per new model at € 25.000 per crash.
(For the author of this column English, French, German and Spanish are not native languages. Please excuse mistakes!)
MaxiCosi baby seats are made in Holland and
Sidijk is world leader in the production of inflatable
constructions, large enough for sports venues or
cattle stables. The agricultural and flower industry is
still “flourishing”;tHowever dining out in Holland can
be risky. Read my disastrous dining experiences in
my travel blog on www.eventttravelservice.com
But Germany and Holland have to implant the same
cuts as the in UK due to governments overspending
and acid banking; some people lost more than 25%
of their company pensions as insurances invested
their precious savings in hazardous projects. About
working ethics: some German workers have choosen
to work longer hours to keep the company and their
salary afloat; Dutch employers refreshed the look of
their companies and upgraded the skills of their
employees instead of discounting prices and laying
off people. Oh France; the only impression I head
recently was in a supermarket in Dunkirk. The largest
queue was at the seafood counter with lobster,
scallops and Dover sole. How do they do it? Je ne
sais pas! Luckily they started selling their best wines
at 2for1. Yes I packed my reasonable priced car with
St. Emillon and sang all the way home: Allons enfants…
I am not sure about the French are up to and will ask
a Dutch friend living in the Provence about the crisis;
he has overcome the obstacles of French burocracy
and enjoys his life in France with a (hidden) smile
on his face. (cont. next page)