€10,000 for every 18-year-old: that’s what this Dutch party wants

Dutch political party Groenlinks wants every person who turns 18 to receive “starting capital” from the government. An appropriate amount, thought Groenlinks, would be a casual €10,000. 

The newly-pronounced adult can then use the fat stack of cash for their own development, reports NOS. Think: paying tuition fees, retraining (the government knows they’re only 18, right?), starting their own business, or going to Ibiza for a weekend with the lads (okay, I may have added that last one).

Groenlinks has presented the plan for next year’s parliamentary elections. Of course, you may question who is footing the yearly €2.2 billion bill of the program. According to the party, Dutch millionaires will pay a ‘solidarity contribution.’

Here’s how that would work: people with assets over a million euros must gift 1% of their assets above one million to the government each year. Owners of more than two million euros will pay 2% on assets over two million. The value of homes in the first millions doesn’t count.

Why give youth money?

Groenlinks is concerned that people don’t have equal opportunities in the Netherlands. Free money is their attempt to rectify that.

“Where you were born determines the opportunities in your life and poverty is passed on from generation to generation,” said the party.

Groenlinks leader, Jesse Klaver, is a big fan of French economist Thomas Piketty, who inspired the idea.

Now, excuse me while I dash away and try to convince the gemeente that I’m actually a teenager.

What do you think of giving 18-year-olds this much cash? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: Capri23auto/Pixabay