What did we deserve to suffer such barbaric punishment? The announcement by Koninklijke Horeca Nederland that the prices of their services may have to rise even further adds insult to the financial injuries already inflicted on the Dutch people. Life has already become distressingly unaffordable, and now even the simple pleasures of grabbing a terrace or eating out are threatening to fall out of reach for the average citizen.
"If you look purely at the added value of the hospitality industry, you see that companies are at the level of 2016," aldus Marijke Vuik of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland. But that doesn't include the hugely increased rental costs, or the high interest rates. So to that extent this is not even the full picture."
That's why prices in the hospitality industry have already gone up ... but she doubts that this has been done adequately. Because restaurants and cafes know that if they pass the price increases all the way through, their services will become unaffordable for a good number of Dutch people. So they try to limit price increases as much as possible until this causes major problems for themselves.
The middle and upper middle class, once the symbol of stable and comfortable living, are struggling to live normally. However, it would be completely unfair to place the blame for this on the shoulders of the hospitality industry. In reality, it is the government that has hung the sword of Damocles over our heads.
With its absurd policies, the government has unleashed an inflationary specter that is ravaging our economy. The scars of the corona measures are still fresh and painful; the economic damage they have caused is far from being repaired. But instead of taking active steps to heal these wounds, the government has chosen policies that only exacerbate the pain.
Taxes are systematically increased, further raising costs for employers. These rising costs are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Thus it is that prices in the hospitality industry rise and ordinary citizens pay the price for the government's failed economic policies.
(Article continues after this call) It is more important than ever that we make a fist against the ridiculous economic policies of the party cartel. With elections just around the corner, DDS wants to make a fist against mismanagement. But to do so, we need your help. Big Tech censors us, government works against us. Donate to DDS and help us fight for a beautiful Netherlands where everyone can just have a beer or wine on the terrace!
It is imperative that we put the blame for this crisis where it belongs - not on the hospitality entrepreneurs trying to survive in an increasingly hostile economic climate, but on the government that created these conditions.
How long must we continue to suffer under the yoke of this mismanagement? The state, which is supposed to protect us and guarantee our standard of living, is doing the exact opposite. They are making life unaffordable, steering us toward an economic abyss and threatening to take the simple joys out of our lives.