> As with so many aspects of their society, it seemed to depend on subsuming the needs of the individual to the needs of the community. It gets kind of exasper

> As with so many aspects of their society, it seemed to depend on subsuming the needs of the individual to the needs of the community. It gets kind of exasperating when you see this kind of writing about your own country. Perhaps from an American perspective, it seems like some sort of socialist heaven here, but it really isn't. Our healthcare system is teetering, our elderly care system has already fallen. We are still laying down more asphalt 'because it will solve traffic jams'. Moreover, we've been eating away at some of our social safety net. Our prisons stated goal went from rehabilitation to retribution, and the police have more issues with 'confused people' which is a polite way to say people with a mental illness. One of the bigger issues is that of affordable housing. A recent report stated that 25% of renters forgo normal expenses to make rent. Moreover in the bigger cities we see foreign money guying real estate as investments just like in London or Seattle. Which brings me to the hypotheekrenteaftrek (tax rebate on mortgage interest). Which was pitched as helping the middle class afford housing, but turned into a massive tax credit for the rich. Now, we know this thing is pushing up a housing bubble, but we are afraid to do too much with the rebate for fear of popping that bubble. Not to mention the recent political push to abolish the dividend tax 'because it would help all business', not to entice Unilever and Shell to fully incorporate here. Only for the plan to be rescinded when it turned out Unilever wasn't gonna move here after all. And despite the large number of bicycles, we still have a shit-ton of cars. Whilst it is not uncommon for people to cycle to work, taking the car is still more common. And not having a car at all is a pretty rare thing. At the same time, the increase in e-bikes is causing dangerous situations, and a marked uptick in broken bones, especially among the elderly. My point being, the Netherlands aren't some perfect place to emulate, even though we have bike-lanes and drivers and cyclists here are used to seeing other cyclists on the road. Thank you for reading my rant.