Which euro-zone country is most deeply in debt? The profligate Greeks, with their generous state-funded pensions? The Cypriots and their banks stuffed with dodgy Russian money? The recession-hit Spaniards or the boom-and-bust Irish?
None of the above. Actually, it is the sober, responsible Dutch.
Consumer debt in the Netherlands has hit 250% of available income, one of the highest levels in the world. In Spain, by comparison, it has never gone above 125%.
The Netherlands has turned into one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world. It has slumped into recession and shows very little sign of coming out of it. The euro crisis has been dragging on for three years now but so far has only infected the peripheral nations within the single currency. But the Netherlands is a core member of both the euro and the European Union. If it can’t survive in the euro zone, then the game really will be up.
Why nobody talked about this till now? Starting to believe that we shall never know the truth about things like these - they are playing us as they wish
Which euro-zone country is most deeply in debt? The profligate Greeks, with their generous state-funded pensions? The Cypriots and their banks stuffed with dodgy Russian money? The recession-hit Spaniards or the boom-and-bust Irish?
None of the above. Actually, it is the sober, responsible Dutch.
Consumer debt in the Netherlands has hit 250% of available income, one of the highest levels in the world. In Spain, by comparison, it has never gone above 125%.
The Netherlands has turned into one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world. It has slumped into recession and shows very little sign of coming out of it. The euro crisis has been dragging on for three years now but so far has only infected the peripheral nations within the single currency. But the Netherlands is a core member of both the euro and the European Union. If it can’t survive in the euro zone, then the game really will be up.
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