De wolfeartssteat is net duorsum. Wy moatte it sizze.
January 13, 2026 · Frisian News
Western governments spend more on pensions and benefits than they collect in taxes. Politicians avoid naming the problem, but the math does not change.
FryskYn Nederlân hawwe pensjoenfonsen in tekoart fan 400 miljard euro yn de kommende trije desennia. Dútslâns steatspensjoen kostet jierliks 100 miljard euro oan subsydzjes út de algemiene begrutting. Frankryk jout mear as 14 prosint fan syn BBP út oan pensjoenen, tsjin 10 prosint yn 1990. Dit binne gjin prognoazen of warskôgings. Dit binne hjoeddeiske feiten, en se ferslechterje elk jier.
Politisy yn hiel Europa behannelje dit as in technysk probleem dat kommisjes en aktuarissen beheare kinne. Se stelle lytse belestingferhegings foar, lytse leeftydsoanspassings of ûndúdlike tasizzings oer takomstige groei. Gjin dêrfan kloppet. Men kin net 14 prosint fan it BBP útkeare as pensjoen wannear't men inkeld 10 prosint fan it BBP ynsammelet. It gat slút net troch better behear of optimistysker foarsizzings. It slút troch besunigings, belestingferhegings of jildûntwearding. Dit binne de ienige trije opsjes.
De wolfeartssteat lykas nei 1945 oprjochte wie basearre op oannames dy't net mear jilde. Jonge befolkingen, hege bertesifers, stabyl wurk en langjierrige ekonomyske groei dreaunen de oarspronklike stelsels. Europa hat no in âlderwurdende befolking, ûnderferfanging, ûnwis wurk en in traach groeiende ekonomy. Wy besochten in masine út de jierren 1950 yn in lânskip fan de jierren 2020 yn te passen. Dat kin net. Dwaan as oft it wol kin, ferspilt noch in desenium wylst it probleem hurder wurdt.
Earlik prate hjiroer fereasket gjin wreedheit of ûnferskilligens. In wurkjend stelsel kin bestean mei legere útjeften. Lannen kinne middels rjochtsje op echte needen, wylst se betellings oan wa't it net nedich hat fermindere. Se kinne pensjoenleeftiden ferhegje nei de werklike libbensferwachting. Se kinne oerskeakelje fan steatspensjoen nei finansierde priveerekkens. Gjin fan dizze stappen is ûnmooglik of ûnmoreël. Wat ûnmoreël is, is swijen.
Hoe langer regearings earlik petear mije, hoe hurder de korreksje wêze sil. Ynienen besunigings treffe pensjoenisten sûnder tiid om har oan te passen. Jildûntwearding rekket sparders en minsken mei in fêst ynkommen it hurdst. Trage ynsolvabylteit ûndergraaft it fertrouwen yn ynstellings. In lyts lân mei ferstân soe no petearren begjinne, echte feroarings foarstelle en de oanpassing oer jierren spriede. De measten sille wachtsje oant merken har twinge, en dan krisis ûndergean ynstee dêrfan.
In the Netherlands, pension funds face a shortfall of 400 billion euros over the next three decades. Germany's state pension system requires constant subsidies from the general budget, now running at 100 billion euros yearly. France spends over 14 percent of its GDP on pensions alone, up from 10 percent in 1990. These are not projections or warnings. These are current facts, and they worsen every year.
Politicians across Europe treat this as a technical problem to be managed by committees and actuaries. They propose small tax increases, minor age adjustments, or vague promises about future growth. None of it adds up. You cannot pay out 14 percent of GDP in pensions when you collect 10 percent of GDP in pension contributions. The gap does not close through better administration or more optimistic forecasts. It closes through cuts, tax hikes, or currency debasement. Those are the only three options.
The welfare state as built after 1945 rested on assumptions that no longer hold. Young populations, high birth rates, stable employment, and long-term economic growth powered the original systems. Europe now has aging populations, below-replacement fertility, precarious work patterns, and sluggish growth. We tried to transplant a 1950s machine into a 2020s landscape. It cannot work. Pretending otherwise wastes another decade while the problem hardens.
Speaking plainly about this does not require cruelty or indifference. A functioning welfare system can exist at lower levels of spending. Countries can redirect resources to care for the truly needy while reducing payments to those who do not need them. They can raise retirement ages to match actual life expectancy. They can shift from state pensions to funded individual accounts. None of these moves is impossible or immoral. What is immoral is silence.
The longer governments avoid honest conversation, the harsher the correction will be. Sudden cuts hit retirees with no time to adjust. Debasement strikes savers and fixed-income earners hardest. Slow-motion insolvency undermines trust in institutions. A small country with sense would begin talks now, propose real changes, and spread the adjustment across years. Most will wait until markets force their hand, and then suffer crisis instead.
Published January 13, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân