tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8088960565146872967.post9125173915637637249..comments2014-10-24T07:14:54.545+01:00Comments on Uneven Bounce: Thurs 2 Sept - The Political ImpasseBen Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01417510842366380848noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8088960565146872967.post-24108034525813933562010-09-14T21:02:10.140+01:002010-09-14T21:02:10.140+01:00Hey Jessica,
I'm of the view (possibly, ignor...Hey Jessica,<br /><br />I'm of the view (possibly, ignorant) that Belgium would be better-off if it split in two. I just can't see what holds it together. The two regions clearly don't interact. No one from the north seems to work in the south and vice versa. <br /><br />I agree with pretty much everything you've said about Wallonia. I'm all for the state helping out when times are hard and people are out of work, and I certainly don't subscribe to the tough love meted out to the unemployed by the Yanks, but there's just no incentive to work if you're always being bailed out by the state.<br /><br />Huge, ingrained, cultural, problems. No wonder the north get fed up. But, isn't some of this cyclical? The south used to be the powerhouse of Belgium. <br /><br />Thanks for putting me straight about 'préformateur' v 'formateur.'Ben Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01417510842366380848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8088960565146872967.post-9414829327544458752010-09-13T06:38:18.473+01:002010-09-13T06:38:18.473+01:00I think the South needs to admit there is a proble...I think the South needs to admit there is a problem with the unemployed. There are so many, and it is far too easy to milk the system for years and years on end! Belgium is one of the only nations in the world where unemployment benefits don't dry up or have a time limit, which is absolutely ridiculous in that it does nothing to motivate people to find work, and depletes the government. It's already badly policed too, as far as trying to locate the fraudsters, and do you know that some socialist politicos said before the last election that they were thinking of doing away with the inspectors altogether... to save money?<br /><br />There are so many ways the system is so very broken here, and what's sad is that many in the South are reluctant to admit that the way they live and are governed right now by the socialists is completely unsustainable. Even those who work and who know the system has tons of problems have some unrealistic ideas about how they should be entitled to this benefit or that, or how they will one day 'take advantage of the system in this way'. To me it's really shocking to hear what seem like otherwise mature, properly employed adults talk like this. It's like hearing about a grown man who comes home to visit his parents and simultaneously steal from their wallets. <br /><br />Honestly, I think it'd be a good wake-up call for many Walloons to be left to their own devices. It's only like that the blinders'll come off and they'll be forced to (fully) acknowledge the mess they've made by having such a short-sighted view. Rarrrr. Lol, It bothers me, can you tell? :)<br /><br />PS - Bart was the préformateur (the one who consults all the parties to see if it seems it might be possible to form a government,) Elio was the formateur (the guy who actually has to try and cobble the coalition together.)<br /><br />This bothers me too, these positions of préformateur and formateur. Why, after the public has spoken do we need all this pussyfooting about? Taxpayers pay the salaries of the politicians, and the taxpayers have given the "seats in house" with their votes. I say get to work. Even if it doesn't work for long, at the very least a few bills get passed and instead of most of the politicians getting paid to do very little during this period of time (sounds a little like unemployment here,) at the very least they're in there, working, or trying to make it work.<br /><br />This of course is my relatively ignorant non-Belgian-perspective. But at this point after living on the inside for this long, I honestly think the country might be better off if someone just invaded and imposed a new and different governmental system and players. You know? Bit of a Tabula rasa, as it were.Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15756148417764767523noreply@blogger.com