Bram Gooris

🇧🇪 For decades, Belgian politicians, particularly on the left, have demonized entrepreneurs - the very people who create jobs, prosperity, and economic growth. They've regulated businesses to death, taxed people into oblivion, driven young talent and capital out of the country, and pursued immigration policies without seriously considering their long-term economic and social costs. And now they're surprised that Belgium's economy is stagnating, prosperity is under pressure, and the first signs of economic decline are becoming increasingly visible, all while social decline started a long time ago. The writing was on the wall long ago. Meanwhile, Belgium needs to find another €10 billion to get its public finances back on track. So what do our politicians propose? More taxes. Again. Even though we already have some of the highest taxes in the world. Let's look at the expenditure side for once. Belgium spends €60B+ on subsidies, €120B+ on unemployment benefits and social assistance, and enormous amounts on a welfare system that politicians seem terrified to reform. All of these systems are heavily abused by certain groups of people. €180 billion in total... Yet socialists refuse to seriously address the costs of unemployment, welfare dependency, or migration. The obvious reason is the self-interest of the left. The people benefiting from this system are their voters. They will protect the abuse of these systems at all costs. And this is where Belgium's political system makes everything even worse. The Prime Minister has very little power to act independently and constantly needs to negotiate compromises between parties on the left and right, and between Flanders and Wallonia. Every serious reform becomes a political bargaining chip, and anything that threatens the interests of one coalition partner risks being blocked. The result? Cutting spending becomes practically unthinkable in the current negotiations, while taking even more money from the people who work, invest, and create wealth remains perfectly acceptable. Meanwhile, an exodus of the talent, capital, and entrepreneurship that could fix these problems has already been going on for years. Belgium already has one of the highest tax burdens in the world. How much further can you push this before even more businesses, talent, and capital decide to leave? You cannot tax a country into prosperity. And you certainly cannot build a sustainable welfare state by continuously undermining the people who finance it. It's not rocket science. But apparently, acknowledging the problem is already a step too far. Let alone actually solving it. It's just incredibly sad to see.