Profit comes from investing and distributing - Pieter Hasekamp

This book contains the extensive and annotated text of the EW Economics lecture that Pieter Hasekamp delivered on Monday evening, June 26, in the De Rode Hoed debate center in Amsterdam.

Pieter Hasekamp has been director of the Central Planning Bureau since March 1, 2020. Hasekamp's lecture focuses on the question of how the Netherlands can transition from a compensation society to an investment company. In his view, the Dutch economy has weathered the recent crises well. During the corona pandemic and the energy crisis, the government responded by generously cutting corners. That worked, but tax money also ended up with those who didn't need it. The Netherlands is therefore in danger of becoming a compensation society. In various areas, a bill is also being passed on to the future.

At the same time, the Netherlands still faces major challenges in productivity and wealth distribution, equality of opportunity and mutual differences, climate and living environment. 'Our country benefits from a clear future perspective. But are the Netherlands and Europe still capable of making choices and investing in solving problems, instead of buying them off? In short, how can we take the step from compensation society to investment company?'