How do you see your country, ideally ?

[The Lawspeaker]

As inspired by the similar thread by our much valued comrade Aptrangr on GW:

I would prefer a more folkish form of Switzerland. Uniting all of the Netherlands (also those in the German and French borderlands and Flanders) into a loose confederation of cantons. A bit like the USA or Switzerland.

The state.

The state:

Each canton would have it's own laws, courts and parliament and each town and community with a Town Meeting (like in New England, USA or in some Swiss cantons). As such it will become a really decentralized and very democratic confederation.
For the peoples of the Netherlands one would see a real decentralization and respect for the rights of the individual cantons and most certainly the various communities (villages and towns). The cantons will use their own dialects in meetings and in their own laws. A Dutch translation will only need to be present during cases in which someone doesn't speak the local dialect or language.
Running the day to day affairs will be left to the individual cantons - and communities according to their own wishes. The central government in The Hague will only deal with Education and Health Care ( there will be federal vouchers and a Federal Dutch NHS), foreign policies, the environment (for the first 20 years) and the armed forces.
Since the name "province" to describe the individual member states would remind people of the centralization and the monarchy the new word would be "state" or "canton".


Those that will be kicked out:

All western and non-western immigrants should be reviewed.. most non-western immigrants will see their citizenships revoked and will be deported to their native lands. The westerners, Germanic or not.. will be tested for diseases, records everything. If they are safe- they can stay and slowly fuse into our society-like our brothers. The Islamic religion will be banned. Communist and socialist parties with a Marxist and multiculturalist agenda will be banned and their leaders will see their citizenships revoked and they can pick a non-western country for exile. The Royal Family ? Send into exile and their properties in the Netherlands will be handed over to the Dutch people and perhaps privatized. The Royal Palace in Amsterdam will be handed over to the City of Amsterdam as their City Hall.

Welfare:

It will be the job of the individual cantons to generate a welfare state by means of first creating jobs so that the people won't need welfare. It could be arranged that Flanders and Holland will transfer some excess wealth to the other cantons. Of course decentralization would generate enough jobs in the various cantons. It will be up to the various cantons to decide on labor issues. In Federal Law flexicurity will be implemented. So the state can hire and sack employees without paying them compensation (so no more Golden handshakes or bonuses) but they would have to pay for their re-education and give them allowances until they have found a new job.


Education and Health Care:

Education will be left to the individual cantons and one would be allowed to create private schools and universities as long as they comply with the law of their cantons. Federal vouchers will be given though so parents can send their children to other cantons for education.
The health care system will be nationalized and put under a federal scheme- a kind of NHS. Based on the Cuban system rather then the British.


The Hague as Federal Capital.

The Hague will still be the Federal Capital in the same sense as Bern is it in Switzerland or Washington D.C in the U.S.A. Whether The Hague will be seperated from Holland and it's capital moved to another city should be debated in the parliaments of a re-united Holland and in the Federal Parliament- and should be decided by a referendum in The Hague and Holland- before this will happen The Hague will be officially declared a city (it has been done before by King Louis Napoleon in 1806 and confirmed by his brother Emperor Napoleon in 1810 but it's city rights have been revoked by William I in act of revenge).
It could well be possible that The Hague will be an independent Capital-Region or Capital Canton, without Federal taxation and Federal representation (no taxation without representation means no taxation and no representation). The Hague will effectively rule itself but will de facto be part of the Dutch Republic. Only a Federal Chancellery, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of Domestic Affairs and Defense will remain in the Hague. All the other (reduced) institutions will be spread across the country because modern communication makes it possible to decentralize affairs.
The Hague will of course remain the seat of international agencies and companies (even more attractive because of a lower tax rate) and will possible become one of the wealthiest city's per capita in Europe. (A bit like Geneva). Since The Hague is the Federal Capital and internationally so important it should be the showcase of our country: ugly, dilapidated boroughs will be either restored to their former glory or blown up and some of the ugly industrial zones (those that know the city: Laakhaven, Binckhorst) will house the remaining ministries and federal institutions and will become green, eco-friendly and modern, pedestrianized showcases of Dutch urban planning. The old canals within the city should be preserved, cleaned and restored to their former glory and public transport should disappear underground (at least in the older and more densely populated parts of the city) . Leaving more room for pedestrianized streets and canals. The Beatrixkwartier- and the older areas of the inner city that were bombed in '45- that is now being turned into a commercial area should be restored as the Jugendstil-part of The Hague that it was before the 1945 air raid and the commercial activities should be moved to the area that is now around Laakhaven (turning the old dilapidated area it into a project similar to the London Docklands).

It may be strange that I write a lot about a certain city but I believe that a Federal Capital is a part of the country that should be seen as the showcase and since decentralization will bring a lot of changes I describe it.


Less like this....



More like this...


The Environment.

The Federal Government will have to set the good example.

I believe that it will be necessary to take a pro-active stance when it comes to the environment. I think that this will have to a national effort: we will have to come to 80 percent renewable energy (and 20 % nuclear) by the year 2030. And the Federal Government should take the lead by moving their ministries to buildings that have been designed to have a zero carbon footprint and ministers will be expected to use public transport and where possible the bike or drive in cleaner cars. The government should also set an example on a local level by speaking to the local population and government of The Hague (where parliament is housed) about creating more parks and opening up canals and tearing down some of the older neighborhoods that have a poor quality of life attached to it- in their place should come modern housing and commercial districts with canals, parks and affordable good quality housing- according to the principles of New Urbanism. Where one sheep goes- more will follow..



The role of taxes and subsidies- and the energy policy:

It will be necessary to subsidize solar and wind energy and put solar panels on as many roofs as possible and create large wind farms on the North Sea- like the Danish have done. I also believe in the construction of two nuclear power plants: both in Borsele, Zealand (the security system should be adopted from the Swedish and Finnish)
I think that all excises and VAT on cleaner cars should be scrapped while taxes on polluting cars should be increased: the revenue should be spend on fuel research and the improvement of public transport.

Overpopulation

I believe that our country is hopelessly overpopulated and thus the population should be halved: by encouraging migration to the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Brazil- the ideal population of this country should be roughly between 8 and 9.5 million. The local governments and perhaps the national government should use the money now used for development aid to educate those that wish to leave and provide them with loans that they can use to establish businesses at their preferred destination so they won't become dependent on their new government.

Infrastructure and land-use.

It will be vital for our country to sacrifice some areas under sea-level like the Alexanderpolder near Rotterdam, the Haarlemmermeerpolder, the Purmer and the Schermer and perhaps some areas in Lower Groningen, Flevoland and Lower Friesland and West Brabant that should be converted into storage areas of excess water and full time lakes- while the country should work towards opening up old canals and the creation of new modern polders in the coastal areas of Holland that will house new villages and modern agriculture. In addition I believe construction of two new national airports (since what used to be Schiphol will be submerged when the Haarlemmerpolder will be sacrificed) will be needed- that will be connected to Amsterdam by monorail: one on an (to create) island before the coast near IJmuiden (like the Maasvlakte) and one in the IJsselmeer. I still believe that a reduced Markerwaardplan should be carried out- it will house agriculture, windmills and a new national airport.



Transportation

Rail transport

The entire Dutch railway system should be re-nationalized for a brief moment so things can be put in order again. After that the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways) will see it's shares divided between the individual cantons (60%), the federal government (for a period of 50 years- 10%) and the free market (30%)- but no shares may be sold to foreigners or foreign companies. The entire network will be upgraded to the latest safety features and electrified with a overhead wire system based on the German voltage. Then the Nederlandse Spoorwegen will only keep the main lines open and privatize the rest- selling it off on the free market (only Dutch companies may participate). Further expansion will have to take place: in particular by private investment in monorails between The Hague and the north of the country- and possibly Hamburg, high-speed connections between France, Germany and the Netherlands, and further expansion of commuter rail and two monorails leading from Amsterdam to new international airports. Apart from that it will be necessary to break-up monopolistic companies like Connexion and leave competition to the free market.
Then you get a pretty secure system with a mixture of a state-owned company and private interest.
In the larger cities or in cities with a lack of space we could have railways roofed over and the available space put to use as parks, foundation for housing and streets- in the same way as it has been done to the railways in Brussels or to Rotterdam Blaak. The beautiful halls of the central stations can be used as an atrium and a public garden while steps and lifts would lead down to the real station underneath the old station. Thus using the available space twice.


Like here in the old hall of Atocha Station in Madrid, Spain



Road transport

Instead of paying an annual tax, maintenance on roads will be carried out by levying tolls and selling (mandatory) vignettes, and a couple of new motorways will be either build or planned: (I'll provide road numbers for the Dutch amongst us) the A4 (that should have been build some 30 years ago), A6-A9 (it will have to be constructed using a tunnel underneath the Naardermeer, so the natural reserve can be protected), the expansion of the A73 (from Limburg via Nijmegen and east of Arnhem, through Twente and Drenthe to Groningen), and a new motorway that would lead across the Delta Works, from Belgium, Zeeuws Vlaanderen to Hoek of Holland and The Hague. When the population would really drop some additional motorways can be decommissioned and turned into a cantonal trunk road or a 2+1 road - and in The Hague a Congestion Charge (based on the system now in use in Stockholm) will be introduced (if the various cantons decide to do the same thing it will be up to them- Amsterdam and Rotterdam would be fine candidates) for any car or motorized vehicle (apart from emergency services, occupants of that area and the Corps Diplomatique) entering the old towns- entering the old town will have to be made avoidable by building tunnels and underground beltways around the old towns.
Because of light pollution the amount of street lighting along motorways and trunk roads will be lowered and replaced with "cats eyes"and in urban areas we should try to have motorways "roofed over" and covered with housing, streets and green spaces. And every main city should receive incentive parking schemes so transport by car into the densely populated city can be minimized.


"cat's eyes"



When more comes to heart I will add it in this thread and in the end I will also write an addendum where I explain which views may have changed over time.

[SwordoftheVistula]

I'll try to follow your pattern.

General theme: All policy decisions will be as decentralized as possible, at the local or at most state level, except for the powers granted to the federal government by our Constitution. Military/foreign/immigration policy at the federal level, also largely the creation of money.

At the state level, the only laws in place should be against those behaviors which directly, negatively effect others. Laws against murder, rape, assault, theft, and vandalism.

Certain localities may want to enact other laws related to that community, and operate things like parks and schools.


Those that will be kicked out:

First of all-stop letting people in! There will be a fence/wall at the border and armed guards who can shoot on site like sensible countries have. Foreign students can still be accepted, but will have to register and be subject to monitoring, and will be expelled if they violate the terms of their stay. Only people of 100% northern European ancestry (perhaps expanded to those of 100% European ancestry) will be allowed in, and they should be allowed in without problems and hassle if they do not have a criminal record (for real crimes, not 'advocating racism' or some such nonsense).

Those who will be kicked out, in order of feasibility.

Illegal aliens. I don't see what is so hard here, they are breaking the law by being in the country, the first order of business when encountering them is to put a stop to this law-breaking action by removing them from the country.

Any immigrant who commits a crime. People born here have a right to live here, immigrants don't. Also, if we have any welfare system, immigrants will not have a right to this.

Immigrants generally.

2nd/3rd generation immigrants, especially those in the families of 1st generation immigrants. No more 'anchor babies'!

Anyone not of 100% European ancestry.

Welfare:

None! People can donate through private charities if they wish.

Perhaps some allowances for certain limited/temporary programs such as unemployment, or bare bones subsistence programs like food stamps.

One thing must be absolutely certain: no local/regional 'cost of living' adjustments for welfare payments! There will be one federally set level. There is no reason for welfare recipients to be living in high-cost areas like New York City and Boston and taking up room from people who need to work in these commercial centers. No reason whatsoever for a family on welfare to be living in a housing unit in Manhattan which would cost thousands of dollars on the open market, when they could live in Mississippi or some such place for $200/month rent. Those living on welfare will have to live in the places with the lowest cost of living. If they have to live at a cost to the rest of society, the least they can do is not to live in a high cost area.


Education and Health Care:

Any form of public education will be funded at the local level, possibly the state level for post-secondary education. Home schooling will be legal and encouraged.

Health care should remain a private industry.


The Environment:

Private ownership of land and water resources will be encouraged. If you own a piece of land or a river, you're not going to let some idiot dump crap in it, at least not without paying a steep price. This will create the best balance between human/industrial needs and the environment.

Concerns regarding air pollution and such are best resolved through the court system rather than regulatory schemes, if someone causes you a specific harm by pollution then you can sue them.

Population:

Quality over quantity!

Abortion will be legal and provide free of charge to anyone who wants one. Perhaps even mandatory in some cases.

Any benefits to parents/children should be directed towards those at the top instead of those at the bottom. A couple proposals:

If the income tax remains a source of governmental funding, then allow a large deduction (say, $25k/yr per child) but no other support. Thus, a single parent making $20k/year working at McDonalds would have no incentive to have more children beyond the first, but an engineer making $100k/year would be able to avoid paying income tax by having 4 children.

Also, if the government continues to provide loans to finance education, these could be written off in a similar fashion as home loans were in Germany in the 1930s, write off 1/4 of the loan for each child.


Infrastructure and land-use.

Possibly build and maintain infrastructure such as airports and power lines, and then open them to all service providers who will compete on the open market for customers.


Transportation:

Rail transport:

I can see a possible governmental role towards maintaining rail lines, but those who actually run the trains should be private companies. If AmTrak (our state railway) were privatized and forced to compete on the open market, they would have to lower fares. Local areas can create local subways, trolleys, and rail systems if they so desire.

One thought, if there are any state supported transit systems, they should be forced to stay in operation at least as late as the bar closing time, so as to keep these drunks off the roads.





Road transport:

Should be as local as possible. Roads on Hawaii and purely local roads such as the 'Long Island Expressway' should not be receiving federal funds.

Roads should be funded by a gas tax as a 'usage tax', since this will encourage conservation of gas/oil (and less pollution). The satellite tracking devices and millage charges are too intrusive to privacy, and do not offer any environmental incentive.

Toll collection schemes tend to spend a large portion of the money, often more than half, on collection efforts, including both administrative and hiring all the toll collectors. Additionally, it is a nuisance and detrimental to the environment to force drivers to idle in line waiting to get through the toll booth. If there are any tolls, people should be encouraged to get electronic transponders (Fastlane, EZ pass, etc) to save on the cost of hiring toll collectors. No more than one booth open for cash payments. If you don't like waiting, get a transponder. Bridges & tunnels could even be left to private entrepreneurs to construct, if they are going to be gaining tolls from them.

In general, transportation between states should be negotiated by the states involved rather than run by the feds. A highway from Cleveland to Chicago can be organized by Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois rather than being a federally funded highway. The New York/New Jersey Port Authority is the model to follow here.

[The Lawspeaker]

Addendum:


Healthcare
Rather then developing a NHS-styled healthcare system we should look towards adopting the Swiss system and improving it to suit our conventions.
Coverage by a (income based) health insurance will be mandatory for all citizens and foreign employees living in the Netherlands. All non-Dutch temporarily living in the Netherlands (like foreign civil servants, members of permanent missions and those working for foreign companies as well as their families) are exempted from joining a Dutch health insurance scheme and may join one of their own or stay with their present scheme but they may join a Dutch one as well after having lived in the country for 3 consecutive months.
The system would be a mixture of private and public insurance schemes:

• private healthcare (for instance for visits to a dentist or general practitioner)

• subsidized private (subsidized by the individual cantons- like home care services for the elderly, for those enduring difficult pregnancies, after birth, for the handicapped and the infirm etc)

• public (by federal or provincial funding- for instance for life-threatening illnesses like cancer or HIV-AIDS or for difficult operations or transplants to be conducted in a federal university hospital ("academisch ziekenhuis") from which each canton should have one)

All present public hospitals will remain in the hands of the community by putting them under local and cantonal authority although private or church-based clinics and hospitals will be tolerated (they will not receive funding) but will be linked to private foundations, insurances or the church.


Education
The cantons and the local communities will receive a blank cheque when it comes to education. The Federal Government will only form up a small regulatory body. In essence it will mean that all public schools will be remain under public control but that schools with a religious background will see it's spending cut and will be placed under the church again as a private school. Although each canton or community may decide the extend of it for itself (since large parts of the country are still either protestant or catholic- in particular in the large Bible Belt.)

Private investment will be allowed in school and licensed teachers may open us private schools as they like- which will not be funded by the government but wholly by private investment.
Still the cantons and communities- as well as private investors will be asked to give schools maximum attention and funding as they will educate the future workforce. And each province will at least have one public university- all the others may be private. Each province will have to decide whether homeschooling is feasible- it would be advisable that homeschooling would be allowed when the parents (at least) follow the official curriculum. The rest will be up to them.
Special schools for the handicapped will remain part of the public education system but those following different teaching methods (like the Montissori-method) will become private schools although public education should remain open for finding new ways of education children and adults.

(I will write more about education when I have some more time)


On Socialism/Marxism
Rather then banning Socialist and Marxist parties it would be more prudent to condone them as long as they don't preach multiculturalism or partake in any actions that might harm the country now or in the future. The courts (cantonal or federal) will decide whether this is the case and whether they will be banned or condoned and allowed to participate in elections.

[Barreldriver]

@SwordoftheVistula, in regards to this statement:



"Only people of 100% northern European ancestry (perhaps expanded to those of 100% European ancestry) will be allowed in, and they should be allowed in without problems and hassle if they do not have a criminal record (for real crimes, not 'advocating racism' or some such nonsense)."


Are you saying no more immigrants unless they are of this stock? Or are you saying deport anyone who is not of this stock.

I ask because there are many Western and Central European families that have been in the United States since the Colonial Era and have an equal contribution to the creation of the United States as the Anglos, why should these families of Western and Central European stock be stripped of their birthright? It was not the Anglos alone that forged the U.S., the French, Spanish, and Germans had their fair share. The late commers to the U.S. actually seem to be more from the extremem Northern and Southern hemisphere i.e. American's of Scandinavian and Southern European ancestry tended to arrive much later than those of Insular, Western, or Central European ancestry, so why would the late coming "Nords" get priority over the native Colonial castes that originated in Western, Northwestern, and Central Europe?

[Æmeric]

I believe that our country is hopelessly overpopulated and thus the population should be halved: by encouraging migration to the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Brazil- the ideal population of this country should be roughly between 8 and 9.5 million. The local governments and perhaps the national government should use the money now used for development aid to educate those that wish to leave and provide them with loans that they can use to establish businesses at their preferred destination so they won't become dependent on their new government.

A significant part of the population of the Netherlands is of recent immigrant origins from the periphery of the Caucasian world. We don't want them. And many Dutch are actually Euro-Malay hybrids, a reminder of the Dutch Colonial Empire. A quick look at Dutch celebrities show this;

Johnny Heitinga, one of several Dutch football stars with Indonesian ancestry.


Dutch tennis player Jesse Huta Galung. I can't believe a name like that is Dutch.



We already have the Van Halen brothers.



And Mark Paul Gosselaar.

Granted, Gosselaar doesn't really look dodgy nor Huta Galung except for the obviously Eastern surname & both could 'pass' unless being classified by a really good anthropologist like Suut or Agrippa. I would guess both are 1/4 or less Malay. But we have enough problems with miscegenation in recent years in the US, no point in taking someone elses problems.

Question: Just how many Dutch have Indonesian ancestry, at least 1/8 or 1/16?

[The Lawspeaker]

A significant part of the population of the Netherlands is of recent immigrant origins from the periphery of the Caucasian world. We don't want them. And many Dutch are actually Euro-Malay hybrids, a reminder of the Dutch Colonial Empire. A quick look at Dutch celebrities show this;

Well.. as I said- the foreigners will have to leave before the Dutch will move abroad en masse.

Question: Just how many Dutch have Indonesian ancestry, at least 1/8 or 1/16?

I am not sure. A quick look on wiki says around 300.000

Dutch tennis player Jesse Huta Galung. I can't believe a name like that is Dutch.

Doesn't sound Dutch to me either.. but then again: we have a lot of people with French or German sounding surnames as well. We were a country of immigration during the 1600's.

[The Lawspeaker]

Defense

Defense will of course remain a part of the Federal Government and should, given the dangerous world we live in now, receive more then adequate funding and the focus should be placed on restructuring the Armed Forces into a more modern unified command structure based on the Belgian model (contrary to tradition but cheaper and perhaps easier to run):

• Land Component, or the Army;
• Air Component, or the Air Force;
• Naval Component, or the Navy,
• Medical Component.

The emphasis should be placed on the Naval Component since the Navy always was the focus of the Dutch Armed Forces during the days of the Republic and even though we should pursue a policy of neutrality our merchant shipping needs to be protected as pirates attack indiscriminately (the recent situation in Somalia is a clear example of this).
As such the funding allocated to the Armed Forces should reflect this and the Netherlands should look away from (UN/NATO) "peacekeeping-missions" and withdraw it's troops and the American Joint Strike Fighter Program and ask for the reimbursement of the $800 million the country already invested in this overtly costly and senseless project and instead sign for a deal with it's cheaper Swedish competitor and buy the Saab JAS39 Gripen instead.

The majority of the defense budget should (as I said before) be spend on the Naval Component and should be spend a modernization- and enlargement plan: 2/3 destroyers, 5 LCF-class frigates, 5 M-class frigates,2 more auxiliary ships and some 9 attack submarines. Cutbacks on naval programs will also take place in the old fashioned command structure (which should be modernized) and the number of bases (the navel base at Willemstad and the Marines' barracks in Savaneta on the Netherlands Antilles should be closed down as part of the completion of our decolonization process ), the naval support bases in Amsterdam and Texel should also be closed. The Royal Dutch Naval College and the Royal Netherlands Military Academy should be fused into a new unified service academy elsewhere- thus cutting costs. All other parts of the modernization of the Navy as decided in the present Fleet Plan 2012 as well as the Theater Ballistic Missile Defense- project should also be carried out. The Dutch Coast Guard will however become part of the Dutch customs service rather then remain independent or become part of the Navy.

It will however be deemed important that the Navy will work in close conjunction with other powers currently present in the Indian Ocean region as to achieve maximum superiority over the Somali Pirates and any other threats to Dutch interests.
For ceremonial reasons the ship prefix HNLMS should be exchanged for LS or LSO ('s Lands Schip, 's Lands Schip van Oorlog) which was the unofficial ship prefix during the days of the old Republic (without abbreviation). For political and ceremonial reasons a training (sailing) ship should be bought or preferably build by a Dutch shipbuilder- and show the face of our navy and proud naval tradition to the world at events like Sail Amsterdam.
The Federal Government should also seek to place most of or all her orders for new ships here in the Netherlands so the companies profiting from this (for them) unique opportunity will be Dutch.

For all military components a National Service will be reintroduced- and it will be compulsory for all 21-year olds to serve in the military for a period of 10 months (or face 18 months of community service).
The Air Component (other then the Gripen) will face no changes but the Land Component will see a mayor overhaul as well with the re-introduction of the National Service and will change into a unique institute that is somewhere between a militia and a regular army (as based on the Swiss model):

• Since gun laws will be dropped (for all citizens on at least a federal level) a Dutch soldier will be able to take his service weapons home but will have to store them in a special cache (along with a magazine of 20 bullets)
• A soldier (of any rank or component) will have the right to, in case of imminent danger, commandeer any vehicle to take him to a base. Denying him (or her) this service will be severely fined.
• The Army cannot be deployed outside EU-territory.
• A Chief of the Armed Forces will have to be elected for a period of 10 years by (Federal) Parliament.

[Bloodeagle]

I would like to see a decentralization of the United States government.
With a focus on bio regionalism and ethno regionalism.

[The Magistrate]

I would like to see, personally, more integration of the Hispanic population into US culture. While i can understand their race wishing to retain home roots and remain independent, and understand most of their reasons for coming here, they will eventually assimilate into the greater population.

Also, i believe in a democratically elected socialist government. I personally would like to see a government that focuses more on the people, all of them, not business primarily. I want to see an equal society, where every man TRULY earns his living.

[The Lawspeaker]

The role of taxes and subsidies- and the energy policy:

It will be necessary to subsidize solar and wind energy and put solar panels on as many roofs as possible and create large wind farms on the North Sea- like the Danish have done. I also believe in the construction of two nuclear power plants: both in Borsele, Zealand (the security system should be adopted from the Swedish and Finnish)
I think that all excises and VAT on cleaner cars should be scrapped while taxes on polluting cars should be increased: the revenue should be spend on fuel research and the improvement of public transport.

Addendum

I still believe in the ideas of subsidizing solar and wind energy for political reasons. It will make us less depending on imported fossil fuels and also improve our environment.
I think that a federal investment scheme should cover the first 25 years and finance the development of said alternative energy sources. After that private interest should take over (no non-Dutch may participate) and financing the construction of solar and wind parks should be left to individual companies and to the people themselves who can freely place solar panels on their roofs.

New natural gas sources have been found in the North Sea and in other parts of the Netherlands but it may take a couple of years before the technology exists to mine it. I think that private investment should be allowed to cash in on it and mine natural gas for domestic use and export. It's relatively clean and the Dutch companies can make a sound amount of money from it.
When it comes to taxation in general I do believe that VAT and all excises should be scrapped over a period of 10 years and the Federal Government will not have the right to tax the people- instead the Federal Government's services will be paid for by the annual contribution by the provinces and where possible the provinces will take over the services as well. Thus minimizing the size of the government.

I will write more about this soon.

Road transport

Instead of paying an annual tax, maintenance on roads will be carried out by levying tolls and selling (mandatory) vignettes, and a couple of new motorways will be either build or planned: (I'll provide road numbers for the Dutch amongst us) the A4 (that should have been build some 30 years ago), A6-A9 (it will have to be constructed using a tunnel underneath the Naardermeer, so the natural reserve can be protected), the expansion of the A73 (from Limburg via Nijmegen and east of Arnhem, through Twente and Drenthe to Groningen), and a new motorway that would lead across the Delta Works, from Belgium, Zeeuws Vlaanderen to Hoek of Holland and The Hague. When the population would really drop some additional motorways can be decommissioned and turned into a cantonal trunk road or a 2+1 road - and in The Hague a Congestion Charge (based on the system now in use in Stockholm) will be introduced (if the various cantons decide to do the same thing it will be up to them- Amsterdam and Rotterdam would be fine candidates) for any car or motorized vehicle (apart from emergency services, occupants of that area and the Corps Diplomatique) entering the old towns- entering the old town will have to be made avoidable by building tunnels and underground beltways around the old towns.
Because of light pollution the amount of street lighting along motorways and trunk roads will be lowered and replaced with "cats eyes"and in urban areas we should try to have motorways "roofed over" and covered with housing, streets and green spaces. And every main city should receive incentive parking schemes so transport by car into the densely populated city can be minimized.


"cat's eyes"

Addendum

It would perhaps be interesting to let Dutch companies participate in a toll scheme test. That means that it should be made possible to "privatize" stretches of motorway as a 5 year test. No companies with any ties to mayor Dutch or foreign banks may participate.
It could also be interesting to give companies that build roads and motorways the right to levy tolls for a period of 25 years so they can make back their investments. This has already been done in France and in the Westerscheldetunnel in Zeeland and proves to be no problem.

I will write more about this soon.