In advance

In our country there are many things that you can decide for yourself: of which clubs you become a member, whether you go to church or not, whether you will take a pet dog or not, etc. On the other hand, there are also a lot of things that are not only up to you. Research has shown that for many years now people in the Netherlands have complained most about noise nuisance caused by neighbours. Often people succeed in making good agreements together, but it also happens that local residents do not manage to arrange everything well. In such a situation rules must be made. These rules are made by the municipal government. They are intended to enable people to live next to and with each other. You may not agree with some of those rules that prescribe how to behave 'in public'.
The government also interferes with us in other ways. For instance, the national government takes care of the construction of dikes, of education, health care, benefits, police and administration of justice.
Who is this government and why does it do these things? Why do we not let private entrepreneurs take care of the production of all goods and services? That is the subject of this chapter.

Related sites chapter 2

'Prinsjesdag' Ministry of Finance.
'Jongerensite' Ministry of Finance.
Expenses and incomes of the public sector in 2008.
How much taxes on petrol?