GRONINGEN (NL) – Low-income people in the Dutch city Groningen should be able to buy a flatscreen television, according to the alderman of social affairs Peter Verschuren. The politician of the left-wing party SP proposed to increase the compensation, low-income people receive as their tv set breaks down, from 170 euro to 450 euro, RTV Noord reports.


Unsurprisingly, members of the right-wing party VVD objected the higher compensation, which would allow the impecunious residents of the city to buy a 17 inch flatscreen television. However, according to the alderman, the increase to 450 euro would only lift the City's compensation up to national standards set by the Dutch National institute of Budget information.


Apparently a flatscreen-TV set is considered a primary requirement for survival in the media-choked culture of the Netherlands? This might seem preposterous, but thinking about it a little longer, one realizes that in next nature the requirements of survival & success may indeed be very different than in old nature.


It is unknown what the low-income groups are expected to watch on their flatscreens. Evening news? Soaps? Nature documentaries? Somehow we feel they would be better off if they got a computer in order to survive the Dutch media landscape. After all, it is kinda hard to write an application letter on a television.


See also: Reflections in the Cave, Third Life, Breaking News: CNN shows CNN, TV Helmet. Thanks Marianne.

Enjoying this story? Show it to us!

0 Likes

Share your thoughts and join the technology debate!

2 comments

  • You can't control people if you can't broadcast programming to them.. That's why it's called PROGRAMMING.. God forbid they should read a book :)

    Posted on

  • In the Netherlands people with a low income may be eligible for financial support on buying certain household appliances. How this works is that you are cut on your welfare check, every month a certain amount. Some of that is saved for healthcare, some on pension-plans, etcetera. In other words, the government partly dictates how you spend of the money you get. It's a way to garantuee that welfare checks are spent in a useful way. This money itself however would always go to people who are eligeble. If they don't apply or when an application is not granted, it stays in the welfare system. So, it's not as if the state buys TVs for people, really. They alot money that people would be entitled to anyway for TVs. You can conclude from this proposal that certain parts of parliament think that a TV is a very basic thing to have, and I agree with that.

    Posted on

More like this