It is of course an obvious fact that the FD mainly contains stories with a financial angle. Since 1796, this newspaper has reported on “everything that has any bearing on finance”. And the editions of the last few weeks have been a good example of this.
On the one hand, an interesting story in which a new trend was introduced: boredom banking; Every second, sixty Dutch people check their balance on their ING app. The majority of “bored bankers” are people who have incorporated the banking app into their daily app routine. On the other hand, an intriguing column by economist and publicist Erica Verdegaal about financial shame following a study by the Dutch behavioral scientist Arnoud Plantinga.
According to Plantinga, financial shame – shame due to poverty – is not something typically Dutch but something of all time. It occurs in both rich and poor countries. It is precisely shame that can lead to choices that perpetuate poverty. More than one in seven Dutch people suffer from it, although it mainly occurs on lower incomes. It causes stress, worry and the feeling of losing control.
Financial shame still seems to be an underexposed issue at the moment. We define an issue as a subject that is subject to discussion and in which some Dutch people feel personally and emotionally involved and would like to see resolved.
Although financial shame as an issue may not yet be widely supported, it will undoubtedly grow in the short term. After all, we would rather not see an increasing group of citizens – colleagues, family, friends or acquaintances – ending up below the subsistence minimum. It is therefore better to put the issue clearly on the map now, before it is too late.
A first step can be the Alliance Against Child Poverty were recently organized by Princess Laurentien and the Missing Chapter Foundation together with Everything is Health and the Dutch Center for Youth Health Founded. This initiative is endorsed by more than eighty organizations and companies who jointly promise that by 2030 no child will grow up in poverty. All these organizations indicated how they will contribute to this objective. It is important that these organizations actually do something and that their involvement is not limited to charity.
We know that with combined efforts, targeted policy and political support, you can put an issue on the map and hopefully ultimately solve it. We can only appreciate it in this case ten year old girl who dared to take a personal step and courageously let go of her financial shame by telling her story in a broadcast of the Jeugdjournaal last week. Kudos for this.