Once again I’m taking some content from electoral-vote.com. They delayed their Q&A a bit this week and had it on Monday instead.

One of the questions involved things that the Dutch have but we in the U.S. might enjoy.

M.S. in Highland Park, IL, asks: What Dutch cultural things do you think the U.S. would enjoy? For example, much of the world is jealous of Thanksgiving, free refills, and brunch.

(V) answers: I am not sure what counts as “cultural,” so here is a mix:

• A health insurance system, with reasonable premiums, that covers all costs with a $450 annual deductible
• A banking system where you can wire any amount to anyone in seconds with no fee
• A choice of Internet providers who can provide 1 Gbps up and 1 Gbps down in most cities for ca. $60/mo
• A defined-benefit pension system, often 70% of your salary
• Very good public transit in all cities; no need to have a car
• Dedicated bicycle paths all over
• Sweet treats: poffertjes, stroopwafels and appelflappen
• Kings Day (formerly Queens Day); see this video
• Sinterklaas
• It is safe to go almost everywhere, even at night
• No school shootings (because gun ownership is very tightly regulated)
• Nobody gives a hoot if you are gay or trans or different in some way; it is not an issue
• Excellent public libraries with books, magazines, DVDs, and places to sit or work
• Not much of a rat race; people don’t care how much other people make or what car (if any) they have
• Bragging or displaying wealth is considered very impolite
• General quality of life is good
• Punctuality: If you show up for a 3 p.m. meeting at 3:05 p.m. you are late and rude
• People are very honest and open-minded
• Flag is easy to draw

There were also questions about Christmas movies and favorite musicals and other interesting topics. I particularly enjoyed the answers to the favorite musicals question and considered publishing that those answers here, but I’ll let you explore them for yourself if you’re interested. Oh, and I disagree with some answers to the best and worst TV series finales, but then maybe I’ll write my own answer one day.

The link is here.