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In The New York Times Magazine of April 30, Russell Shorto, an American living in the Netherlands, opened up a can of worms by praising the Dutch welfare state.

NRC columnist Heleen Mees, a Dutchwoman living in New York, disagrees with Shorto. Mees recently published a book, Between Greed And Desire: The World Between Wall Street And Main Street, in which she argues that welfare states like the Netherlands would do well to look at opportunity-based societies like New York for inspiration.

What do you think? Are you an American living in the Netherlands, or a Dutch person living in New York? Do you think the Dutch welfare state is the humane solution, and the American system is brutal? Or is it the welfare state that’s out of control, overtaxing people and stifling their potential for growth?