Latvian Political Monitor

@vlad_sok @andrislov They are Bolsheviks. Let's not confuse. They want to come and kill all the different ones the very next day. Changing the rules immediately and now is from Lenin's writings. Good choice, matches the contingent. I recommend voting!

No. That is not the level of the civil service, by and large it's the coalition, but actually the Saeima. Also, you can't really take money away from any ministry, because funding is allocated according to the budget law. Only small amounts can be redistributed here and there, and even then with the ministry's consent (which is what happens).

I congratulate @LRApvieniba on the congress! You @Apvienotais_ brought something truly essential - people who know how state decisions look not only in Riga, in ministries, but also in regions, in people's everyday lives. People who know - talking is not enough, one must take responsibility and achieve results https://t.co/DtIMPbUGg4

Of course, I have always urged to do so. It won't save billions, but tens of millions. Maybe 100, but it must be done anyway. The problem is clearly visible on social media, the voice of the people. Whenever something happens, calls arise to regulate, control, punish. Asked and done. Additional controls and accordingly funding. None of this has come about without a voter mandate.

@Jaunumi_ 6.1 billion. You don't take into account the services provided by municipalities, for example. They are not in the special budget, they come from PIT, mostly go to the social sphere.

@SancessRiks They know it well, because they have long been at the sharing of the cash box. They just didn't have the courage to say it, let alone act. The problem is well known, but solutions are considered political suicide.

That's true, yes. From my taxes I have received practically only education services in my life. For myself and children. Not free, but still significant. I haven't seen free healthcare (but ears in the mirror though). In my time there was a plus - I also got very good education, now they only print diplomas🤡

That's how all democracies work, it's a peculiarity, a side effect of an otherwise excellent system. Everyone votes in elections only for their own pocket, and those who promise the most win. But on average it does nothing bad. First they divide up everything existing, then they borrow until they stop giving credit, then everything collapses, goes bust, the Great Mess sets in, and then it starts anew. Happy from illusions to bankruptcy and back to illusions. Smaller crises are where the state is relatively small compared to the private economy. In EU countries, the state's share is roughly half of the economy, so crises cannot be 'small'.

@Astridamains Yes, of course. Millions remain in ineffective intermediate layers. But billions are distributed among hundreds of thousands of recipients.

@andrislov We will first slash everything first. That's how politics, democracy works. And it doesn't matter, in the whole EU or USA. Opposing ideas have no voter. People like me are not elected at all or in no way a majority. Politicians like Milei are elected when it's the absolute end and only then.

Mostly some pay taxes, others receive. It's not just here. I've been paying taxes in the private sector for 39+ years. Now I've only been working in the public sector for a few months as an exception. But I've been paying for health services all these years; my money goes to pensioner quotas. It's ok.

Coffee cup mathematics. Let's take, for example, a caffe latte for 5 euros. If every person in Latvia received on average a state-paid service less than one lat per month, how much would be saved? 100 million per year. Not everyone drinks such an expensive latte, not everyone needs to have it taken away, I'm not suggesting that, the number is average, for illustration. But 20 unsponsored latte cups per month (one every working day) solves the budget deficit to zero. Remember Argentina's Milei? Chainsaw? He achieved budget balance by reducing public spending by 800 dollars per inhabitant per year. That's 14 caffe lattes per month. He cut ministries in posters, but saved billions in public sector spending. When we have squandered everything, we will do the same, and those undrunk lattes will not cause anything tragic. 20 cups per month.

Regarding budget problems, there are two entrenched myths. First, that budget expenditures can be cut linearly. That is a popular slogan. The second myth is that the problem can be solved by cutting only 'the bad ones', others. Almost always officials are invoked. Both myths are financial illiteracy. The state apparatus can always be made more efficient, anywhere and anytime. 10% or more? Public administration is nowhere, in no country, as efficient as a private company, where profit motive or survival is a natural regulator. In public administration, by definition, such a regulator does not exist, so efficiency gains can only happen through coercion, through reform and dictate. With force, coercion. But that cannot solve the budget deficit. That way you can save some tens of millions, leaving 2000 million of deficit. Large sums go to the public sector (300+ thousand employees - police, doctors, teachers, soldiers). And together they are billions. Then the social sphere is funded with 6 billion, the majority of society. Those sums are not large individually, but there are many recipients - that's where the billions come from. If we really want to solve the problem at its root, we need to improve efficiency across all spheres as a whole, look at where it is truly needed, where there are inefficiencies. But that is guaranteed to affect some of us personally, even by a few euros. And that will never be popular, that is the most essential problem, the root of the political problem. Almost no country in the world can solve this.

I have proposals in mind. What millions or 10 can be saved. By eliminating ministries, you transfer functions to another, the savings are only a small part of the administration staff. If you save at all. An example is the territorial reform, now there are fewer municipalities, fewer deputies and their salaries. But the total number of employees in municipal administration has grown. It can happen the same with ministries if you optimize inefficiently.

I agree that 'attempts to patch the system with linear budget cuts and loud slogans alone will fail.' In my opinion, the next coalition must have one specific iron law that stands above everything else. Automatically, by default, do not consider any proposals that require more money next year compared to this year. The opposite is to deny the 'zero budget' principle as such. Instead, it's 'just pile on more,' which has always been the case so far. If this one principle is followed, new initiatives will have to be funded from internal resources, streamline processes, eliminate the unnecessary. Only that way.

Today a valuable conversation with entrepreneurs working at @salduslv about business development in Latvia's regions, tax policy, current government work issues, and other important questions for the region and the country as a whole. https://t.co/GqqN1c9yQf

I am convinced that the people working and living in local governments know best about work and life there. It is valuable to meet entrepreneurs who create added value and attract investments to the regions. This time I am pleased to visit companies operating in @salduslv https://t.co/i9nfb8LzpC

The municipal financing equalization model, the possibility for municipalities to more effectively finance their development projects, and many other issues were discussed today with the leadership of the @salduslv council – @MarisZusts and his colleagues. Thanks for the meeting and productive conversation! https://t.co/gNfbeFf5JI

I have discussed the issue of grain transportation with Ukraine's Prime Minister Serhij Koreckis and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine's services have information about grain illegally taken out of Ukraine by Russia, which is planned to be exported through the Baltics in large volumes in the near future. We must immediately use this to strengthen Latvia's transit control system. We have agreed that Ukrainian food processing and safety experts will come to Latvia, and Ukrainian special services will also be involved. Ukraine, in cooperation with the United Kingdom, has created a database and solution for verifying grain origin. No one knows their grain's origin, producers, documents and possible illegal export routes better than Ukraine's institutions. We do not need to reinvent what Ukraine already knows and does best. At the same time, the interests of Latvian farmers must be strongly defended. This year's harvest must finally get a respite after three very hard years. Although there are currently no concerns about Latvia's port capacity, Latvian farmers' products must have priority access to our railways and ports. Therefore I have instructed the port administrations and state company "Latvijas dzelzceļš" to ensure that agricultural products of Latvian origin, including grain, receive logistics priority. https://t.co/xYSIsrcqlS