The new contract with Romania and seven principles to be created before any government program

“The reason would have been won, but only with 3-4 percent. Until functions, we need to aggravate some fundamental things. A common government needs some common principles,” writes teacher and political science Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, in an opinion that Hotnews publishes today.

We won, and Trump called us again! We are fine. But if we do not lose peace after we won the war, I think it would be time for all responsible ones who will enter the government to clearly state the fundamental truths from its base. Without a contract with the population on the basis of which the future government will be held and judged, without an act of alignment and clarification when we still have all the attention of all, both the perception and the act of governing may be related to the illusions of people and not to reality.

Here, to a minimum of what needs to be created before any government program.

One, we need a balanced budget

Romania borrows to pay pensions and salaries monthly, because year after year the state spends more by one third than it wins. We are not indebted that we have borrowed for any big project, our deficit is related to the basic expenses, we cannot sell islands like the Greeks, to put the money in the basket.

Is everyone agree that we need to change our budget habits? It is normal for the states to borrow from time to time -for example for defense, as Germany does now -but a normal state has to cover constant expenses such as pensions, salaries, public services and we lack a third, it is huge.

And the opposition, and the government must agree that the budget must be balanced, even if we do not make a constitutional amendment that you cannot spend what they not (the New Zealand principle I wrote).

Two, we need to pay more to the budget and rationalize the expenses

As I said before, and in the meantime the Fiscal Council, the NBR and the IMF, have also said, we do not have enough receipts and the expenses are among the smallest in Europe. Even if we cut from them everything that needs to be cut is not enough, we need more money. For example, Nicușor Dan told Trump that we agree to increase the defense expenses up to 3.5 percent.

Only estimated, the IMF says that if we apply two taxation steps leaving those with low incomes to ten percent and increasing the other tax to 20%, we gather 1% of GDP. We have a deficit of 9% of GDP (the deficit is also calculated in relation to the budget, and in relation to the annual GDP, as it produces the economy). So even if this unpopular reform is adopted, with two income steps, that 1% will be immediately eaten by defense and we will remain with pensions and salaries on the loan.

The expenses we want to cut are limited, the ones we propose to be newly introduced are huge. Of course, some can be productive, generate economic growth. Also as we wrote ten times in ten years we need a single investment plan for seven years, a single European money plan and our money, to know from now on where we make a school toilet in five years or a road and where we do not.

Three, we need popular support to increase the defense spending

Someone has to explain that the risk is that otherwise Americans threaten to leave and do not defend us, and citizens must be convinced. How much should be spent in addition? Is it really necessary annually, or can we solve some investments and better patriotic education (as in Lithuania or Poland)? Everyone understands why without going to Ukraine we have to be more prepared here (we have no anti -aircraft shelters throughout the country, for example, and drones pass to us). It's a good time to discuss, not just Trump! Do we know the costs? The plans in these shelters, which Arafat spoke when the war in Ukraine began, exist?

Four, we need to give up a tax based on exceptions

Only one third of Romanians subscribe to the health system, for example, it is not surprising that it does not arrive for everyone, everyone has to pay something, without exceptions in construction, IT, anything. The principle of universality prevails. Romania has already begun to withdraw the exceptions, but it is difficult to withdraw rights once given. Contract must be signed with unions, employers, we need a referendum, seriously, on such themes. The world must understand and establish them once and for all.

Five, universality does not mean equality

We have uneven resources and therefore our contributions must be different and balanced. Pensions, scholarships can contribute to very little health, but you cannot put all the tax weight only on employees. The big cities are rich, and the real estate owners pay nothing. The dividends are small that they have been reduced with the tax rate that was once unique, today it is no longer.

The economy does not allow it to charge the consumption (VAT), which always kept us in motion), so the Romanians must be informed that they will have to accept higher taxes on property and income, and who has more, if we want to have no other electoral competitions that will be up to Romania without chance. As much as we must be redistributed so that we do not have so many areas and people left behind, we are negotiated.

Six, we need more transparency.

The citizens with whom we want to sign the contract do not know how much we spend for Ukraine, how much it is from us and how much is reimbursed by Brussels and that was so many false news on this topic. How many employees actually have our secret services, how much their expenses on wages, companies (and these months see editorials in the international press bought by PR companies in Romania, Simion is not the only one who gave public money, which would be to see or close the tap, that we have no money) etc.

How we got to have a tender of two With a single bidder? Transparency must be improved, you cannot ask for new money from people without showing exactly where and who the old ones go to. If you want to see the evolution of Romania in the quality of the government I invite you to study my indicators On the pages of the European Commission, here.

But precisely because I am a teacher of good governance I explain today that not only quality reform can help us, but to convince the world to pay more to the budget is indispensable. Of course, in addition to transparency we need education, at least the consensus that we need it, the budgetary expenses are harder to read than TIK-Tok.

Seven, let's clarify it with peace or war

The imposition of a single point of view in relation to the Ukrainian war – which continues today, enough to open the state radio or the official television – has led a lot in Georgescu's camp, that in such a warlike language the world feared. As true as the Russians were made to war these choices, as true is that we still challenged them, all these years we cleaned the rifle and spoke nonsense. The world wants to hear from us that we are part of the solution, not the problem and we have a new president, let's leave the past at the old president.

It is not to adopt Trump's position in full, but to rationalize ourselves. Trump is right that the war could be avoided, and that it was a consequence of the Brezinski doctrine. Russia's bad actions cannot be detached from a more complex causal chain. Slowly the choir with Ukraine in NATO, and other aberrations I write for ten years, do not bring Nicușor a heavy baggage of the past that is not his. There is a difficult negotiation, and we do not have the scenarios, and the chances that the same patriots will be completely recycled this presidency are one hundred percent, good luck if we escape at least. There is nothing, if he learns from the mistakes and limits so far and we take it from scratch. With more professionalism, that as I said on state and party televisions I beat Russia that his flakes went. It remains to defend ourselves effectively and in reality, without the hey-break from these choices.

I have written enough presidential programs and contracts in life, so I do not write it, I only draw your attention to be done urgently, discussed and signed … first between parties and then with everyone. People need to understand what they have to choose.

Do we want to be like Greece, a country that has climbed the peaks just to go bankrupt that everyone has taken more than it has been? Or do we want to be like Ireland, who put all the money in education, innovation and technologies, and became the tiger of Europe in 20 years? This is our choice, which must be assumed by a large majority.

This article initially appeared on clean Romania.