tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690923004277466712.post4993049791185594597..comments2010-02-10T23:13:15.057+01:00Comments on Baltic Economy Watch: Payment By "Voucher" In Latvia?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690923004277466712.post-61838229607066816462009-05-27T10:41:54.101+02:002009-05-27T10:41:54.101+02:00The view from Riga: the government has adopted a d...The view from Riga: the government has adopted a do-nothing policy re: budget until the local elections on June 6. Meanwhile, the lat grows shakier and shakier. After the elections, the governmenet will wake up to find that they have even less room to maneuever, since a gullible electorate will have voted for oligarchs who have promised everyone a free lunch in exchange for the destruction of the last shreds of the rule of law. Sorry to be so gloomy, but it is incredibly frustrating to watch the corrupt, stupid and greedy prevail. Thank you for observing and writing. I only wish more people in power in LV read your blog--it is a total contrast to the platitudes in the local press. When the the hour of reckoning comes, those living in the Latvian language media space will be shocked, since no one has translated the bad news for them.Ingridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690923004277466712.post-2191757485738919892009-05-27T06:14:43.656+02:002009-05-27T06:14:43.656+02:00Just fresh: Estonian new coalition has agreed, tha...Just fresh: Estonian new coalition has agreed, that they will start to increase the taxes. <br /><br />Options: income tax to 25%; VAT to 24%. http://www.postimees.ee/?id=124231<br /><br />They seem not to learn from Latvia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690923004277466712.post-64420357502650175502009-05-26T15:30:20.162+02:002009-05-26T15:30:20.162+02:00This suicidal policy of the Latvian government rem...This suicidal policy of the Latvian government reminds me quite strongly of the Czech politics of 1990/1991. At that time, shortly after the end of communism, most democratic Czech politicians (and the vast majority of the Czech public) feared at least some of the following: privatisation, foreign takeover of Czech companies, devaluation, floating exchange rate, sale of Czech real estate to foreign investors, etc. It is now obvious that in 1991, the communist Czech economy could not be transformed without devaluation, privatisation, support of FDI and especially sale of existing companies and real estate to Western investors. However, the resistance was enormous. According to the then Finance Minister, now President Vaclav Klaus (oh yes, the Vaclav Klaus), the reforms were most ardently supported by the outgoing communist Prime Minister Dr Calfa. According to Klaus, Calfa realised that he had no political future in the new system anyway, so he was able to support any policies he saw as reasonable. <br /><br />So it would seem that the current Latvian government will hang on for grim death, just because those people believe they still have political future and that this future hangs on their ability to defend the peg. Maybe if their political careers were over anyway, they would let the lat float. Yet it seems that they want to stay put, so they will start printing vouchers. And I am very much afraid that it may well end with food stamps and soup kitchens.Hynek Filipnoreply@blogger.com