Eelarve defitsiit kui vastutustundetus tulevaste põlvkondade ees

Hiljuti avastasin enda jaoks The Brussels Journal'i, mille arhiividest leidsin ka Paul Belieni artikli On Abortion, the Welfare State, Keynes and Hayek. Kuigi ma ei ole kõikide mehe seisukohtadega nõus on tema argumendid arvestatavad ja mõned täheldused piisavalt terased, et väärivad tsiteerimist:

Today we are witnessing a serious moral crisis because the future has been sacrificed on the altar of the welfare state. The moral decay of nations can be read in their debt ratios. Most parents would be ashamed to leave their children an inheritance of debts. But this is exactly what governments in West Europe and North America have been doing over the past three decades. The average government debt of the seven biggest industrial nations in the world has risen to 75% of annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the sum of what a nation produces in one year. As debt must be reimbursed sooner or later, public debt indicates that the cost of present government expenditure is being transferred to the future. Taxpayers of the next generation will have to foot the bill of the present generation’s welfare benefits.

This is not merely a moral, but also a political problem. The western welfare states can hardly be called democracies any longer. Indeed, government debt is a violation of the fundamental democratic principle “no taxation without representation.” A future generation that has had no say in political decisions previously taken is forced to pay the bill for these decisions – a situation that calls for a new Boston Tea Party!

Eesti üheks suurimaks majanduslikuks eeliseks ja uhkuse allikaks on olnud defitsiidist hoiduv eelarve. Kahjuks viitavad aga kõik märgid (jutud, kuulujutud, plaanid) sellele, et 2006. aasta eelarve on tänu Keskerakondlasest rahandusministrile 2-4 miljardit krooni miinuse poolel.

Kui see jama läbi läheb ja Reformierakond samal ajal valitsuses istub on minu pettumus suur.

Ei hakka esialgu veel Reformi sellise käitumise põhjuste üle spekuleerima (midagi pole VEEL juhtunud), kuid sellise tee valimine ei lõppe nende jaoks hästi, sest võib avada Res Publica vastutustundlikumale tiivale (eesotsas Veskimäega) "tee valijate südametesse" ja õiguse Reformi korralikult meedias tümitada.