Wednesday, 30th September 2009
The Cure
It's that time of the year and speculation is rife on what will be in this year's Budget. Everyone's expecting an unpleasant one this time round. After all the next election is, politically speaking, light years away. So how will the finance minister cure our financial malaise?
2008's actual results were miles off Tonio Fenech's Budget for the year. The official explanation was that of 'safeguarding jobs'. Yet the variance was so great. And coupled with the fact that Lehman Brothers' downfall triggered the recession only in the last quarter of the year, many have doubted the statement's veracity. Others have pointed their fingers at the fact that 2008 was an election year and the government had to spend to create a sense of prosperity and optimism in the economy after some tough years. In any case it seems that the time has now come to tighten our belts.
It has been the norm for the government's PR machine, through strategically chosen leaks on friendly media, to reveal the contents of the Budget speech months in advance. This has a two-fold purpose.
First and foremost to create a negative sense of expectation for unpopular measures which come Budget day would not be as bad as expected, thus reducing the aftershock. The second is to test the water and get a feel of how the public is reacting and make any adjustments as need be. The measures which will be introduced this year are still somewhat shrouded in mystery. All we have heard is that there will be no income tax decrease and the government will be tough on single mothers who are major beneficiaries of social services. There could be a number of reasons why the Nationalist administration has kept mum.
One reason could be that the Budget proposals will be so unpopular that they are at a loss on how to proceed with damage limitation. Would this be the case, postponing hard decisions will hardly make them rosier. But another more plausible reason could be that the Finance minister is finding it difficult to come to terms with the enormity of the financial fiasco Malta is in and is at a loss on how to restore some fiscal stability before the government's unpopularity hits apocalyptic proportions.
The global recession has also taken its toll on the Maltese economy. Demand for our exports have dropped and many firms have felt the pinch. Some workers were put on a 4 day work week as their employers desperately tried to reduce labour costs. In such a scenario an income tax reduction would have been welcome, as it would have restored workers' real purchasing power. Alas, the government seems to have once again failed to see the big picture and is concentrating on short term saving rather than long term prosperity.
Chronic inflation is another big headache for the country. While most countries in the Euro zone have seen a constant fall in inflation during the last few months due to a fall in demand of most consumer goods, Malta has had a mostly constant rate of inflation. If this is not tackled by our government, our standard of living will be badly affected. It goes without saying that the low income earners will be badly hit. The saga of the COLA increase is still ongoing and while the prime minister has assured us that the COLA increase will be given, most employers claim that they will be ruined if they have to fork out the increase alone.
I was unimpressed to say the least when I heard that Tonio Fenech had singled out single mothers as being the prime villains in that plethora of waste and bureaucracy that is the Maltese social service system. One thing is for sure, the interest of the children should be our priority regardless of who their parents are and what they have done in the past. Children of unmarried parents should have the same quality of life as children from traditional family structures and I hope this will be kept in mind during the Budget.
The financial situation will not get any better if the government flexes its muscles against those who are in dire straits. What is needed is a well thought stimulus package that encourages spending and economic growth. We should let the Maltese consumer breath again by not increasing taxes. And we must ensure that the electricity and water bills do not become a death sentence for SME's and largefirms alike. The only way to cure our economy is to keep all of this in mind.
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Comments
Your approach to people making mistakes is too radical. You fail to appreciate those genuine cases of girls getting pregnant due to ignorance and other reasons do exist. I also accept that in some remote instances the girl may be under extreme pressure not to divulge the identity of the father, the father might have been an unknown visitor or for some other reason she may not be in a position to give the name. The child’s interests come first and foremost and because we live in a civil society our social services take on that responsibility when the biological father remains incognito.
This debate is not about whether or not the state should care for the innocent offspring, that is a foregone conclution; the debate is about the abuse of the system. Your radical suggestion tantamount to sacrificing the victim to eradicate the villain and that isn’t acceptable in a civilised society like ours, at least not by decent people.
A biological father, whether married or single, has a legal obligation to sustain his offspring until the age of 18 unless the child can maintain him\herself before that age. Because we live in a welfare society the state assists the single mother financially even when she abuses the system and pleads ‘father unknown’. I maintain that if and when the father becomes known all the social assistance which has been fraudulently received by the mother should be refunded back to the social services department. Naturally you are free to disagree.
You are absolutely right except that your proposal of 'recharg(ing) the father when he becomes known' is a tad too late and more difficult to enforce.
My solution is, upon registration of birth showing the father as 'unknown', disqualify the mother from State assistance. Instant memory recall will in most cases take place, thus making the then 'known father' responsible for the upkeep of the child. Only in cases where the fathers are either unemployed or genuinely 'not known or cannot be found' will the mother receive some assistance. DNA samples should automatically be taken upon a mother declaring the father as 'unknown'.
Most of the poor single mothers who declare ‘father unknown’ actually register the name of the father when the child comes of the age that disqualifies the mother from further social assistance. The father then accepts paternity and the offspring status automatically becomes regularised. They have the cake and eat it and everybody lives happily ever after, except of course the tax payer.
I see a simple solution to curb that abuse, recharge the father when he becomes known as they do in other European countries.
However, if you dig deep you comprehend much better my comment. Capish mate?
So long as it is strictly 'Mother and baby' and not 'Mother and child' I agree 100% with you.
I disagree 100% with your conclusion, re the quantification, of the few vs many going through a hard time.
It is very difficult to make statistical quantifications in these situations however there are many solutions for all ; namely:
-The totally innocent who now have to pay more in taxes , social security and even give up a part of their retirement for (amongst other things/situations) for single mothers.
-and the single mothers
When the children are old enough to go to school, what are they replying to questions asked by their schoolmates such as, 'Who is your father'?
Would these innocent children not be given the third degree by their classmates? What fault is it of theirs? How do they explain the lack of a daddy?
The single mothers should be investigated, interviewed and the ones whose memory still fails them should be immediately cut off State aid.
The ONLY CURE to all this EVILS is One and ONLY ONE: GonziPN should call it a day and pack all and let us have a new healthier future. The earlier GonziPN packs up the PILL will cost less and less.
GonziPN please note!
Our politicians travel, wine and dine first class dispite their enormous wealth, at the tax payers' expense, so why should either group ride for free? Neither should.
We all know several mothers and politicians who've never worked a day. Many liveout their whole lives off of the backs of welfare and former partners... It's an endless cycle. It’s unfair, and unproductive.
That being said, raising a child is challenging.
Fact is, a significant number of parents, both genders, need some assistance.,
I propose that a nation wide, totally free state sponsored curriculum based child care be implemented immediately for parents in need of this service.
A (grocery only)card of x value be implemented to all citizens deemed to be in need.
All food, educational, and children's goods are to be tax free.
Fact, Dads are important as mothers in the lives of their children. Equal parenting should mean equal parenting. This, combined with free child care, would free up time for solo parents to work and become far more socially productive and autonomous.
A single mother should only be given social assistance till the child reaches schooling age after which she should prevail herself to work as all responsible people do.
The following has happened due to irresponsible/indifferent people:
1-The NI rate has increased from 1/12 to 1/10 of a persons gross wage. (20% increase)
2-The Retirement age has increased by 6.5% (61 to 65)
3-Minimum lifetime contributions have increased from 30 to 40 years - an increase of 33.33%
Control and serious management is most certainly necessary at this point in time.
However and as ever, some comments hereunder are far from intelligent and are used to give us all the wrong directions. I know that intelligence is never automatic and is never refused by any sane person.
Yes, Nikita the CURE is there and the earlier it is applied the better for US ALL!
GonziPN please note!
Not as much as you lost me with your comment: Tardare si, scappare no!, although you may have been referring to Nikki's, hope that a Labour government is the country's only solution.
I can read between the lines, surely you can too.
We hopefully read the same article titled 'The Cure'.
Talli thallas tiekol, Sur Buttigieg! - In reference to taxes - reduce taxes = reduce services.
L-irhis ghali = talk is cheap.
Ma nraqqhux il-pannu bil-qar'ahmar = we should do what it takes to get out of recession - no band aid solutions.
I hope, that helps.
You lost me, what exactly are you on about? Getting old, Il-Harifa t-tajba, Marisa, talli tiekol thallas. Do you by any chance mix your orange juice with champagne at breakfast?
Talli thallas tiekol, Sur Buttigieg!
L-irhis ghali!
Ma nraqqhux il-pannu bil-qar'ahmar!
Iz-zmien ghaddej, qed nixjiehu t-tnejn u ahjar ingawdu milli nistghu milli ngemgmu ghax id-dgemgim gid ma jaghmilx!
Il-Marisa t-tajba...err I mean, il-Harifa t-tajba!