Covid-19 billions are given to current and future millionaires
The 3.9 billion euros to be written off at the expense of Covid-19 are being distributed among the current and future millionaires, instead of 2100 euros on average for each of the 1.85 million people remaining in Latvia.
The 3.9 billion euros is in line with the latest estimates from the Ministry of Finance, which officials put this way: “With the government providing additional budget funds for sectors and benefits, tax extensions, loans and guarantees, by restructuring EU funds, actual execution in 2020 and target for this year as of 20.01.2021 amounts to 3.9 billion euros.” It is further explained that 1.9 billion euros have already been distributed last year, but this year the agenda is to give out about two billion euros.
According to the official version, the lion's share of these billions are benefits for the people affected by Covid: "Downtime support for company employees, patent payers, the self-employed, support for wage subsidies for part-time employees, support related to health care, support for the media and public information sector, as well as a number of other sectors and benefits for employees." The public authorities in all seriousness report that they spent 761.3 million euros on this part last year and have prepared 903 million euros for this year. Yes, they are benefits for workers directly affected by the crisis and their families, separate from support for entrepreneurs so that companies can continue to work and employees in companies who are not directly banned from working do not feel the crisis at all.
However, a closer look at the reports on Covid-19 spending shows that real people will receive at best 1/10 of the money written off at their expense. For example, the State Revenue Service has just reported that between December 1, 2020, and February 4, 2021, it paid a total of 30,329,712 euros in downtime benefits and salary subsidies to recipients, corresponding to around 15 million euros per month. At this rate, it is possible to spend 12x15 = 180 million euros throughout the year. The official version of the benefits of vaccination, for the time being, promises that the state of emergency should end in the middle of the year. In that case, the SRS will really be able to pay only 90 million euros.
It should be emphasized immediately that 900 million euros are not only millions distributed by the SRS. The second notable money distribution channel system is maintained by the Ministry of Welfare. The reports provided by this ministry warn even more clearly how little people have received and will continue to receive.
The first position in the Ministry of Welfare's report "Social Support" is entitled "Crisis Benefit (while a nationwide state of emergency is declared due to the spread of Covid-19 and one calendar month after the end of the emergency...)" with an even more detailed explanation, directly to whom and when the money will come from this item of expenditure. As a result, the group of people is small and has an expense item of 375 thousand euros, but the main thing is that between 1 January and 7 February, 11,362 euros were paid to this group, i.e. less than 10 thousand per month. Continuing at this pace, even throughout the whole 2021, it will be possible to allocate neither 375 thousand euros to a specific group of people, nor 900 million euros in total to all those who are supposed to have been provided with money.
There are many positions in the Ministry of Welfare report, and each position competes with other positions for the smallest share of money issued. 217,080 euros have been reserved for this year under the heading “New specialist benefit” and 2,125 euros have been paid. This is less than what has been paid at the same time to officials for devising such a position, accepting claims for benefits, research and deciding on the benefits to be granted.
If the case of the young specialists does not seem convincing due to the relatively small turnover, which opens the door to various coincidences, then
we have to look further to the next item “Sickness benefit” with 67,531,239 euros. It is explained that the validity period of the money reservation is June 30 of this year, but in the first half of February there were 148,903 euros paid or 67,531,239/148,903=453, 1/453rd of the whole,
certified by this copy of a document from the Ministry of Welfare. Did the planners really think that the incidence of Covid-19 in Latvia will increase not several, but several tens of times? It is more likely that a fantastically large sum of money for the noble purpose of benefiting those affected by the disease was initially recorded with the calculation that it would later have a better use, which would be better not to disclose to the public.
Promising benefits and then spending the money on something else is a trademark of the Ministry of Welfare. On 6 May last year, Neatkarīgā already warned that “the Ministry of Welfare has requested and received from the government 3.3 million euros for the payment of downtime assistance benefits, even though the calculation of the amount of benefits submitted to the government contradicts the procedure for payment of benefits published by the same ministry, according to which the total amount of benefits will be two or three times lower.” What was already known at that time, is now also confirmed in the report of the Ministry of Welfare that yes - out the 3,353,748 euros granted for downtime assistance benefits, only 1,668,896 euros were paid to people. Last spring, the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of Finance promised Neatkarīgā that the difference between the money reserved and disbursed would not go as at other times, when the expenditure estimates inflated by the Ministry of Welfare were transformed into bonuses for officials of the same ministry. Perhaps the money was actually spent on financing other public institutions and public procurement, but the non-payment of money set aside for benefits to people certainly did not create a surplus in the 2020 state budget.
Continuation of the 2020 planning errors to an even greater extent in 2021 confirms that the discrepancy between the amounts set aside and spent for benefits is not just a mistake of the Ministry of Welfare and not a mistake at all for the whole government and coalition ruled by Krišjānis Kariņš. This discrepancy is an opportunity to distribute billions of euros to those who are far from unemployed hairdressers and their children under the guise of promising benefits.