„Ľudia žiadajú“ sa nerovná „ľudia zaplatia zo svojho“

„Obyvatelia si kúpalisko žiadajú, bolo tu aj v minulosti,“ obhajuje viceprimátor Šale zámer mesta postaviť nové kúpalisko. Pre tento účel chce vymeniť pozemky s podnikom Duslo a zvyšok doplatiť vo forme financovania športových aktivít. Výstavbu kúpaliska a revitalizovanie väčšieho športového areálu chce samospráva financovať cez naše peniaze uzurpované Európskou úniou (čítaj štrukturálne fondy) alebo súkromného spoluinvestora. „Náš mestský pozemok je asi pätina pozemku Dusla Šaľa, ušetrené financie investujeme do športu. Bolo by to asi desať miliónov,“ povedal viceprimátor.

O akých ušetrených peniazoch sa hovorí, keď mesto musí doplatiť desať miliónov?! Argument o žiadanosti nejakého statku (najlepšie čo najväčšieho, aby sa uspokojili viaceré záujmy) používajú politici veľmi radi. Dnes ľudia vraj žiadajú kúpalisko, zajtra budú klzisko, potom novú športovú halu, neskôr druhú športovú halu, atď a stále dookola.

Ak si to ľudia naozaj žiadajú (teda sú ochotní zaplatiť za návštevu kúpaliska), prečo to už dávno nevyužil nejaký podnikateľ? Odpoveď sa môže skrývať v neochote samosprávy poskytnúť vhodný priestor alebo v nízkom záujme ľudí. Krytá plaváreň v meste už existuje a pred pár rokmi súkromný podnikateľ premenil opustenú a znečistenú pláž Váhu na areál vodných športov. Mimochodom, vstupné sa tam neplati(lo) a zisk tvoria len poskytované služby.

Little Truths

„These are the little truths of the everyday; that rocks fall, smoke rises, fire is hot and the sun and the moon are both round. If we remain steadfastly and rigorously committed to these “little truths,” we can in time derive the great truths of physics, which provide us such awesome knowledge and power. In between the little truths and the great truths, however, are the illusions that blind us – both in physics and in ethics.“

- Stefan Molyneux: „Universally Preferable Behaviour: A Rational Proof of Secular Ethics“

Deň nekonzumovania

Nastávajú najväčšie sviatky v roku. Teda hlavne pre obchodníkov, ktorí plnia svoje sklady na prasknutie v očakávaní opäť rekordných tržieb. Zatiaľ čo na Slovensku ukážu spotrebitelia svoj stále väčší apetít míňať, úplne iné starosti majú ľudia za veľkou mlákou. Potvrdil to aj nedávny Deň vďakyvzdania, tradične jeden z najrušnejších nakupovacích dní v USA.
Pôvodné očakávania obchodníkov sa totiž nenaplnili a na skladoch im ostalo kopec nepredaného tovaru. Ľudia totiž horko-ťažko splácajú hypotéky (tí šťastnejší), okrem toho majú veľké dlhy na kreditkách a iných úveroch. Ďakovať za to môžu najmä „jednookému jastrabovi“ Greenspanovi a „pilotovi vrtuľníka Bernankemu“.

Ale viete o tom, že okrem neoficiálneho Dňa nakupovania existuje aj opak, teda Deň nenakupovania? Prvý piatok po Vďakyvzdaní ho organizuje antikapitalistická skupinka Adbusters, hlásiaca sa k heslu „konzumácia je zlá vec“. Z nej si vystrelili členovia Bureaucrash, ktorí natočili video „Consume Nothing Day“ parodujúce tento sviatok socialistov. A doviedli ho do absurdného, no logického konca.

True Face Of State

Recently we have reminded 18 years since the communism had been officially abandoned. Although this time period seems long enough to get rid of etatist aparatchiks, recent incident confirms also that not only communist but every state power uses force against his enemies. The difference is in its intensity.

Khazachstan´s president and dictator Nazarbajev came to visit our president Gašparovič to talk (in comradely manner) about providing some new government contracts for favourite companies on both sides. At the same time Khazach journalist Balli Marzec living in exile Poland came to Bratislava to protest against Nazarbajev. She managed to get all necesarry bureaucratic permissions to held demonstration in front of the Presidential Palace. While the state anthem played, she was screaming against. This action alarmed three slovak policemen who have taken up her forcibly (she said after instruction from Nazarbajev´s security guard), packed into police-car and keep her as a prisoner (or maybe worse, as she was hurted and without eat and drink) in police station for 13 hours. „The journalist disturbed the anthem,“ said the head of police encroachment.

Well, maybe they should arrest all sport fans of a rival team whistling during international football or hockey game. By the way, similar event happened during U.S. president Bush´s speech in a crowded city centre of Bratislava a few years ago. Two Czechs inflamed Old Glory flag and police expeled them from the country immediately. So every state government uses force against its „enemies“ on principle. Sometimes it´s called communist, next time democratic or authoritative.

The police is always an oppressive arm of government, it is only a servant of state master. Do you think abolishing it would bring more safety? I do.

Čo nedopovedal Týždeň o Le Corbusierovi

Nepatrím k pravidelným čitateľom Týždňa, no v čísle č. 44 ma zaujal článok o architektovi Le Corbusierovi. Ten sa často označuje za velikána 20. storočia v tomto odbore, hoci jeho prínos by som si dovolil označiť za minimálne značne sporný. Bol som zvedavý, ako sa s tým vysporiada autorka Denisa Doričová.

Nebol to úplne oslavný článok. Autorka si všíma Le Corbusiérovo hľadanie vzťahu medzi súkromným a verejným priestorom (ako pripomína, často neúspešné), viaceré nezrealizované návrhy, jeho vyzdvihovanie racionálne riešených inžinierskych konštrukcií, dôraz na harmonické geometrické tvary. Ukážkovým príkladom myslenia Le Corbusiera bol jeho návrh Baťovi, aby v Zlíne postavil 20-podlažné bytové domy so všetkou vybavenosťou, kde by sa zmestilo do päťtisíc obyvateľov. Takouto predstavou pobúrený Baťa, zástanca individuálneho bývania, reagoval slovami, že pri 50-tisícovom meste ako je Zlín by stačilo desať takých stavieb, čo je vhodné akurát pre komunistickú propagandu. Preto niet divu, že jeho najväčšie projekty (veľké obytné bloky) sa vyznačujú neosobnosťou, chladom a komplikovanou orientáciou. Autorka zakončila článok slovami: „Nech bola kritika akákoľvek silná, takmer celosvetový vplyv Le Corbusiera iba potvrdila.“

Nesporne tento Švajčiar mal silný vplyv na vtedajšie uberanie sa architektúry, len je otázne, či správnym smerom. Le Corbusier sa pri navrhovaní miest správal ako taký malý byrokratický plánovač s mapou. Len on vedel najlepšie čo ľudia chcú a chcel ich premiestňovať po území ako keby to boli figúrky na šachovnici. Vytváral vlastnú utópiu. Preto ostalo tak veľa projektov len v podobe návrhov a tie najväčšie realizované presadili rôzne vlády.

Jeho konceptom je radiálne mesto pozostávajúce z moderných betónových výškových budov, ktoré sú oddelené zelenými plochami a spojené širokými bulvármi a cestami. Jeho autoritariánske sklony sa prejavili naplno v architektúre. Pre ubezpečenie, že návrhy budú presne a do bodky realizované podľa jeho vôle, presadzoval menovanie „hlavného architekta“, ktorého všetci museli počúvať na slovo. Známy je aj výrokom: „Podoba miest je príliš dôležitá na to, aby sa prenechala občanom.“ Závidel autoritárskym panovníkom ako Ludvikovi XIV alebo Napoleonovi, ktorí mohli nariadiť prestavanie mesta len preto, že si to želali. Podľa Petra Halla Le Corbusierov vplyv v plánovaní miest tu vydržal minimálne 60 rokov.

Le Corbusier presadzoval známy paradox: mestá sú prepchané dopravou, pretože bola navrhnutá príliš hustá zástavba. Riešenie spočíva vo zvýšení ich hustoty postavením radiálnych miest. Tento postoj úplne zapadá do jeho elitárskeho pohľadu, podľa ktorého by väčšina ľudí mala byť uväznená do štvrtí s vysokou hustotou, aby si mohli užívať zeleň medzi mrakodrapmi. Odmietal rozširovanie individuálnej rodinnej výstavby na predmestiach, no sám žil vo veľkej viktoriánskej vile. Le Corbusier ovplyvnil mnoho plánovačov na celom svete. Nie je prekvapením, že viacerých ešte stále nájdeme v postkomunistických krajinách, ale aj v západnej Európe a USA.

Street Socialism Is The Last Shelter Of Scoundrel

“An evidence why Slovenia hasn‘t yet matured from post-communism.“

by Rok SPRUK

Following the headlines of the international media, Slovenia is a fine land consisting of happy people, whose country‘s nobility is enriched by the fact that Slovenia is the wealthiest post-communist economy which recently entered the European Monetary Union, and a country enjoying the highest GDP per capita and standard of living in the Eastern Europe.

However, the reality is something completely different as I try to demonstrate in the words below.

Being a student is a nice slice of lifetime. I do not pay attention to attending student parties and thus, I rather wisely invest my time into sitting at the library and studying the economic theory, policy and philosophy besides regular study courses. The fact is that the opportunity cost of attending parties is huge and it‘d be completely irrational to neglect it or ignore it respectively. For example, Kobe Bryant understands his opportunity cost very well. He can, for instance, spent 2 hours mowing his lawn, having low overall return.

Contrary, he can record a TV commercial, earning $10,000 USD in two hours. His neighbor, Sally, might spent 2 hours working in McDonald‘s, earning $8 USD. Despite the fact that Kobe might mow the lawn faster than Sally, it‘d be rational for Kobe to record a TV commercial while it‘d be equally rational for Sally to mow the lawn, because of the opportunity cost and her comparative advantage.

Economically, my interest as a student is to finish the undergraduate study as soon as possible and get an overall return from the education. The opportunity cost of the education is, of course, my time. But in a broader perspective, higher earnings and human capital value is what shall count as a compensation for investing my time into the education, getting both: better education and better job opportunities.

As an economist, I strongly favor free choice; an ability to choose among the greatest possible set of alternatives in the course of human life. In fact, individual, economic and political liberty and individual responsibility to the fullest possible extent, is what has unlocked creative and talented entrepreneurial and intellectual minds to pursue intuitive and powerful ideas that shaped the economic future.

But I don‘t understand, why on earth, should the students jump on the streets, wear red suits, head old Soviet flags and shout in favor of the welfare state extensively. Slovenia‘s student organization, pensioners, public sector employees and trade unions claim that wage increases should be more robust subject to Slovenia‘s sound current economic shape and, on Saturday morning, they will march on the streets of Ljubljana and promote the spellings of socialism, social security and generous welfare services respectively. Slovenia‘s student organization says the following:

„An accessible education without scholarships for all, higher pensions and greater social justice. These are the ideas that will make everyone better off.“

Over at the faculty field, I noticed a socialistic parole, saying:
„Factories in the hands of workers, universities in the hands of the students!“ added with Soviet-styled propaganda and typical communist star. This situation rather reminds on a retarded Soviet satelite grunged by Leninism and Marx‘s diallectical materialism. The origins of socialistic mentality in Slovenia are strong roots of collectivism. In this post, I explain why student protests against pro-growth tax and economic policy, school choice and competition in higher education, reform of the and social security reform are based on the false assumptions, myths and hostility against individual, economic and political liberty.

1. Population crisis in Slovenia is estimated to hit negative numbers.
Aggregate labor supply is falling respectively and the number of retired persons is growing significantly. In Slovenia, when a person retired, the main slice his pension in financed through 1st pillar of pension fund which is funded directly through taxes on labor supply. The impact is clear: tax burden on labor supply is rising, public debt is growing respectively and fiscal outlays are expanded every year.

Consider the gross cost of an educated and intelligent worker in Slovenia, which an employer has to bear. Assume that monthly salary of the worker equals $3500 EUR in gross terms. The contribution rate to the retirement fund is 15,5 percent. Basic health care insurance deducts additional 6,36 percent. Personal income tax rates are composed into three brackets; 16 percent for the lowest quantile, 33 percent for the middle-income earners and 41 percent for the workers in high-income groups.

Obligated voluntary health insurance contribution rate is small compared to basic coverage rate of contribution, but it deducts the disposable income respectively. Additionally, employers have to pay the payroll tax and enhance the worker‘s income by compensating the costs of food and transport. In addition, an employer in Slovenia has to slice a contribution share to health care, social security and pension fund, at the expense of worker‘s productivity. Now, calculate the disposable income of the employee and see the tax wedge, squeezing his productivity after the hours he spends on the market.

2. Moderate tax cuts by the center-right government stimulated the growth of incomes by a narrow rate. Modest cuts in the labor taxation showed that tax cuts are self-financing, the unmistakeable notion of the Laffer Curve. Recently, the growth of economic activity in Slovenia reached historic highs. In 2007, the growth is estimated to reach 5,6 percent, which is quite uncompetitive compared to Eastern European economies. In 2006, Estonian economy grew by 7,9 percent, Latvia accounted 10 percent rate of output growth, Slovakia recently announced the data, revealing 9 percent annual growth rate.

By 2012, Slovenia‘s economic growth is estimated to diminish straight-forward to 3,6 percent respectively, reflecting weak structural advancement, age-dependency pressures and rapid increase in retirement activity. In 2006, the rate of inflation sparked up primarily due to higher food prices and intensive demand for food in Asian high-growing economies. Economically, inflation is a monetary phenomena arising from too much money, chasing too few goods. In a simple equilibrium, the result is the increase in overall price level. By January 2007, Slovenia entered the European Monetary Union, and after fixing the monetary emissions, the growth of money supply calmed down which normalized the inflation rate.

Subject to deteriorating exchange rate regime and periodically stimulated high inflation in the past, it will take time for Slovenian economy to adjust to new stream of monetary policy whereby the money supply is determined through interest rate setup by the ECB.

3. There is no such thing as free education. In fact, somebody has to pay the equipment, rent and maintain the facilities, lecture rooms, provide the electricity and heating. In addition, somebody has to hire and pay the academic services. Somebody has to pay and provide computers, internet access and modern means of study. Saying that education is free is like claiming that you can go into the mall and take away some furniture without payment. There is a dozen of proofs that private sector education is competitive in terms of quality of the future graduates.

The best and most respected universities in the world are private ones. Eight Nobel-winning economists have come from Chicago University which is funded by private means as well as Stanford University. Investment in education provides the best interest in the future. The time you give up to consume, is the cost you have to bear to have greater returns and personal welfare in the future.

There is no such thing as free lunch, and the education has never been a free lunch. Scholarships, by empirical proof, improve the standards of education and provide opportunities for thousands of individuals to unlock knowledge potentials and empower the intuitive mind whether it be in entrepreneurship, design, economics, medicine, mathematics and everywhere else.
4. The essential to understanding complex phenomena in society is the economic literacy and education. Thus, Slovenes should know that despite the same length of working time as Austrian or German workers, the latter earn more because of higher productivity and technological progress which stimulates the productivity through effective individual management of creativity and knowledge. In addition, Slovenia is, as shown above, one of the most taxed countries in the world (link), thus giving investors a sign of avoidance as an investment location. Empirically and practically, labor supply is highly sensitive to tax rates, meaning that the labor supply is elastic, ceteris paribus.

It means, that the labor supply strongly responds to the marginal changes in taxation of income. As a result of higher taxes, gross labor cost in Slovenia is huge, discouraging job formation and denying the opportunities to thousands of intellectual and entrepreneurial minds to show their skills and talent. I wonder whether trade unions and its anti-growth intellectual leaders will bear full responsibility for the actions they presume as socially just. To say it again, social justice is a mirage and a trojan horse riddled by the totalitarian governments and supported by the individuals who deny economic and personal liberty to others. Those who deny the enforcement of economic and personal liberty as a property right to others, neither deserve it for themselves.

The demands of trade union such as full employment, high taxes on productive behavior, high wages, expanded income and profit redistribution, extensive welfare and social security services, would propel the stagnation of growth as well as the productivity potentials which is the main engine of growth in standard of living. Claims of egalitarian pursuit of redistribution, material and income equality, under which trade unions in Slovenia delegate the course of living order, can only be met under governments with totalitarian powers. Extensive unionism and its influence on structural and economic policy is perhaps the most powerful evidence that Slovenia is de facto the most socialist country in Europe.

5. At last, Slovenia‘s economic policy in the past 15 years is the most notable proof about the negative impacts of gradualism entailed into the course of public policy. Slovenia kept persistently the highest inflation among advanced countries in Eastern Europe. When the left-wing government took over the chairmanship in government, wages in public sector trimmed up enormously by 40 percent, creating an additional source of inflation pressures. The deadweight loss from economic depression was vast. Meanwhile, Slovenia‘s international competitors grew rapidly and thus a development was geared-up. In addition, the policy of early retirement enabled the formal retirement before the age of 50. In just one year, between 1992 and 1993, the number of retirees rolled-up by more than 100 percent.

Over the years, Slovenia‘s pension system, in terms of outlays, has been financed through budget and the first pillar of retirement insurance is estimated to be depleted in the medium run consequently because of the abovementioned reasons including early and beneficial retirement, high pensions and sky-rocketing continual spirals of wage increases in the public sector, adding a burden to high government spending.

6. In 1950, in terms of current prices, Slovenia‘s real GDP per capita was higher than Austria‘s which suffered war losses. From 1960 onwards, Austria‘s prosperity increased tremendously after Austrian early reformist government and its minister of finance Reinhard Kamitz adopted low taxes, imposed deregulation and liberalized trade and prices, while Slovenia‘s GDP growth started to trick towards relative stagnation. When Austria‘s technological development accelerated productivity growth, its standard of living grew tremendously, at the fastest pace in Western Europe.

When Austria enjoyed the fruits of market economy and remarkable output growth rate, Slovenian economy was mischiefed by socialist self-management which demolished the efficiency of entrepreneurial investment by wrongful decisions embraced by politicians, political entrepreneurs, workers and union leaders, who knew neither risk nor ambitious agenda, as there was no private means of production under socialism.

Finally, when Slovenia gained independence from communism, Austria‘s economy advanced the output growth while „the wealthiest ex-communist country“ slid into depression while its central bank tacitly led the policy of high inflation through deteriorating exchange rate. Thus, the hourly output per average Austrian worker is higher relative to the output of Slovenia‘s worker per hour, because of higher productivity, greater innovative and entrepreurial capacity, and succinctly utilized gains from hours spent in the market.

7. Tomorrow, the streets in Ljubljana will shout and scream again, reflecting the misery of sub-Alpine socialism, which has always known nothing else but envy, misery, lies and deception. I will rather spend my time studying and reading Friedrich August von Hayek‘s The Constitution of Liberty, Greg Mankiw‘s Principles of Economics, Imre Lakatos‘s Proofs and Refutations, Karl Popper‘s Logic of the Scientific Discovery, James Buchanan‘s Demand and Supply for Public Goods, Kenneth J. Arrow‘s Social Choice and Individual Values and Wilhelm Roepke‘s Economics of Free Society.

Rok SPRUK is an economist

Copyright 2007 by Rok SPRUK

Súkromné školy, množte sa!

„Dekan Právnickej fakulty UK Marián Vrabko nepovažuje za správne, že sa štát vzdáva kontroly nad vznikom a pôsobením vysokých škôl. ... Vrabko zároveň predstavil projekt Právnickej fakulty, v ktorom 80 vysokoškolákov, prevažne právnikov, získava poznatky fungovania európskych inštitúcií, rozhodovania v únii, tvorby jej legislatívy a jej prenosu do národných zákonov. Projekt financuje takmer piatimi miliónmi korún Európsky sociálny fond. ... Po ukončení projektu by mali byť študenti schopní trénovať ďalších študentov,“ uvádza SITA.

No samozrejme, ktorý štátny úradník sa rád vzdáva opojnej moci kontroly? Byť zanieteným pedagógom a vedieť zohnať peniaze a ľudí, po tejto správe zakladám ďalšiu súkromnú školu. Trebárs pod názvom Vysoká škola rozmýšľania. Každá škola potrebuje najmä nezávislosť od štátu a jeho akademických poskokov, ktorí študentskej generácii za generáciou vtĺkajú do hlavy nezmysly a vedú ho k závislosti na vyššej moci.

Nájdite rozdiel

„Vytvárať v rámci podmienok našej socialistickej vlasti, ako aj celého spriateleného bloku krajín RVHP prostredie, ktoré bude garantovať rovnaké a nízke ceny pre všetkých ľudí, je podľa Ľubomíra Štrougala pre komunistickú vládu úplne prirodzené.“
„Pre socialistickú vládu je totiž neprípustné, aby kapitalistický nepriateľ zneužíval súčasnú situáciu na bezbrehé obohacovanie sa ziskom,“ mohla znieť správa spred 20-tich rokov v Pravde.


"Vytvárať v rámci zákonných možností, ako aj právneho rámca EÚ prostredie, ktoré bude zabezpečovať ceny čo najviac zodpovedajúce životnej úrovni ľudí, je podľa Roberta Fica pre vládu so sociálnodemokratickou orientáciou úplne prirodzené," uviedla hovorkyňa vlády Glendová.
"Pre vládu totiž nie je prípustné, aby ktokoľvek zneužíval súčasnú situáciu nárastu vstupných cien a očakávaného nárastu cien po vstupe do eurozóny na naháňanie ziskov, ako to bolo v prípade tovarov obchodných reťazcov s maloobchodnou maržou vo výške 40 až 100 %," zdôraznila hovorkyňa premiéra.

Súkromní majitelia pozor, pani Šimončičová bdie!

Tak opäť sú tu Vianoce. Predsviatková hystéria začína zasa o nejaký ten deň skôr ako minule. A s ňou aj aktivity fundamentálnych environmentalistov, ktorým nie je ľahostajný osud ani jedného zrezaného stromu. Škoda, že ich nezaujíma taká „abstraktná“ vec akou je súkromné vlastníctvo.

Austrians Know Who Is Behind The Frenzy

„Those of us who warned in the 1990s that the stock-price mania could not last were accused of spreading “gloom and doom.” Our warnings were considered self-evidently ridiculous, because, of course, it was said that we were in a New Economy, and such things as profitability and earnings and savings were old hat and had no bearing on the cyberworld being created before our eyes. Only the Austrian School economists seemed to wonder who or what was behind the frenzy.“

- L. Rockwell: „Speaking of Liberty“

O protiústavnosti zdaňovania psov

Daň za psa je populárna vo väčšine slovenských miest. Výnimkou je napríklad Trenčín, kde zdieranie majiteľov psov zrušili pred rokom (či dvomi?). Týmto činom sa zatiaľ neinšpirovali petržalskí poslanci a nedávno odhlasovali len zmenu spôsobu vyberania psieho výpalného. Nebude rozhodovať rasa, ale výška štvornohého tvora. Ak nebude vyšší ako 43 centimetrov, majiteľ zaplatí tisícku. Inak dvojnásobok.

Tak neviem, na základe čoho kompetentní zvolili jeden a potom druhý spôsob kategorizácie (nie som kynológ, ale čisto laicky sa domnievam, že vysoký chrt nemusí vyprodukovať také množstvo exkrementov ako viac široký ako dlhý buldog alebo jazvečík), ale každopádne môže ísť o protiústavnú „psiu diskrimináciu“. To fakt nie je sranda. Niečo podobné zvažovali v Bardejove, no podľa tohto zdroja existuje nález Ústavného súdu SR, podľa ktorého sa psy nemôžu posudzovať podľa výšky alebo rasy.

Budú majitelia psov platiť podľa objemu vyprodukovaných exkrementov? Budú majitelia psov niekedy platiť priamo za používanie súkromného parku určeného pre výbeh miláčikov? Majú zvieratá svoje práva? Rozhodne niekedy Ústavný súd SR o protiústavnosti akéhokoľvek zdaňovania?

Heyne a Mises on-line

Liberání institut publikoval zaujímavé knihy on-line. „Ekonomický styl myšlení“ od Paula Heyneho zatraktívnil štúdium ekonómie v anglosaských krajinách a pre väčšinu ekonómov v postsocialistických krajinách, odchovaných na Marxovi, Engelsovi, Keynesovi, či Nordhausovi, môže znamenať revolučný obrat vo vnímaní okolitého sveta.

Knihu „Liberalismus“ od Ludwiga von Misesa hádam netreba predstavovať.