EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
The right-winger doesn't like political adventurism.
No, this is not one of those articles that will make you believe that a 1,000 leva salary will become €500, and a 1 leva loaf of bread will become €1, because that will not happen. However, something else will happen - the security of the currency board will disappear and we will be plunged into the obscurity of the monetary policy of a supranational, impersonal and distant institution from the common man, such as the European Central Bank - something unacceptable to any sincerely right-wing person.
The Right and the Eurozone
Why am I bringing in the right? Because the staunch supporters of Bulgaria's entry into the Eurozone define themselves as right-wing and try to convince the mass Bulgarian, who is still confused and wandering about what his values are and where they place him on the political spectrum, that using power to achieve certain results is right-wing. And it is not. This is progressivism. That is, left-wing. From here on, the boundary between left and right in their eyes becomes extremely arbitrary, depending on who defines it. In one case, giving 100 million leva more to the police for salaries is right-wing, in the other, if you give them 200 million, it is already moving towards an excessive budget deficit, that is, left-winging.
This is why any government that deviates from the traditional conservative principles that emerged after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in Britain, and that imposed the guarantee of individual rights through the courts, the army and the police as the sole function of the state, is left-wing. The devolution of this sovereignty and the absolute minimum amount of taxes needed to finance it is the only legitimate right of the state over the sovereign. It does not include monetary sovereignty.
It is for this very reason that we should be skeptical of any attempt to erode our freedoms, such as placing the value of our money and savings in the hands of unaccountable, faceless bureaucrats 2,000 km away. The right does not take away the monetary sovereignty of its people.
Centralization is not a right-wing value
But the right-winger is not deluded into not understanding the realities of politics and the incentives of politicians. He knows that statesmen in small territorial political entities will have one idea of the “absolutely minimal amount of taxes,” and those in huge ones will have a completely different one. And that is why he is a localist. Territorial centralization in any form can never be a right-wing value. Sorry, federalists.
Furthermore, joining the Eurozone and getting on board will mean removing the fiscal straitjacket from the backs of Bulgarian politicians, to whom we owe our financial discipline for 20 years (almost every year our deficit is smaller than our economic growth, which means that the debt burden is falling). It will become much easier for them to take on debt, because they will no longer have to watch out for a possible excessive decline in our foreign exchange reserves. The ECB will have the task of watching out for them, but with regard to the entire monetary union, over which we will have very little influence. In other words, political power over our property is increasing, and this is NEVER right.
Our current system is proven to work
Realistically, Bulgaria has been living in the monetary system closest to the Gold Standard for 20 years, during which time the richest countries in the West achieved their fastest economic growth, which allowed them to accumulate all the capital they currently enjoy. That is, in terms of monetary policy, we are following in their footsteps. Here we have a system that has proven to be stable for two decades, without creating heavy deficits, versus one in which poorer countries had to bail out richer, but with more financially irresponsible governments.
Reference: Slovakia and Greece in 2011. In this regard, currently the Bulgarian debt is cheaper in terms of yield, that is, risk-free, than that of the "pigs" in the eurozone - Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. We can also add Cyprus to them. We are simply financial cannon fodder for this club, which is why they rushed to grab us. The right-wing man does not like political adventurism.
Finally, I will end with a quote from the greatest, in my opinion, American president - Calvin "Silent Cal" Coolidge. He went down in history for not doing anything spectacular that would make him remembered like Achilles at Troy, but instead simply holding his position and doing nothing. Exactly what a politician should do - oversee.
In fact, he has used his power to veto laws passed by Congress that undermine the financial stability of the United States, which is extremely important for the enrichment of a country, endlessly. It is no coincidence that he was president during the “Crazy Years” (1923-1929), when economic optimism in America was at its peak. He said: “It is much more important to block bad laws than to pass good ones.” I hope more politicians live by these words.
