It now looks like the economy may nosedive by 20 - 35 % for all of 2009. A total economic collapse, sending the country back into the 1990s. Industrial production plummeted 22 %, the hotel and tourist business by 34 % (brilliant move boosting hotel VAT sharply to 21 %).
Unemployment will probably go past 20 %. Tax revenues will shrink drastically, undermining any sharp budget cuts. It will no longer be an issue of whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) thinks the cuts are sufficient, it will be a matter of no revenue available for public service. The government' s tax revenues will push the public sector salary cuts beyond the 20 to 30 % already decided.
Even the slightest glimmer of opportunity for work anywhere but Latvia will send thousands packing their bags (remember, too, the choice of governance issue). What will be left by 2010 0r 2011 is a sad basket case of a country, where the least skilled workers, through a hopelessly inefficient and understaffed tax system support a skeleton social services and pension system for the old and infirm.
Time to really, really seriously think about a Plan B.
If you can't get it together in 20 years since independence, you probably won't...
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Finally, Mr. Great and Terrible Nazis have realized that his beloved “people” of Latvia are just the historical nonsense, born by Vladimir Lenin’s decree in 1918, nothing else. We, Urlas, who lived here long before this strange kind of people had settled on this territory, speaking funny sort of penguin German language now known as Latvian, knew that long before Mr. Juris Kaša was born and educated in the far far west. The first latviešu „republika” had turned the gathering of all sorts of scoundrells. The second republic just developed and improved infamous achievments of the first one. Russians say: Bog troitsu ljubit. That means, the God is keen to try making the thing three times. Before what, the saying doesn’t say. Hopefully, next time we’ll never see arrogant national „patriots” like Kaša and the similar to him in our country.
Finally, Mr. Great and Terrible Nazis have realized that his beloved “people” of Latvia are just the historical nonsense, born by Vladimir Lenin’s decree in 1918, nothing else. We, Urlas, who lived here long before this strange kind of people had settled on this territory, speaking funny sort of penguin German language now known as Latvian, knew that long before Mr. Juris Kaša was born and educated in the far far west. The first latviešu „republika” had turned the gathering of all sorts of scoundrells. The second republic just developed and improved infamous achievments of the first one. Russians say: Bog troitsu ljubit. That means, the God is keen to try making the thing three times. Before what, the saying doesn’t say. Hopefully, next time we’ll never see arrogant national „patriots” like Kaša and the similar to him in our country.
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