MUCH ADO FOR A SMALL CRISIS

After a first quarter full of statistical uncertainty, the representatives of the transport branch continue to draw the attention on the gloomy effects of the crisis, even if many statistics, both public and private, are not as alarming as one might think.

In fact, according to the National Institute of Statistics, exports grew year on year in January. The gloomy prospects go hand in hand with the general lamentation “We are again governed by the International Monetary Fund”. Yet for transports, the agreement between the IMF and the Government might prove better than expected. For example, the Fund might pressure our Government to solve once and for all severe problems of the railway sector, a Gordian knot for successive Romanian executives. Of course, an IMF agreement usually means higher taxation, and a solution envisaged is a new tax scheme aimed at getting money not only from profit-making companies but also from the ones in the red. This way of taxation has its cons, but might clean the market, since financial schemes aimed at hiding profits from the fiscal authorities will be hampered. And with less tax dodgers, transport services should be priced according to real costs. All in all, at least in the statistics, the crisis has not the catastrophic effects predicted in early 2009, and, on the other hand, it’s obvious that some harsh anti-crisis measures can be seen as opportunities. But seeing these opportunities is harder for those who only live from hand to mouth, with no glimpse of the years to come.