Lauri Laats, vice-chairman of the Riigikogu economic committee, believes that in the light of the latest economic forecast of Eesti Pank, it is necessary to urgently develop measures to stimulate the economy and forcefully cut the size of the public service.
“Another correction of the forecast to a more pessimistic one means that it is no longer possible to overlook the extent of the crisis. The recession that lasted for seven quarters in a row means that the politicians’ measures to manage the crisis so far have not yielded any results, and we need new solutions,” said the vice-chairman of the Center Party. Lauri Laats, “the government’s priority must finally be the state of the economy and, first of all, stopping the decline. Not a single government session should pass without a discussion on whether and what has been done to improve the situation.”
Lauri Laats considers it necessary to involve both entrepreneurs and researchers in order to find solutions to the economic crisis. “Until now, the government has only waved the card of a large mandate obtained in the elections, which has not been expressed in any way in effective results. Unfortunately, there has only been mindless rapping, where unfulfilled tax increase lines are written into the strategies, and the finance minister has just announced that they too must be canceled, because the economy will not survive it. The government must now admit that they have run out of ideas and they must ask for help from entrepreneurs and researchers to develop new approaches,” explained Laats.
“Inevitably, it is now necessary to bring the state sector into a coma and begin to forcefully reduce the number of officials. Of course, for the government, making such a decision means inconvenience and the end of the pleasant life so far, but the situation requires effective and forceful measures. The Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has made a proposal to lay off at least 2,000 officials – what this number should be, we have to discuss together,” emphasized Laats.
