If we citizens wanted to pay the national debt, we should bring 37,000 lei from home. This is evidenced by the information published by the Ministry of Finance for February 2023.

Romanian banknotesPhoto: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea

In fact, we are talking about loans granted by the state for a long time: the piece that rolls from month to month, from year to year, which reached 706.5 billion lei.

Basically, these are funds that must be paid in the future by businesses and individuals through taxes. Let’s see what will happen after 2024, that is, after the elections.

Data for February indicate that public debt exceeded 50% of GDP (it is 50.1%), which is considered a critical threshold at which the Government must present a reduction plan (according to the Law). The “Decree on budget savings” solves almost nothing: that is, the wage freeze was included, but many exceptions were introduced.

Let’s not forget that only 5 billion lei are being saved, but we are talking about this year’s budget.

Meanwhile, the state continues to borrow. Let the Bulgarians increase. By the end of the year, according to the published schedule, the Ministry of Finance still needs to borrow 94.4 billion lei.

What can happen when the government borrows more

Thus, theoretically, when the government borrows more:

  • Loans are more expensive. The state should pay more for the money it takes. Thus, such important things as the construction of schools, hospitals or roads are affected.
  • They must find sources of income to cover expenses and interest. This usually means that we have to pay more taxes and fees. Thus, we have less money in our pockets.
  • The country’s economy is becoming weaker and more sensitive to what is happening in the world. For example, if our currency depreciates against other currencies, it will be more expensive for us to buy goods from abroad.