On 29 June 2018 from 12:30 till 13:45 there was held conversation about the public debt at the festival Lampa's DOTS stage No 1.
Invitation video to the discussion available here in Latvian.
Conversation anotation
Government debt. How and why do the government debt arise? What services should the state provide? Which social groups / interest groups are prioritised in the state budget? How has the transition to modern understanding of a country of welfare and equality been carried out? Do we want to change something? What exactly do we want differently, what services? Which services are we ready to cancel? What is the role of taxes in fiscal responsibility and public debt?
In the discussion we will understand that each proposal means something in financial terms and whether all the wishes should be resolved by the state budget?
By way of example, we will count both the tax increase / reduction "price" on the state budget revenue side, as well as the "price" of a new measure / service on the state budget side, and how does public debt change as well. Let's discuss what the deficit means for a public debt.
Participants
Jānis Platais Chairman of the Fiscal discipline council
Andris Šuvajevs Researcher of economic anthropology
Mārtiņš Āboliņš Economist of the Citadele bank
Elgars Felcis Sustainability researcher and activist ("scientivist")
Moderator Vita Savicka Rīgas Stradiņa university Communication faculty lecturer and researcher
Discussion presentation and game available here in Latvian, as well as video.