Archive for the ‘Economy/business/society’ Category

Posted on August 16, 2010 - by admin

No playing allowed.

The above picture is extremely humorous…however, many who have not lived in Romania, or who are not familiar with Romanian culture, won’t quite see why.  Perhaps I can explain it…perhaps not.

Many, many Romanians have left Romania since January 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria were allowed to participate in the EU.  While many are working and working hard in Western European nations now, there is much theft and begging.  In fact, just this week, authorities in France evacuated many Gypsy camps.  Italy has perhaps been the most vigilant, bulldozing camps of Romanians who are squatting on land and working illegally.  It’s true that much of the illegal activity is being carried out by Gypsies.  Well, they also tend to be talented musicians (the accordion is a common instrument), and often make money by playing in popular tourist areas in Western Europe.

This sign above is posted in Denmark (I believe) but in the Romanian language…except for the word ‘play’, which is strange  ’Cante’ would be the Romanian word for playing an instrument.  I don’t know why there is one English word on the sign.  Translated, the sign says, “It’s forbidden to ‘play’ without a license.  Begging also forbidden.”

Posted on July 5, 2010 - by admin

Sales Tax

Romania just increased it’s sales tax….VAT (value added tax) actually, but the result to consumers is basically the same.   The old tax was 19%.  Yes, nineteen percent…already darn high…especially for those of us from the US!   So, what would you imagine they increased it to?  19.25%?  maybe 20% at a max, right?   Nope.

24%     …a 5% increase, overnight!    That puts Romania in the top 6 around the world for highest sales tax (VAT).  In their company is Denmark (25%), Sweden (25%), Norway (25%), Iceland (25.5%), and Hungary (25%).   I don’t want to be mean, but there is a huge difference between all those other nations and Romania.  Those countries have infrastructure and government services (not to mention accountability) that FAR exceeds that of Romania’s by almost untold amounts.

What’s even more disturbing is that this policy change comes as a result of pressure from the IMF (International Mafia Federation).  So, this is essentially what is happening…  The IMF is telling Romania “fix your problem [budget deficit] or we will not give you any more money.”  Romania wants more from the IMF because they have grown dependent on them.  So Romania says, “tell us what we need to do”.  So, the IMF tells Romania HOW they have to fix the problem….raise your taxes on the average person.  In other words, the IMF is now dictating fiscal policy for a sovereign nation because they hold the purse strings.   So Romania adjusts the tax, which hurts the general public – middle to low income families, so that the IMF can give more money to Romania that will eventuallyend up in the hands of those that are already rich and prosperous…including many of the government officials and their personal projects….i.e. – their own houses and businesses.

Here we have government and multi-lateral ”de-development” agencies at their finest.  The final result will be that a) Romania’s general public suffers MORE, b) Romania does not learn how to actually reform itself into a sustainable society, and c) they become more and more dependent and indebted to the IMF and other like agencies….which those agencies feel is just fine.

Posted on May 21, 2010 - by admin

Children left alone as parents work abroad.

This was in the local news here today…

—– article starts here —–

Over 26,000 Romanian children have been left without a parent as many go abroad to find work, according to data released today (Thurs) by the local Save the Children organization.  In total, 85,605 children have had at least one parent go abroad leaving them to live with a relative, usually grand-parents.

Save the Children Romania today (Thurs) launched a new programme to help these children stay in school.  Until now, eight schools in Timis, Caras, Hunedoara, Dolj, Dambovita, Arges, Bucharest and Constanta have after-school programmes for children with parents abroad, for learning and personal counseling.

Romanian immigrants in EU countries will soon surpass the number of Turkish immigrants, a report by Catholic charity Caritas in Italy claimed last month.  The number of Romanian immigrants in EU member states is estimated to be 2.3 million, with most of them – 80 per cent – in Italy and Spain.  Romanians form a community of 829,715 in Spain alone.

—– article ends here —–

Posted on May 4, 2010 - by admin

Permission Granted

The sign above, which reads “standing on the grass is permitted”, is a unique sign in Romania.  Unfortunately, we still see signs to the contrary.  We were at a wedding last summer and the grass in the park nearby where most of the kids wanted to play had a sign on the grass that said, “It is strictly forbidden to walk on the grass”.  I could sort of understand this sentiment if the grass was like that found in an English garden, but the funny thing is that the grass looked horrible.  It was mostly weeds, had not been cut in a long time, and looked like an abandoned field.  Below is one citizens story…

One of the stupid ideas inherited from the communist regime was that never ever, in any circumstances, was one allowed to step on the grass in a public park. From my childhood I remember that any strip of green grass had a sign on it saying “Don’t step on the grass!”, sometimes with the smaller addition “Fine xxx (some amount that my parents were not prepared to pay) lei”. After 1989, when Romanians were finally allowed to own a passport and I got to see the world outside my country I was puzzled to find out that most corners of the world don’t have this policing of the grass. The first time I stepped on the grass in a park I felt a bit guilty and I asked myself why is it OK to do this in other countries and why is it not OK in Romania? But some things change with time and last summer I’ve read in the press that from now on the citizens of Bucharest will be allowed to step, sit, loiter, etc on the grass in public parks. To be honest I didn’t really believe it to be true. Yet, lo and behold, to my surprise, Cismigiu Park is full of signs like the one the above photograph.  I guess I lived to see the day – some girl named Andreea

Posted on April 29, 2010 - by admin

Pace of Life

I wish I could say the photo above was taken from my front porch.  While there are plenty of scenes like this around Romania, the view out my front door is not one of them.  There is a beautiful church across the street from us, an empty field, 3-4 unfinished houses, and a torn apart road with sewage in the gutter.  Be that as it may, and as chaotic as things often are around us, living in Romania has had a certain effect on us…a slowing effect.  Believe me, it’s not out of choice, but out of necessity.

It’s one of those forced blessings if you will.  Some of the things that make the pace of life here slower (mostly the bureaucracy) can be so frustrating at times that you begin to pray that God would just take you in the moment.  But, there is (however reticent I am to admit it) a blessing in the trouble.  Life in Romania has forced us to do more together as a family, and share the roles that have always been pretty tightly divided among the two of us, and remain divided among most of our family and friends back home.

We’ve learned to avoid almost all forms of shopping on the weekends.  We save all the grocery shopping for early (7:30 am.) Monday morning, and choose instead to take naps on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.  We usually prepare enough during the week so that we don’t have to do much, if any cooking on the weekends.  It nice.  And I hope we can continue some of these things long after we have moved out of Romania.

Those who know me (Jon) know that I am driven by tasks and duties and slowing down is not something that comes very natural to me.  I still have a hard time with the concept of a nap…even on a Sunday afternoon.  If there is something, anything, that can be done, my first inclination is to do it…so it can be crossed off the never ending list of course.  But, I am slowly learning to slow down, and God has used Romania as that tool in my life.  Tomorrow morning, when I wake up, perhaps I will make a cup of coffee, step out onto the front porch, and take some time to relax and smell the septic…uh, I mean roses?

Posted on April 27, 2010 - by admin

Public Transportation

To say that public transportation in the U.S. is not good is quite the understatement (with exception to a few of the largest and oldest cities).  In the west, if you don’t have a car you are pretty doomed.  It can be hard to find and keep a job, go shopping, make it to a doctors appointment, etc.  Unless you live and create your life within a one square mile of a downtown city, which is still nearly impossible for most people.

But, in Romania, you can usually get from city to city via train or maxi-taxi (a van that seats 8-15 people but have been known to pack in over 20).  In town, you can take buses, taxi, or trolley.  In Bucuresti, there is an old and dirty, but reliable subway system that will at least get you within walking distance of 70% of the places you may want to go.  There have been days when I have taken a taxi to the airport, flown to Bucuresti, taken a bus from the airport there, gotten on the subway to the neighborhood I wanted to reach, and then taken a trolley to the intersection I needed to find…walking the rest of the way.   Taxi, plane, bus, subway, trolley, all within a 2 hour period.

Back home here in Cluj, we have only one car, so whenever it’s necessary for us to be going in two different directions, it’s usually a bus, a taxi, or our own feet that come to the rescue.

Posted on April 26, 2010 - by admin

Romania has better churches

I admit that I am partial to old churches, and quite impartial to the strip-mall church.  I realize that in the US we don’t have tax-supported church construction, and therefore have to be a little more reserved (and practical) with our church locations and architecture.  And I also know we seem scared to death that anything ornate or decorative will take away from God’s glory.  Even mega-churches (as expensive as they may be) probably have a pretty overall low cost/square footage ratio, when compared to other types of buildings.  I don’t know, maybe not.  I am just guessing.  But, the churches in Romania are beautiful, even if a little un-kept.  Here is a sample of the churches in our city…and others from around the country.  I think they help reflect the glory of God, and this is one more thing I tend to like better about Romania.

Posted on April 22, 2010 - by admin

Fuel and Transmissions are better in Romania.

Continuing my promise to focus on thing that we enjoy or appreciate about Romania, we (I – Becca doesn’t care about this one)  move to the car side of the equation; Diesel Cars and Manual Transmissions. Yep.  They’re both nice and they’re both more prevalent here in Romania than in the U.S.

I wish they made more cars manual in the U.S., or rather, I wish more models were available with a manual transmission.  You can hardly find even a sporty car with a manual transmission now. Even the most mundane cars here usually have manual transmissions.  Our minivan (or the one we hopefully be getting soon) is a 6 speed manual transmission + reverse.  YEAH, that’s right!  I know all my American dad counter-parts are jealous right now.  If there is one thing you can do to make a mini-van cooler, it’s put a stickshift in it.  While my friends back home are simply putting their minivan in drive and listening to the Wee Sing Along Children’s CD, I am shifting through 6 gears (albiet frantically while dodging pot holes), and my kids are in the back singing along to CCR’s Run Through the Jungle (no kidding – it’s one of their favorite songs).

I also like the way the Diesel’s drive.  They are not slow because 99% of them have Turbo Injectors in them, and the gas mileage is great.

Posted on April 21, 2010 - by admin

Romania has Zacusca.

Keeping with my promise to discuss the good and great aspects of Romania…

Zacusca (Zuh-cus-ka) is pretty much pure gold in vegetable form.  If you’ve been a long-time reader (Hi Mom) you’ll know that I mentioned Zacusca a long time ago when discussing Romanian food.

Although there are different varieties, Zacusca is basically a vegetable spread made of eggplant, onions, peppers, gogosari (a vegetable we don’t have in the US), tomatoes, sometimes mushrooms, and a bunch of spices.  The vegetables are roasted before hand then the mixture is put together and it is usually preserved.

The taste?  Imagine a part smoky, part sweet, part tangy, part spicy sauce with a thick salsa dip consistency, and you have it.  In fact, while it is not salsa per se, I think it would be safe to call it “Romanian Salsa”, especially if one was trying to market it to a certain store back in the US that rhymes with Trader Moes.  Actually, I’m not kidding about that idea.  I think if they marketed it right, it would sell there…especially because its vegan…until you spread it on your meat!

No wait – “Transylvanian Salsa” might sound better….no wait, “Dracula Dip”, no wait, “Dracula Delight”, no wait….OK, just Transylvanian Salsa might be the best name.

It is very labor intensive to make, and the stuff from the stores is usually garbage, at least once you’ve had it home made that is.

I like Zacusca on everything.  Eggs, plain toast, sandwiches, an empty spoon, my toothbrush!  You name it, I would eat it with Zacusca.  Besides, it’s just fun to say.  Any Romanian grandmother can win my lifetime affection by presenting me with a jar of her homemade version.  The delicious spread will only last 4 minutes in my presence, but my appreciation will last forever.

Posted on April 19, 2010 - by admin

Road Quality

Another fun fact: “The World Economic Forum ranks Romania 126 out of 134 states for road quality.” (In case you were wondering, #1 is good….#134 is bad)

Don’t shoot the messenger.  Some of my Romanian friends might get upset with me because they feel I am only poking fun at the negative aspects of the culture.  Well, I think that might be a little unfair.  Just recently I posted that Romania has on average some of the fastest internet connections in the world.  That’s positive, isn’t it?  Now, to balance that out, they also have some of the highest internet fraud rates in the world.  There, both sides.

Also, if I was accused of only pointing out the negative aspects of Romania, I have two other defenses.  1) rarely am I saying anything about the people specifically, but rather making more general observations about society.  Of course, most of the people I know personally do not fit into these unfortunate generalizations.  Most of my friends are not making their living off internet fraud.  But, that does not negate the fact that it’s common here.  2) my second defense is that if I were living in the U.S. you would find most of my posts focusing on the circus of life there…and not dwelling too much on the positive side.  So, at the very least, I am willing to point out the negative aspects in a fair manner.   If you want to accuse me of anything, at least accuse me of not focusing on the positive enough.  And to that charge, I would likely be found guilty.

So here begins a new theme, at least for a few weeks.  Positive aspects about Romania.  Anything goes.