Chapter 155: 15) The Bulgarian Government is Short of Money
Ferdinand had no opinion at all about the government's push for new ideas. Any policy that promotes national integration, he will support!
Can the various ethnic groups in Bulgaria now be integrated? In Ferdinand's opinion, there is no problem at all!
Religious beliefs, language, writing, and ethnic culture are similar. As long as there is a voice to tell them that we are one people, the fake has become natural over time!
Originally, there were few minorities in Bulgaria. After the immigration from Russia, the number of new "Bulgarians" has increased dramatically, including Ukrainians, Poles, Slavs, Armenians... dozens of large and small ethnic groups.
But now that they are all presenting themselves as Bulgarians, who can tell them apart when they spread out in the crowd?
Well, for long years, which ethnic group they were, these honest peasants could not figure out. The big man said they are which ethnic group, which is which ethnic group!
You read that right. When nationalism broke out in the late 19th century, many peasants who couldn't read a single word did just that get racialized!
So every once in a while, when you open a history book, you'll find that some peoples suddenly have a population boom, and some suddenly have a population crash, often just to be assimilated away!
In any case, the Bulgarian policy of national integration, up to now, has been very successful! Foreign immigrants, often more like Bulgarians than real Bulgarians, who dare to say a word that they are not Bulgarians, they can change their faces quickly!
In this regard, Ferdinand has to thank the Russian aristocratic lords, which are all to their credit. If it were not for their night and day efforts, trying desperately to squeeze to death, these immigrants would not be so fast to create such a strong sense of identity with Bulgaria!
The Bulgarian-Serbian War is the best example of this. When Bulgaria mobilized, the immigrants, who had just acquired Bulgarian citizenship, were not at all less enthusiastic about signing up for the army! In order to catch up on strategic supplies, Bulgarian factories chose to work overtime without fail, and they did not lag behind, all doing their best to fit in!
Of course, for foreign immigrants and native residents, the conflict will certainly still be there, but with the victory of the Bulgarian-Serbian War, everything has gone up in smoke. Everyone has recognized the initial immigrants through practical action!
At the cabinet meeting, Konstantin asked with a headache, "Mr. Kennedi, according to the government's planning, how much will our fiscal deficit be this year?"
After thinking about it, the Minister of Finance, Kennedi, said, "There is still a deficit of at least 50 million Leva by the most optimistic estimates to complete all the government's plans!"
Konstantin nodded. The number was still within the expected range. According to the original plan, the second batch of bonds should have been issued by now, but now it is obvious that everyone is not talking about it.
We still know by heart how they sold last year's national debt. Even if the Bulgarian public is more patriotic, they can not take the money now.
Capitalists do not need to think about last year's Bulgarian-Serbian War. It also delayed the business of everyone for two months. The capitalists are not losing a few.
After they won the war, the Bulgarian government also did not have so much money to compensate. A few big capitalists took the lead in giving up compensation to save face for the government.
For this reason, everyone touched for a long time. Finally, in the name of the government, a plaque was given to each of them, and that was it. No one wanted to continue to fight them at this time.
The loan from the Great Powers? Konstantin dismissed this idea at once. The key is that these days, the appetite of the Great Powers is not small, the interest rate is just, but the terms attached can definitely make people want to cry.
Konstantin asked, "What are your best ideas? It could solve the financial crisis!"
"Why don't we do another anti-corruption campaign! That is, we can clean up the moths and raise funds at the same time, killing two birds with one stone!" Chekhov thought about it and said.
The crowd nodded. The Bulgarian government's fortunes, which came from raiding homes. For this, everyone is familiar with the business.
Anti-corruption? The Bulgarian government doesn't have time to analyze which are illegal and which are legal proceeds?
As long as the corrupt officials catch a count, they are all beaten to death with a stick, confiscating all family assets. They will examine all relatives within five generations for the origin of their property, and those found hiding are also subject to guilt by association.
Taking a bribe, which in Bulgaria is still a legitimate income for an official, can be reported by the anti-corruption department for a tenth of a cent reward!
As for the bribe-giver, of course, it is bad luck, the usual rules of the raid. Who told the Bulgarian government is poor?
As far as Ferdinand knows, only the central government introduced the legal articles on raiding hundreds of families, many crimes of a harmful nature, followed by the addition of the raiding clause.
The Bulgarian government has gone to great lengths to raise the money.
There are by no means a few local government articles on fines, such as littering and spitting. For the first offense, the penalty is the offender's income for one day, doubled for the second time, and so on, with no income calculated on average.
Even so, the Bulgarian government is still facing a financial crisis.
The Minister of Finance raised a question: "I have no problem with anti-corruption! The problem is the anti-corruption thing, we often do, now can catch a few small fish is good, in order to solve the funding gap, I'm afraid it is a mere glass of water!"
The crowd laughed awkwardly, was not it? To raise money for the Bulgarian government, which is probably the most aggressive anti-corruption in the world, may come every now and then!
The Bulgarian government can honorably declare that they are now the most incorruptible government in the world!
Even if the official is bold, there must be room to work! The Bulgarian officials are now notorious for receiving money, not doing anything, and sending you to jail afterward. Now, what idiot would dare to give them gifts?
Good or bad, they don't need to evaluate themselves! Anyway, in terms of reputation among the people, the Bulgarian government has surpassed all previous governments since independence.
After thinking about it, Konstantin said very reluctantly, "If there is really no other way, we will have to sell our lands in the country!"
Kennedi paled, knowing that land in the hands of the government is now one of the government's main revenues!
This income, which has been independent of the fiscal revenue, is calculated separately! Mainly used for military expenses, now if they sell the land, it will significantly reduce the coming year's income!
"No! Your Excellency, you should be well aware that we now receive up to hundreds of millions of Leva per year from the land, which is directly allocated to the army. Now that we have sold large tracts of land, our income will surely be greatly reduced in the coming year, what about military spending?" Kennedi asked.