A budget deficit of 14.5 billion kuna is not dramatic in itself. The catastrophe lies in the use of the deficit to cover state extravagance instead of investing it more productively in economic projects.
In the latest issue of the business weekly Lider, a list of projects that could have been financed with this amount, which would positively impact the economy, has been made. The amount of the deficit could have opened 100,000 jobs in the industry, covered severance payments for excess employees in the public administration, and financed many infrastructure and energy projects, thus ensuring conditions for GDP growth. Of course, it is necessary to consider rational spending of money without favoring individual interests, which ultimately multiplies the real costs of projects.
The budget deficit could have financed:
– 100,000 new jobs
– 5 severance payments for each excess employee in the public administration
– 20 hydroelectric power plants in Lešće
– 2/3 of a new nuclear power plant
– 10 new top resorts
– 10 electric vehicle productions
– 6 investments the size of Agrokor
– 5 acquisitions of companies like Droga Kolinska
– 20 irrigation systems
– 9 new Zagreb airports
– 16 factories like TDR’s in Kanfanar.
