In society

How to step over the nonsense of the people?

July 24, 2017 Peter Filippov

South Italy is a nightmare: this is a mafia, these are gangster groups that will make your business. And the police will not help. North Italy is more favorable for the entrepreneur. But even there, when tax inspectors come, the first thing that comes in is a rollback. Then they will decide whether to dig deep. Italian businessmen themselves admit that they are looking for any opportunity not to pay taxes or social. They pay kickbacks when concluding contracts for state orders for the repair of roads, bridges, structures. It is very similar to today's Russia, isn't it?

A few hundred kilometers from Milan - Germany. England is even further. Both there and there businessmen pay punctually taxes, even if the government is not formed by the “own” party. They have a different moral, a different attitude to power and the law. What are the consequences of such differences? A country where corruption is more likely an exception than the rule, lives richer, develops faster. Want to know the statistics? Read the wonderful book “Why some countries are rich and the other poor”, the authors are Daron Ajimoglu and James A. Robinson. But even without statistics, it is clear: bribes and kickbacks reduce the profit of entrepreneurs, employees' salaries, lead to price growth, and reduce the competitiveness of the company. Corruption sometimes gives an additional income to the businessman at the state order, but in general the people are poor. But corruptions are burned, prodigal oligarchs.

How do ordinary people relate to this? They usually answer: "Nothing depends on us!" The situation is changing when poverty and injustice gets and a wave of revolutionary protest reaches and rises. Then blood is pouring, it happens that police officers and rich are killed, but, how to change the world, people do not know. Everything returns to its own circles.

In the fate of the country, the mood of the middle class, small and medium -sized entrepreneurs are very important. According to political scientists, it is the bourgeoisie who creates the economic foundation of freedom and it, as the ruling class, gives rise to democracy and the rule of law. Officials are objectively enemies of both. Bureaucracy strives to enrich themselves at public expense, due to bribes and “cut” the treasury. It works well only when it is shot down by laws and control procedures “from above” and “from below”. From above - from the part of the representatives elected in the framework of political competition. From below - from ordinary citizens and NPOs - through honest elections, investigations of free media journalists, through claims to protect the interests of an indefinite circle of people and through private accusations of citizens of officials who create lawlessness.

Entrepreneurs seem to be interested in the game to be conducted according to the rules. They need an honest court, equality before the law, guarantees of property rights. The guarantees that those in power are not taken away by the enterprise will not be ruined. But this is only in principle. Entrepreneurs, as a rule, are not revolutionaries, and not even politics. They crave success in business, want profit, not a fair structure of society. Therefore, in many countries they are servile, perceive power as a given. So it was in Kaiser Germany, as it was in tsarist Russia, and this happens in Russia Putinskaya. The bourgeoisie is not ready to fight for legal liberal reforms because of its service. Talk to Russian entrepreneurs. You will rarely hear criticism of the current mafia power. Beware, although they pay bribes and rollbacks. They hope that they will enter the circle of “their own”, they will receive a profitable state order, and they will be ozol.

Two main obstacles stand on the way of modernization of Russia: do not care in combination with a medieval subject of water culture of the people, on the one hand, and a sense of power as a barricade standing on the other side of the other side. People understand that this power is absorbed not by the solution of their problems, but by the embezzlement and transfer of those who were sent to the cordon. And no matter how they assure power in their loyalty, they do not want to pay taxes of such power. As they did not want to pay tribute to Genghis Khan and Prince of Muscovy. How did not want to pay Hitler. People do not believe this power. And right, there is why. The Internet is full of information about the 10-fold overspending of funds for the construction of the Zenit stadium in St. Petersburg, then about the wedding of the daughter of Judge Elena Khakhaleva worth $ 2 million, then about the arrest of the next governor-Kazakhstan. The Russians vote for the mafia and its leader, not because they trust, but because they do not see a way out: we always had it and will. How to achieve the formation of “your” honest power is a separate issue.

Now we’ll talk about how to jump over the nonsense of the people and the service of entrepreneurs, through the habit of stealing and illegally getting to know. What incentives are needed, what laws and orders should be established in Russia so that it looks like England and Germany, and not Sicily? It is useful to understand this today in order to fight for the reform with the awareness of the goal.

Imagine that in the course of honest elections a new president of Russia was elected, who set himself the task of curbing systemic corruption in the country. What should he do, relying on his like -minded people? Firstly, to form a new composition of governing bodies consisting of specialists who do not have illegally acquired wealth behind him. Create a special body - the Bureau of Combating systemic corruption - and provide it with great powers. Conduct a general campaign to declare property belonging to citizens.

At the same time, undoubtedly, a split will occur in society. One part will demand revenge - i.e. Confiscation of yesterday's high-ranking officials and their friends-oligarchs of illegally acquired wealth. The other is to fear the civil war. In addition, it is unclear what to consider illegally acquired property and at what prices to count? I’m afraid that a significant part of our population will not be able to provide income documents that allowed them to purchase apartments and cars. And the fact that confiscation of extending the resistance of the former elite can indeed lead to a civil war is obvious. It is necessary to find a compromise that allows you to avoid bloody interchange and defeat systemic corruption. For example, to introduce a one -time tax to the Pension Fund for property worth more than 50 million rubles, for which citizens do not have justifying documents. The payment of such a tax would give its owners indulgence.

It is necessary to ensure the transparency of the income of citizens and their compliance with the increase in its assets. Plant the presumptuous embezzlers. But, most importantly, to introduce the appropriate bodies to the customs of our people about violation of laws and rules of honest life in fair power. This is what causes hot disputes.

As already noted, power has always been perceived by our people as occupation and robber. To report to a neighbor who did not pay a tribute to the khan, the prince, the king or the Bolsheviks was “Westlo”. To bring the authorities to the neighbor, being prisoners of the camp, is like death. The dissidents treated any denunciations as a terrible, unforgivable sin. Nevertheless, people were in Stalin, reported, but not for ideological reasons, but for sake, for the sake of getting an apartment of the arrested, for example. 4 million denunciations in the Cheka-NKVD were recorded. These were really immoral denunciations. Perhaps that is why the bulk of the Russians preserved a sharply negative attitude towards denunciations to the authorities. Entrepreneurs admit that if they report that a colleague is hiding the income received from the tax authorities, they will lose respect, and will become non -browning.

From the point of view of residents of countries such as the United States, we behave strangely. We suffer injustice if we ourselves cannot be repulsed. We are silent about the cutting of our “common fund” (budget), realizing that the power mafia will have to inform, which itself was mired in embezzlement. And how can a Russian can differently respond to a violation of the law or his interests? It would seem that there are two ways in front of him: the first is to deal with the offender himself, having repulsed the violators of the law, and the second is to inform the authorities of the authorities.

The first path. If you are physically weak or morally not ready to use the force and arsenal of the bandit, then you will have to go to court. But it is necessary that the court be honest and independent. And where to find one in Russia? Moreover, this path - through the court -, unlike developed countries in Russia, is practically blocked .. The citizen’s right to a private criminal prosecution of violators of the law was reduced to two small offenses (see the article in the hedgehog “ Each Russian right of the prosecutor’s right! ” ) . You do not even have the right to initiate a civil case in defense of group interests or an indefinite circle of persons (cm article in the hedgehog “ claims in defense of common interests ” ).

The second way is to seek protection and justice in power, to complain to the police, the prosecutor’s office, and other supervision bodies so that they understand and put things in order. But where in Russia to get honest power? And most importantly - how to overcome our citizens aversion to cooperation with the authorities? After all, a denunciation is always bad! Even on a thief! How to be?

Let's show this with examples. According to Novaya Gazeta (07/19/2107), the owners of the Sigma company, in the past, members of the Tambov criminal group, falsified documents in conspiracy with customs officers and underplaved the budget (i.e. our “commoncage”) huge amounts of money. What can an honest citizen do, even understanding that this leads to low earnings of state employees, to beggarly pensions? Fight the emacre alone? How? And public opinion does not tell you to inform the corrupt power!

Even at the HOA level, such rejection creates moral problems. At my friend, the chairman leased semi -basements, and fed part of the fee. Owners of apartments are forced to overpay for utility bills. It was not possible to collect members of the HOA to file a collective lawsuit. And to fight one is an invoice: the costs of a lawyer more than covered the losses of my friend on rent. What could he do? Write a statement where you need. But this caused the condemnation of the neighbors: to get power into our affairs is not good!

Nevertheless, we will not be able to overcome the system corruption without the help of citizens. How it will not be possible to do this without annual declarations of income and assets. Such is the experience of developed countries. But the authorities themselves, without the help of citizens, are not able to track all abuse and corruption transactions. Our common fund at the local, regional or federal level will be bought. In addition, only an adequate reaction of neighbors to the prize by informants, the envy of those who could, but did not inform the mentality of Russians. And the expected reaction of his power. We will still have to take an example from developed countries.

Let us dwell on the US experience. There, an informant is a person who voluntarily or on a paid basis provides information to other persons and interested organizations - police, law enforcement and supervisory authorities, the media, banks, corporations. The words “denunciation”, “denunciation” and “denunciation” in the negative Russian sense are simply not there. In the United States, it is accepted that employees inform the leadership of how their colleagues work. After all, the fate of everyone depends on this, they together lead the organization of the organization on the worldly sea.

Informants are encouraged quite officially. For example, for a message about violation by a neighbor of fire safety rules, you will receive a reward from the fire department. The police and other law enforcement agencies called on citizens to assist in the capture of criminals, promising to pay remuneration. “Financial” reporting is the informing by citizens of state supervisory and regulatory bodies about violations of laws in the financial sector. On the facts of corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion, “washing” of “dirty” money, the use of insider information, falsification of financial reporting and “double” accounting, price conspiracies, deception of shareholders, investors, clients, partners, and other violations of the law. It applies to operations performed both in the USA and beyond. Violators are both citizens and legal entities. Non -residents, such as subsidiaries of American corporations, which formally, a legal entity of other states, may also include violators.

In the late 1990s-early 2000s. A series of large scandals related to falsification of financial reporting occurred in America. A particularly wide resonance had a scandal with the largest Enron Energy Corporation, in which many people from the highest echelons of US authorities were involved. The reaction was the adoption in 2002 of the Sarbansa-Close Law, which, although it does not determine the procedure for material encouraging informants, provides for their protection against retaliation by the company's management. The law increased the requirements for domestic control in companies registered in the United States.

The crisis of 2007-2009, provoked by fraud in the mortgage market, forced to adopt a new law-Dodd-Frank. He provides for the protection of an informant who has the right to notify his bosses about the violation, but to act directly by referring information to state authorities. If necessary, he can act anonymously, maintaining contacts with law enforcement through a lawyer. Today in the American corporation, any employee is a potential informant of the authorities. Moreover, he is guaranteed protection and remuneration in the amount of 10 to 30% of the amount of the fine for violation.

Now the leadership of banks and corporations is afraid of his subordinates, forced to work strictly in accordance with the law, pay all established taxes to the treasury. Employees show increased vigilance, dreaming of the amounts that they can receive for information about violations in the bank or company. The securities commission was fined by Cityigrop in the amount of $ 75 million. Another bank, Wall Street Goldman Sax, must pay a fine of $ 550 million. A reward to informants - 25 million and 165 million dollars.

The Law of Dodd-Frank played its role, the level of law-abiding entrepreneurs increased. However, not everything goes smoothly. The fear is expressed that the shaft of information can overwhelm the regulators and the effectiveness of their work will decrease. It is proposed to make a preliminary appeal of informants to the internal control bodies of companies a prerequisite for receiving remuneration.

The future of Russia depends on whether it can overcome systemic corruption. Will he be able to stop plundering the treasury, robbery of depositors and shareholders? Without active participation of the population, it will not be possible to modernize the country. And if we do not want to live in poverty, we will have to adopt the experience of developed countries, including the experience of informing the honest authorities about violations of the law by entrepreneurs and officials. The world does not know the other way.

But we will have to go between Scylla and Haribda. There is a danger that people will inform the authorities not out of concern about the general interests of saving the treasury or the need for an honest business, but rather out of a desire to show their loyalty and obedience of power. It must be remembered that a subject of culture itself is a danger to civil society. A reasonable amount of remuneration, emphasis on civil debt and guaranteed the opportunity to fight offenses guaranteed by law may help to avoid this, perhaps, will help. To do this, you will have to change and make the norms of the law on private prosecution and lawsuits in defense of the interests of an indefinite circle of persons.

Photo: Russia. Saint Petersburg. The first large -format posters, the content of which is aimed at combating bribery and corruption. Interpress/TASS (archive).