Count it if you can

Tariff hike campaign to last at least a week

The government of our country is becoming so manual that it is even scary for it - what will happen if it gets out of hand? That's right, there will be an action for its reverse domestication, perhaps by twisting it. This method is planned...

The government of our country is becoming so manual that even
scared for him - what will happen if it gets out of hand? That's right, there will be a promotion
by re-taming it, possibly by twisting it. It is this method
it is planned to be used when restoring order in the field of tariffication of payment for services
Housing and communal services. It is planned to defeat the age-old problem in a week - almost as
Georgia.

It is clear that the president’s harsh reaction was not caused by the striped strip itself
in the sphere of tariff setting, and the social effects that it, as it turned out,
capable of producing. The topic of housing and communal services is ideal for getting people out
into the street: it concerns equally all but the most affluent, and
has two obvious directions of impact - the governor (since tariffs in the region are growing
faster than the neighbors) and the head of the government (since he can’t clean up the
its federal bell tower). And beat people who demand not some
political changes, but simply adequate numbers in utility bills, somehow
not comme il faut.

But it is possible to exert administrative measures on those who are to blame
in a similar increase in tariffs. Demonstrating thereby that: a) the federal
the government is not really to blame for anything, and b) it listens to the vox populi.
It was on this path that the president went, obliging the relevant Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry
Kozak to find out how justified is the "overestimation" of tariffs in certain
municipalities and, if necessary, “turn back” these tariffs.

At the time of the audience, Kozak, fortunately, already had a black
a list of 21 disadvantaged regions and the nth number of even less prosperous ones
municipalities. On Monday, Kozak held a conference call with
governors and gave them exactly one week to eliminate the admitted distortions. IN
25% was given as the target figure. Up to this mark, tariffs are entitled
grow, no more.

The effect was not long in coming and even exceeded the expectations of both the authorities and
and the population. For example, in Ulyanovsk, public utilities, without saying a word, “forgave”
citizens of arrears, exhibited for many years. Apparently unreasonable.
exhibited, once in fresh bills, many Ulyanovsk residents saw the original
the figure of the upcoming payment: 0 rubles.

It’s probably not worth waiting for such generosity throughout the country, but here’s a “twist”
on the original 25% will happen for sure. If only because 25% is two
once more than the predicted level of inflation, which means that in reality
The utilities have nothing to lose. In addition to super super super profits - well, not the same
Now the political situation...

However, it is not very clear to me what these 25% include. They are just as
mythological, like 100% payment for housing and communal services. What is it: matching the total
services paid for by citizens with the amount that they were deprived of monthly in
Last year? Or the arithmetic mean between the growth of tariffs for different
categories: electricity, heat supply, water supply, sanitation, etc.
Further? Or the limit for one particular category?

In Russia, by the way, there are about 30 thousand municipalities. Do you imagine
what comprehensive information on each of them looks like, summarized in one
document? Is it possible to do all this in a week, not only to count-check -
meaningful reading?

And how often, by whose forces do you need to check in order to understand whether the
presidential order? And seriously check, analyzing not peppy reports,
What about authentic payments?

Again, if violations are found, who will be punished? Powers in the field
our tariff formations are distributed and blurred so that the ultimate culprit
cannot be determined (see diagram; source - Federal Tariff Service).
It is clear why this was done. But it is not clear how to administer all this.

Dmitry Medvedev proposes to lay full responsibility on the heads
regions, which is generally logical - because it is the president of these heads who de facto
appoints and removes. But the heads of municipalities are elected
people. And they are not directly subordinate to either the president or the governor. They,
certainly not lost political fear, but also from their own interests for the sake of
considerations of a national scale will not be abandoned.

And these interests lie in the fact that companies providing services to end
consumers in the housing and communal services sector, whether they are (in the old fashioned way) state unitary enterprises or (in a new way) homeowners associations, in
in many cases they are somehow affiliated with the very heads of municipalities.
The higher the rates, the higher the profit.

At the same time, the establishment of tariffs for some housing and communal services is in
the exclusive competence of municipal authorities. And in some regions
established by parliaments. And what now - to punish the deputies
one by one or to motivate them to abolish the laws they have adopted?

You can go for temporary losses and be patient until the top calms down. A
then accrue everything additionally or win back by providing some more
useless but essential services. And also due to "standards of consumption".
This is the volume of services that, according to the authorities, consumes the average
citizen. You can not touch the tariff and adjust the standard. Pay anyway
will have to do more.

For example, the Chamber of Control and Accounts reported that consumption standards
for water supply in Moscow are doubled. What's right is right. I installed here
counter and pay significantly less than before. Even though I consume the most
in your entryway.

The debate about who and how should set tariffs is endless.
But until real competition appears in the housing and utilities sector, nothing in this system
will not change fundamentally. This is probably trite. But not more
degree than exchanging a systemic solution to a problem for the triumph of establishing
social justice in manual mode.

PS _ And one more technology to make us
pay more: in Moscow, Sberbank will now take a 3% commission for transfers
utility bills. 'Cause the city government shifted the burden of paying
commissions from utilities to consumers. We have some money
more._