Tagged: congress
who I will vote on May 6
I usually write the main idea on the first line of my post, however this one will be different.
Firstly, I will explain why I do not like certain parties and movements competing for your votes on May 6, 2012 National Assembly (Parliament) elections.
I will not vote for Republicans, because this is the mightiest and most powerful party nowadays, nevertheless they could not manage to write a mind blowing program and filter their rows before appearing to public again and begging for votes. Yes, the party is reforming, but I can hardy find one reason to vote for Republicans. Numerous social issues, such as Mashtots Park, Teghut, etc. as well as economic failures make every thinking person doubt. Yes, the country is the only one in the region that has no political prisoners, but this is really the only achievement we can register.
I will not vote for Prosperous Armenia, because this is a “one man show” and the party is based solely on financial, personal and charismatic characteristics of its leader. The party is headless without Gagik Tsarukyan, and this is the biggest danger. In addition, the party was in power all these years and equally shares the responsibility for any negative development in the country. Most importantly, having all this wealth the party again did not manage to come up with a smart program to help the country out. And the country is in shit – no secret.
I will not vote for the Congress, because instead of concentrating on presenting future steps, the Congress blames Republicans. We all know Republicans are guilty, but this is not the reason to vote for Congress. The leader, Mr. Levon Ter-Petrosyan claims his main idea is to stop the “regime”. He swears he only needs three years of presidency and then he will resign. Well, if someone wants to stop the regime there are easier ways to do that. Offering an alternative and smart program, for example.
In addition, if Constitution forbids being a president more than twice – then the “regime” is stopped. This way neither Robert Kocharyan nor Serj Sargsyan can become presidents more than twice. So if Mr. Ter-Petrosyan is really concerned he should offer this to be in the Constitution. But….this will stop him from being elected too, as this will be his third time.
Most importantly, the Congress program for election is no different (and sometimes is worse) than Republicans.
I will not vote for Heritage party because this is the “show off” party. The party has recently joined the dirtiest and most commercial part of ex-Levonists. Obviously, no one can explain this step, but many can guess.
The party has always been supporting social movements, but never started one itself. There are numerous questions to the leader of this party, Mr. Hovhannisyan both about his sons never serving in Armenian army and about problems within his party which came out after proportional lists were published. The party started playing with Republicans just recently, and many people again explain this by mentioning the “commercial” wing of the party. And again, most important thing – instead of drafting a proper program, Heritage prefers pseudo-influential PR campaign for elections.
I will not vote for Dashnaks (or Tashnaks) because of super unreal program the party has presented. The party promises “at least 200 000 new jobs”. Let us leave alone the questions “when” and “for what kind of salary”. The party does not answer those.
BUT.
The second president, Robert Kocharyan had a milestone of 40 000 new jobs when there was no recession. He hardly met that target, together with Kirk Kirkoryan’s Lincy Foundation, Northern Avenue construction, etc. In 10 years. (During all those years Dashnaks were ministers in the government).
Today, Armenia has officially registered 69 400 jobless. Part of these people are working illegally, but they still get pensions form the state.
When, for example, the new jobs approach 100 000 in US the stocks go up and the country improves big time. Reminder, US has a population of 309 mln.
Dashnaks promise “at least 200 000 new jobs”. No comment.
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I will not vote for Orinats Yerkir party, because this is again a “one man show” party that talks a lot about prosperity. The leader of this party, Mr. Baghdasaryan tells how it should be ideally. “The pensions should …., the education should…., the jobs should….., the disabled should…., the country should….”. Never “how”, “when” or “how much”.
I will not vote for Communists, because I don’t smoke pot.
I will not vote for Democrats, because this party has nothing to offer to public.
I will not vote for United Armenians party.
So, I will go to elections but I will have to make my voting bulletin invalid. This will be my vote, my voice and my approach to all parties, their weak programs and helpless policies.
By doing this, I am trying to “educate” our parties and make them think more (more than talk, I mean). I believe every thinking citizen should offer this lesson to today’s competing parties. So they change, for us and for themselves.
opposition’s biggest fail yet
A couple of observations, and I say this with a sad feeling, opposition lost it by disappointing its supporters throughout these 4 years:
Some may think these people are paid to rally. But these arguing people never hide they support the other candidate. (More about him here.) Those who are paid would never be this emotional and would not follow Nikol until he enters his car.
The next observation, people from the balcony demand the same as the rioting ones.
I really haven’t seen any of Nikol’s supporters around him.
I think this has been a harsh “meeting with reality” for Congress. Kind of cold shower.
And last but not least. I always knew this guy Nikol was strange and weird. But it appears he is a medical case. Air kisses towards empty space at the end were really “Breivik style”. He simply needs a serious medical aid.
when evil is masked
I’m ok when evil behaves like evil, but I can’t stand when evil pretends good. I hate masks, hidden bottoms and hidden agendas. I respect straightforward deeds, even if they come from the “dark side of the power”.
The biggest pain is disappointment. Disappointment with evil, pretending good. As you never expect bad, and you believe, and you trust, and you hope. You better know it’s bad from the beginning.
Seeing our impotent, useless and weak government (think evil) I understand that this is what evil is and this is what evil is able to do. However, when I see our opposition (masked evil), I disappoint even more.
Why? Because I am looking for an alternative to our current government and I can’t find it. Because I am listening to them attentively, trying to dedicate my time and give my voice, and all I hear is “give us the power and the glory”.
It’s “we want to be in the parliament” instead of “we want to change the country”.
It’s “current rulers are evil” instead of “this is what we plan to do”.
It’s “we are right” instead of “we will try our best”
It’s “they are bad” instead of “this is what we’d do differently”
It’s “they are mafia” instead of “yes, we were mafia in the past”
It’s “they lose Artsakh” instead of “this is our solution for Artsakh”
It’s “they are guilty” instead of “we have our portion of guilt”
I don’t find honesty in opposition. This is [probably] why they gather fewer people around, this is [probably] why they have less than 200 likes in Facebook, this is [probably] why they don’t even bother to offer a smart program. This is [probably] why they don’t update their program for already two years.
And this is maybe why they need more zombies, idiots and fighters instead of romantics, analyzers and new leaders.
categorize it
Speaking to people supporting our opposition (not only Armenian National Congress, but also Heritage, Dashnaks, etc…), I came to conclusion that they [these people] are pretty different. Even though they have one target, however their motives and methods are pretty antithetical. Just like in that old joke: “3 million Armenians have 3 million points of view”.
So today I thought of categorizing people supporting Armenian opposition, as this analysis is important for understanding them and choosing the language to speak to them. This will also help to save energy, as some people will never listen and will never change. Here it goes:
zombies: these are people who never listen. They just gather for the sake of gathering, they mostly stand there like zombies, just for the sake of being there. A call of duty. They do not have their own opinion, but follow the opinion of the guy with the microphone. They don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong, they don’t have to know it.
idiots: this is maybe the most dangerous category within opposition. They say: “idiots are dangerous not because of their stupidity, but because of the remaining of brains they still carry in their heads”. These people are those who blame the country doing nothing to change it. They like talking about how bad and negative Armenia is, how helpless and useless everything is. They naively believe change of power or revolution will make the country a paradise and they like repeating it everyday. These people see solution in revolution by meeting any problem, late taxi, bad hairdresser, slow civil servant, no success in business – revolution will help. We need another president. They love comparing Armenia to US and EU but only mentioning Armenia’s negative sides.
fighters: these are brainless people who will fight police and army every single time they are said to do so. They will attack presidential palace or Parliament if they are simply given an order. Being fanatics they see solution in battle. They believe that only physical fight and crucifying of president and all ministers, MPs and oligarchs will make Armenia the land of their dreams. They don’t believe in system change they believe in the power of punishment. Every soldier, every policeman is their enemy. (Irrespective of being Armenian).
romantics: this is the purest category within the opposition and it takes country’s problems too deep. These guys are those who want to see the light and they preach light and love. They are very few within the opposition and they are mostly people of art and culture. They will create poems, music and paintings to show their protest and thus will call people to change. Obviously they don’t want to kill anyone.
analyzers: the category with the least quantity of people. Unfortunately. This is the category who reads, watches, participates and analyzes. These are people who offer solutions and try to show the way. These people may not even be active, however they perfectly know country’s challenges, weaknesses and they can offer quick fix. Analyzers are rarely engaged in opposition’s program building, as nobody reads programs in Armenia nowadays.
bankers and investors: these are mostly ex-ministers, corrupt officials and ex-oligarchs. Naturally, every movement, especially fight needs funding. These people actively participate in oppositional events and they have solid expectations. In case of complete power change – the portfolio of the minister, and in case of seats in the Parliament – the MP seat. They may be in a shadow as well, however the funded power will help them freely manipulate state authorities and make decisions in their own favor.
leaders: this is the category that compiles zombies, idiots, fighters, romantics, analyzers and investors. The only difference is – these are with leadership skills.
steps and leaps
Since I discovered that Armenian opposition had only 132 followers on Facebook (now they have 134) I thought of brief review of their 100 steps, that is called PROPOSAL/PROGRAM FOR A SYSTEMATIC REFORM OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC POLICIES”.
The 100 steps were published on February 22, 2010 and were never updated since then. You can find them on Armenian National Congress (ANC) website here http://www.anc.am/en/60/358/.
After this analysis that covers tax and customs policy part you are encouraged to compare these 100 steps with 13 steps presented here, the latter does not have any monopoly and can be used both by opposition and our helpless government.
Here is what opposition’s 100 steps say:
“Redistribution of tax burden from SMEs onto big businesses”, and then later “even distribution of tax burden”.
It’s self-contradicting. You cannot burden big businesses and claim that the tax burden is even. Burdening big business means burdening big employer, big procurer, big investor, sometimes even big charity. It’s better not to burden anyone but provide solutions.
Next: “Bringing minimum salary closer to the size of average salary”.
It is unclear how close ANC wants to bring it, 3%, 10%, 20, 50 or 70%. Or maybe closer. The document of this importance and magnitude should be more precise.
Next: “Overtaxing of highest salaries“.
I’m afraid if we start to overtax high salaries no world-class professional will come to Armenia, because his/her salary will not only be taxed, but “overtaxed”. And again, it is not clear what ANC means by highest salary. Clear figures would help to understand this.
Next: “Taxation of elite construction. Subsidizing construction in the peripheries. Taxation of properties sales. An average 10% construction tax should be set up. This tax will be differentiated by the territorial principle: 0% (in some cases even -10% if the state subsidizes the construction) for peripheries and 15% for instance for the center of Yerevan.“
This means no affordable apartments in the center of Yerevan. If they are expensive now, they will be much more expensive after additional construction taxing. Young families, especially those having corporate ties with the center of the city will not salute this. In addition, investors will have to increase prices for residential or commercial property rent.
Next: “Special taxation of big landowners. Big landowners (50 hectares and more) should be taxed with the same regime as industry, trade etc. In this case the mechanism of harvest and income valuation should apply instead of land cadastral valuation.”
This is unfair. If an individual has 50 and more hectares of land, but has no income – he/she should not be taxed only because he/she has that land. The same applies to harvest, if an individual has 50 hectares, and that’s a forest or a mountain, the state should not (and simply can not) valuate his/her harvest or income and tax him/her.
Next: “State control of the gambling business. Existence of non-state lottos, lotteries and dice should be excluded. The exclusive right of exploiting such institutions should be granted to the RA Finance Ministry. Operating totalizators, gambling (cultural) institutions should work under supervision of state representatives. In all casinos and such enterprises the state should be a share holder and have its representative.”
The state, especially a liberal european state should not control business. The proposal says that all gambling and lotto businesses should work under supervision of state representatives. I don’t want to compare, but even China does not do it.
Next: “Exclusion of tax remissions. No subject carrying out economic activity (funds, religious organizations, any charity) should have tax privileges.“
During all these 21 years of independence Armenia heavily depended on Diaspora charity. Now, Armenian opposition wants to tax that charity.
Overall conclusion: I will have to say that to my disappointment the document has many vague passages and does not precisely specify strategic figures or percentages. It calls for more taxing, overtaxing and overburdening. Instead of offering alternative solutions that ease taxation burden, spark entrepreneurship and invite investors, Armenian opposition wants to make it harder, heavier and more expensive, it discourages charity and wants more state control over businesses.
I would want this to be my opinion. But this is simply what our opposition says.
Make sure to check these simple alternative 13 steps too.
Armenian opposition has 132 likes on Facebook
To continue posting thoughts about Armenian politics and upcoming elections, that started here (in English) and went on here (in world’s most beautiful language) I went to our main oppositional movement’s website and visited their Facebook page. Yes, I talk about Armenian National Congress.
I’m used to analyzing facts and figures, therefore I wanted to see how many Facebook users all around the world like Armenian National Congress. It appears their Facebook page is liked by 132 people.
I’m sure the supporters of ANC are many. You can witness at least 3,000-4,000 people in their rallies recently. I remember times when they managed to gather 50,000 people around them. I understand that not all of them have Facebook accounts. I also understand that not all Facebook users are ready to reveal that they actually like ANC.
But I also need to take into account that Facebook is an international phenomenon, and we have around 10 million Armenians all over the world, only 132 of which actually liked our opposition on Facebook.
