Electoral promises - the aftermath

During electoral campaign, huge, irresponsible promises, were made. Now, it´s the new government task to try to make them true (or, as a local journalist-showman, Micea Badea, said the other night, to start the "yes but no" discourse).

Most of these promises were related with raising salaries to teachers, doctors, policemen... The raising of salaries for teachers beginning in October 2008 was approved by the Parliament in September. I wondered then:

1) How the hell a responsible Parliament could make a promise compromising a budget, the one of 2008, that has received approval in January, and, with no extra incomes, no extra money to allocate to that raising.
2) How the hell a responsible Government will be able to fit that salary raising in next budgetary period, 2009. No doubt that salaries in Romanian education are low... However, no doubt either that Ministry of Education budget can´t easily handle such a raise (forget absolute numbers, let´s talk abour relative weight of the promise: a 50% raise, let´s not forget that).

So I'm know leaving Romania for Christmas, and at last found data answering my two hell questions:

1) The raise from October was possible by transfering money already allocated for educational infrastructures (10% of the Ministry's total budget) to that raise. As a result: a) Ministry cannot pay some works already performed, but had not been invoiced before October. b) Ministry cannot begin pending works, school renovation, etc. An by the way, teachers have not received yet all the promised money (bureaucracy...)

2) Inflation has been quite high in the last semester of the year; the RON/EUR rate in September was 3,6, more or less, and by the end of the year we have almost trespassed the psycological barrier of 4 RON/EUR. So well, if the tendency continues, maybe it will be able to raise the salaries after all... With no effect on teachers welfare.

If you can´t have both, what's more important for education, good facilities or content teachers? Difficult decision... But there´s no need to promise anything if you´ll be having none. Think before talking. Make numbers before promising.