Elena Leontjeva

EU citizens are collecting signatures for a petition demanding a universal, unconditional income for everyone. What does this mean? Everyone will have a living wage, regardless of what type of work they do or what contribution they make to the society.

Inflation is often referred to as a tax, imposed without parliamentary approval, without legislation and without considering the consequences. Today’s inflation is special: printing money seemed to be pretty much the only way to respond to the pandemic and to finance rising public spending.

Right before Christmas the EC presented a directive proposal targeting the profits of large multinational companies. The new rules propose imposing a minimum corporate income tax of 15% on large companies.

‘To serve or to rule?’ – this is a dilemma we face as we reflect on the fundamental principles of “the scope of powers [of the state] shall be limited by the Constitution” and “state institutions shall serve the people” on the occasion of the Constitution Day.

Governments have responded to the pandemic by printing money, thus disrupting the usual economic relationships. Financial capital, which was long been regarded as a most-demanded resource, has lost its position to raw materials which in turn have lost to labor force.

The Lithuanian government seems to have a clear vision and arguments about how we should move towards the green economy. More importantly, everyone is invested in making an actual change happen. Increased public awareness is already impacting our habits and behaviors.

The pandemic has brought the peacefully sleeping world back from its slumber, disrupting its long-term welfare plans and forcing it to look for answers to a multitude of uncomfortable questions. COVID-19 reminded our civilization of mortality of a man.

The justice of compensating for the quarantine is once again one of the main societal concerns. Previously made mistakes are leading to more and more flawed interpretations and force us to go back to the origins of the crisis. Did companies, which received \"quarantine relief\" from the government, have a right to breathe, move and change? In economic terms, it means to pay, invest, purchase, trade and transfer.

The second lockdown in Lithuania is no different from the first one: there are no clear principles for economic relief, individual groups are fighting for their own interests, and the government is forced to constantly alleviate the emerging effects of the quarantine. But what if lockdowns persisted?