By Jaye and Felicia
Mikhail Gorbachev has hailed the economic liberalisation reforms as the first-step of his perestroika policy to incorporate market elements in the Soviet centralised economy. However, the move has not been particularly effective in reducing the Soviet informal economy due to citizens’ fears of corrupt bureaucrats and reluctance to be subjected to the country’s porous tax legislation.
The 1985 Presidium of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) has been engaging in fruitful discussions regarding pressing issues of the Soviet Union. After 2 days of heated debates, the committee has come up with council directives which aim to resolve and mitigate the current problems. We will be focusing on two council directives, which will focus on economic reform comprising several solutions, as well as tightening tax legislation and eradicating corruption within the USSR.
Economic Reform: Socialism with Russian Characteristics
Reforms the economic narrative through all Soviet-issued propaganda materials which will preach the cruciality of perestroika in terms of reforming Russia’s economy to bring about progress for the motherland (against)
We do not agree with continuing to preach for the Perestroika reform as it will eventually bring more harm to the Soviet Union. Perestroika goes against the communist ideology that our Soviet Union should closely abide by. Hence, by continuing the policies of the Perestroika, we would slowly drift away from communism, leading to the eventual weakening of the communist government.
Mandate that couples produce a minimum of 2 children
This would allow able workers to be contributed to the Soviet workforce, thereby advancing the economy and decrease the risk of an ageing population
Establish a child support plan across the USSR where a child’s basic educational needs are free of charge and supported by the state
We believe that it is important to increase the birth rate of the Soviet Union as it provides more manpower in the workforce. Raising the birth rate is also an important step to prevent an ageing population in Soviet Union. It is also crucial to subsidise the education of children to further encourage Soviet citizens to have more children. Moreover, when the younger generation is given the opportunity to further their education, they are able to contribute more towards Soviet Union.
Puts into place for the reform of the collectivization of agriculture
Collectivisation is a more efficient way to agriculture and crop yield will increase. Moreover, machinery and pesticide shall be given to farmers to allow greater crop yield and lowering the manpower needed for agricultural purposes. Hence, more manpower can be allocated to the industrialisation plans of Soviet Union to allow it to continue to progress.
Tightening Tax Legislation and Stamping Out Corruption
Calls upon the Government of the Soviet Union to establish an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in its attempts to move towards transparency
The ACB will consist of individuals with a background in forensic accounting, reporting directly to Chairman Gorbachev (against)
We do not agree with the following solution. As previously mentioned in our articles, it is more than obvious that Gorbachev cannot be trusted after all that he has done. Hence, reporting directly to Chairman Gorbachev is not exactly the brightest of ideas now, is it? We seek that the ACB reports such information to someone the people can trust.
Citizens may also utilise the soon-to-be established Anti-Corruption Bureau to report instances of tax officials mishandling money or unfairly taxing them (not feasible enough)
Allowing citizens to report instances of unfair taxing or mishandling of money does not seem to be a feasible idea. There are some limitations to this solution. What if people lie just to get an official they dislike into trouble? This again points to the issue of giving the people too much power, tying to the Glasnost policy.
Establishes a specific department for the taxation of SMEs, “Internal Taxation Services” (ITS)
The ITS would be under the Central Committee
The Head of ITS would be hand-picked by the Central Committee for his/her honesty, integrity and previous experience handling finance-related matters
The Head of ITS would then select Regional Tax Officials (RTO), and Provincial Tax Officials (PTO)
Regional Tax Officials would appoint Provincial Tax Officials for their honesty, integrity and previous experience handling finance-related matters
On the other hand, this would be much more feasible and effective in eradicating corruption. Those handling monetary matters will be hand-picked for their integrity and experience. I believe we can trust the Communist government to pick the best candidates for such an important job and put an end to the corruption
Conclusion
In conclusion, the council directives have certain solutions that will definitely help mitigate the economic and corruption issues. At the same time, there are also a few solutions that we strongly disagree with and believe are not feasible. Generally, the economic reforms target various areas and sectors and will be more effective in helping boost our economy. As for the tightening of tax legislations and corruption policies, they will definitely help reduce the citizens’ fears of corrupt bureaucrats and reluctance to be subjected to the country’s porous tax legislation. Hence, we want to reinforce our stance that the USSR proceeds with the new economic reforms but abolish those regarding Gorbachev’s policies. The overwhelming majority of the population of the USSR has no intention of abandoning socialism at all, so why are Gorbachev’s policies still being put in place? This is pure contradiction! We believe that the USSR will do what is right for our motherland.
References
Pravda (1986, November). New Economic Policy https://smun2021crisis.tumblr.com/