Welfare, drained reservoir

“Strategic problem of the Czech economics is not a deflation, nor unemployment, not the power of currency nor low export. It’s a long-time sustainability of competitiveness, endangered by two weak elements – deficient educational system and fiscal unbalance”, reads the statement of the Council Iustitia et Pax of the Czech Bishops’conference, recently issued in regard to the topic of the pensionary reform in the country – one of the crucial conditions of a future economic development of the country. Danka Jacecková spoke to Martin Kupka, economist and member of the Council, about current problems, ways of their solving and responsibility of the Church in the area of social and economic issues. Why has the Council IUPAX decided to issue a special statement regarding the approach towards the pensionary reform in the Czech republic? How would you describe the current situation and the main threats? “The Council – through its activities – tries to define problems that are not enough or inadequately reflected in the Czech society, and afterwards to indicate the elements that should be respected in the search for the solutions. As emerges from the name of the Council, we concentrate on the problems that have a negative impact on human dignity and rights. When choosing the topic of interest, we try to take into account also the fact, that gravity of some – perhaps currently not so urgent and therefore often neglected problems – may grow into dimensions seriously endangering the social coherence and stability in future. And the matter of searching for suitable pensionary system undoubtedly falls into this category. The main reason for the alarming state of pensionary systems in many countries of the world, including the Czech republic, is ageing of population. Demographic trends indicate that in the forthcoming decades, the percentage of retired people will grow in our society, on the expense of those who work and actually fund the pensions from their wages today. Metaphorically said, the reservoir of money designated for funding of pensions will keep emptying faster and its replenishment will be slower. Sooner or later this reservoir will dry out”. The statement of the Commission underlines that for the sake of future generations it’s necessary to search more intensively for “the new principles of a long-term sustainable pensionary system” – what are the possible solutions? “An ideal escape from pending pensionary trap would be a reversion of the negative demographic trends associated with securing of productive work for the future generations. However, no democratic state can guarantee meeting these conditions. Among another possibilities there are so-called parametric changes of pensionary system that occur in our environment from time to time, but their common attribute is that they don’t turn away the danger of collaps for good but only postpone it (one of the typical parametric changes is the shifting of retirement age). Politicians don’t like to introduce such measures, because – said in a simple way – they make the voters work longer and get less money after being retired comparing to currently set system. Politically least favourite measure is the one that would be the most effective: to increase intensity of the inflow of financial resources into the pension reservoir the way that even higher outflow wouldn’t result in its drying out. This can be ensured in two ways: by increasing the savings from earnings, intended for funding of life after retirement, and by increasing the state indebtedness that would allow supplementary funding of the system of solidary pensions”. What is the role of the Catholic Church in dealing with social and economic questions of this importance? “The Catholic Church should definitely participate in the search for the solutions in this regard through its members. In the first phase, through their contribution into discussion about the relevance of certain topics for the society – which ones are not so important and which ones are. After this survey, the Church should try to resolve the crucial topics in the light of its social teaching, to define a value order, in which the human society should move, to define the relation of a man towards God, neighbours, work and nature, and in this regard to set general principles that need to be respected in the search for concrete solutions”. How would you describe the opennes of the state and its authorities towards the voice of the Church in this area? “We need to be realistic here. In the country with a long-time tradition of mistrust towards the institution of the Catholic Church, we can’t expect that our voice could break the ice and lead the way of our society forward. On the other side, this is actually not our ambition. We think that it’s right if the Church expresses that it knows and cares about the society’s joys and pains. If we speak about concrete problems, to which we have been trying to draw the attention, we kind of feel as a narrow streamlet or a snowball that can’t do anything by itself, but in association with other streamlets or snowflakes – if it’s the God’s will – it can grow into power that could move the society in a desired direction”.