#Ukraine #Tariffs #Subsidies #EnergySector #DefenseSpending #Military #SocialProtection #TaxpayerMoney #EconomicDevelopment #CostLevel #Populism #VulnerableGroups #Electricity #Gas #GovernmentExpenditure #Fairness #Efficiency #SocioEconomicImpact #BudgetAllocation #FinancialResources #UtilityBills #PriceLevel #WarEconomy
Because today Ukraine loses hundreds of billions of hryvnias in subsidizing low tariffs, which could be directed towards our military. According to Shmyhal's estimation, in 2022 alone, the government and communities spent 400 billion hryvnias on subsidizing prices for electricity and gas. For comparison, this is 35% of all expenses on defense and security in Ukraine for the same year.
This doesn't mean that tariffs should skyrocket, but it is necessary to start gradually raising them to the cost level to avoid spending hundreds of billions on subsidies for energy companies. And this also doesn't mean that the situation should be brought to a state where socially vulnerable groups of the population cannot afford utilities. For the latter, we have a more efficient and fair system of subsidies. Whereas currently, everyone pays low tariffs – including people with decent incomes who could afford to pay the full price. Instead of supporting only the needy, the government spends taxpayers' money not on the army, but on subsidies for everyone. Can we adhere to such an approach during the war? The answer seems clear.
To better understand the trends in the development of the Ukrainian energy and manufacturing sectors, the problem of tariff subsidies, and the associated populism, join the "Ukrainian Economy" course from the OK School: [link]
