Do the math…

For several weeks now, we have been discussing asset declarations and the extension of the concept beyond the usual legal boundaries. It is somewhat comical, especially after the secrecy of this year's declarations, which came quite surprisingly. It was a transparency gained over time and ritualistically exercised by all those involved. No one contests it. Of course, we can discuss what the general public understands from the idea of the wealth of dignitaries and officials, but also whether a poor referent (I say this with sympathy) from a public institution is normal to declare their "wealth" like a minister or a parliamentarian who cannot justify even their watch or car payment from their salary. Moreover, under the cover of GDPR, bizarre things have been hidden in recent years: who applied for a director's position, what grades group or class colleagues received, and many other things through which transparency reinforces democracy, in reality. Otherwise, if someone wants to say nonsense about you on social media, you honestly have little you can do about it. Or if you want to say something about them. Purely dirty, as the master we would need so much these days would say.

For those who do not know, this year was the first in which, for example, beyond this secrecy for the public, information regarding the spouse, possibly adult children, no longer had to be included in asset declarations. This can be read in an ANI statement from May 15 (June being the deadline for submitting asset and interest declarations). Everything is based on a decision of the Constitutional Court from 2025. All of this was commented on with an emphasis on the lack of transparency then, but some of the issues raised by the CCR are socially and humanly understandable: if the spouse lies or makes mistakes, what guilt does the person who is legally obliged to submit the declaration have? And there are many other situations of this type. After all, a "wealth" can be hidden with a sister/brother, nephews, parents, an ex-wife/ex-husband, various intermediaries and friends, even with aunt Tamara (those who watched television in 2005 should raise their hands). But even there, it does not seem to have been so simple to draw conclusions.

A month ago, the change changed, as another paradigmatic character said, as a legislative initiative stirred spirits trying to extend the declaration obligations beyond legal boundaries. I understand that it fell to a vote. But I honestly think that at this moment it is no longer clear whether it remained as in June 2026 with the completion of declarations, or as in previous years.

In a country where work is worth too little and where almost all of us complain that others are not willing to do the low-paying jobs that we are not willing to do, a simple analysis of the asset declarations submitted until now, for years, by various dignitaries, elected or appointed (and this should not be read in an ideological or political spectrum key) shows us that some of these people try to convince us that from 10-15,000 lei a month, come on, a maximum of 20,000, you can get two luxury SUVs, a sports car, a penthouse in a big city, a villa or a vacation home, plus the current expenses of the family, vacations, clubs, and other things we do not know about, of course. And the watches, let’s not forget. But from those whose names you have not even heard, predators. Being a dignitary, that person cannot have many other lucrative activities alongside their position. Do the math, as Americans say: if you look at the salary grid of dignitaries, at the tens of thousands of euros given as contributions in the electoral campaign for any eligible position, the money does not add up. I know that many Romanians, used to low salaries and at most with black bonuses to get beyond the subsistence limit, see the salaries of dignitaries as royal. And maybe they are, but for many of those involved, those royal salaries do not explain in any case their extravagant consumption.

To make everyone understand, a humble example: for a car worth 100,000 euros, not rare on our streets, the payment/lease would be at least 1,500 euros a month, for five years, with a down payment equal to the value of a very well-equipped Dacia. So that dignitary's salary suddenly shrinks, with the simple payment of the monthly installment. Otherwise, all our dignitary's expenses are rational and even modest, that’s why they manage only from their salary, which is large, of course, but without any connection to what they consume? They do not drink, do not smoke, they have put ecological bulbs in that 500 square meter house... Well, boss, the electricity bill, even so, is also half of that installment for the limousine in a winter month. And you realize that the person does not live like a monk. They buy entire carts from hypermarkets, have cars, houses, businesses, schools for children, vacations, gas, petrol, clothes, whims, etc. And many others. And I have still painted a reasonable individual among them, one without a helicopter, yacht, and Lamborghini. Do the math, as I said.