The First Seven

In his weekly column "Max's Column" for TBmagazine, Maxim Behar talks about the difficulties and changes in the Bulgarian economy and business and the only force that counts - experience.

We know well how to count them. We say that our children are mature for life (especially if they are already on Tik Tok) right at this age. But even later, if someone messes up, we immediately conclude that the first seven years of their upbringing are missing... Well, that's right! Everyone learned something important and valuable to start their life right then.

Look, it's different in the economy. Especially if the state continues to have a strong say in it.

At the beginning of the 1990s, our entire country was full of emotions and hope that finally, the state will leave the economy and deal with its real job - security and defense. It seems that in the first years this happened, but after six or seven years, the momentum of the period that we called communism for unknown reasons, continued in full force.

Trades, public work contracts, commissions, state officials, do-nothing do-gooders... Over the years, they seem to have become dominant and significant again in their far worse version - uncontrolled and unmanageable.

That's why we need to look at the “first seven” more often, to get rid of bad habits and let honest private business dominate everything. And the state...  to just not touch the economy. So, we could have an economy, of course!