Janek Mäggi: Entrepreneurs Must Always Be Greedier Than the Government

When money isn’t eager to fulfill its main function—to move as quickly as possible from hand to hand, thereby putting everyone who holds it to work—stagnation or regression is inevitable, writes Janek Mäggi, member of the board of the communications bureau Powerhouse, in response to a survey by Äripäev for opinion leaders.

The primary question today is not what would finally restart the economy but rather how much economy Estonia really needs. We have an abundant number of “green revolutionaries” trying to prove that people are actually happier walking rather than driving, who argue that Estonia doesn’t need industries, especially forestry, among other ideas.

The right answer, of course, is that Estonia has too little economy. Estonia needs more economy, not less. If Estonian companies focus on development and growth rather than merely existing, all citizens will benefit, not just the entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs are not working to ensure there are roads, hospitals, and school buildings in Estonia. In a democratic country, entrepreneurs cannot be forced to take action; they must be motivated so that, alongside their primary concerns, they also have an interest in maintaining society.

Estonian entrepreneurs, as a rule, are motivated and do not tire, even if they sometimes seem to complain about state policies that slow down rather than accelerate the circulation of money. For instance, tax increases will undoubtedly cool the economy rather than boost it. An unbalanced budget is very bad, but increasing state revenues at the expense of entrepreneurs decreases the motivation to earn revenue; more thought should be given to reducing the state’s revenues.

One Ministry Is Enough

When I worked as Minister of Public Administration at the Ministry of Finance from 2018 to 2019, the ministry conducted an analysis of how many jobs could be reduced if Estonia had only one ministry—the main idea being to reduce duplication and create efficiencies.

At that time, all ministries together employed 2,530 people, and with just one “super ministry,” the same work could have been done by 1,000 people. This proportion shows that the state gets at least twice as many people involved in policy-making as necessary. They do their jobs diligently, but there’s no need for double work—work could be done twice as efficiently.

I don’t believe, especially after working in the government, that 15 people in the government or 101 members in the parliament have too much power to improve or worsen the lives of 1.3 million people. The state can only be managed through the budget; the size of Estonia’s GDP is more affected by the ambition and discipline of Estonian entrepreneurs to engage in business than by tax decisions that cool the economy. Estonians regulate policies not with their votes at elections, but with their responses to the decisions of the Estonian government—expressing clearly what they like and what they don’t.