The following is the draft resolution prepared by Alexander

Kalinin and submitted to the session of Moscow City Council. The

draft represents the first attempt to introduce the concept of

minimum social guaranteed income in the USSR. If the draft is

approved and adopted, it will lay a totally new foundation of

the welfare sistem at least in Moscow. Though the sceme seems to

be overambitious and demanding huge resourses allegedly not

available, it has to be realized in order to secure survival for

approximately one quarter of Moscovites including the aged,

invalids, families with many children and one-parent families,

students, low paid, jobless and homeless, some other vulnerable

groups.

Despite measures taken by both the Union and Russian Republican

governments the standard of living of the groups mentioned as

well as of the population at large is deteriorating rapidly.

Obviously, modest increase of pensions and allowances doesn't

compensate soaring prices of food and necessities. The sceme

implies naturalization of the social protection for the poor and

transfers the main burden of soaring prices from individuals

onto the municipal authorities. It doesn't interfere in

functioning of market mechanisms. It assumes prices will be free

(as they are now really though not officially). Thus the druft

reads:

"Taking into account the inevitable deterioration of standard of

living of the population, especially poor disable persons and

persons with low fixed incomes unable to augument their incomes

by their own efforts;

Taking into account deterioration of situation on consumers

goods market, high and unpredictable rates of inflation,

Moscow City Council of people's deputies has taken decision:

1. To provide any inhabitant of Moscow whose income doesn't

secure his/her subsistence or is euqal to the subsistence level

with the minimum social protection.

2. The minimum social protection is to be realized by providing

whoever needs it with:

- coupons for getting at the shops some stipulated quantities

of food (including food for babies), of manufactured goods

absolutely necessary maitaning normal phisical conditions,

medicines with the subsequent payment from the special City

fund, which transferes to a seller's account sums according the

free market pricer that existed at the moment of coupons'

realization;

- free medical aid, elementary and secdondary school

education, vocational training and re-training;

- reduced payments for housing, heating, electricity, water

supply or totale release of these payments;

- reduced payments for going by buses, subway, trams and

trolleybuses.

3. Moscow City Council guarantees financing of measures

envisaged by the resolution.

4. To make it incumbment upon district Councils to expand, if

necessary the net of canteens for providing the poor with the

free meals paying all costs from districts' budgets.

5. To appeal to the Supreme Soviet of Russian Federfal Republic

with the request to determine minimum state guaranteed wage per

hour and to make it liable to indexation meaning to increase a

laborer's share of the value he or she produces.

6. The Moscow City Council Special Fund for social protection is

to be replenished by taxes on price increase higher than

average, profits derived from auctioning of luxury goods,

payments of the citizens covered by the system (they are

expected to renounce 50-70% of their money income in order to

enjoy the benefits of the system), donations, fines imposed for

violations of the trade regulations, sums derived from licencing

etc."

The last point consists of the assignments to the Executive

committee of Moscow City Council and incorporates specific

measures to be taken in order to implement the resolution.

The scheme described above was heatedly debated at the permanent

commission on social policy but finally got almost unanimous

approval among the commission members. However the chances of

the scheme's adoption are rather poor, sinse the Soviet elite

has choosen quite differfent social policy tantamount to the

total renunciation of the state's obligations towards the most

unlucky citizens. The Soviet state is willing to protect its

citizens from some mystical threat of invasion (that's why it

alocates no less than 40% of the FY 1991 budget to military

expenditures and stuboornly clings to the conscription), but not

from the hunger brought about by its own disasterous economic

and social policy.

Sure, the distortions of the Union state policy can not be

corrected on the Republican or municipal levels. Yet the

distortions can be and have to be ameliorated by authorities at

the lower-than-Union levels. True, the Union government and the

President in particular are eager to play the role of the

people's saviours. But they have chosen very strange, perverse

ways to perform the role. Being unable or unwilling to restore

the minimum order they prefere to dispense bounties that are

brought to the country from abroad. The Ministry of Interior,

KGB and Army are involved into distribution and transportation

of the humanitarian aid. The support of these institutions is

necessary and welcome, but they are to perform more modest

auxiliary functions, e.i. guarding, and to be subjected to the

public organizations until the aid is didtributed. Since the

Union government and the President undertake steps and obviously

contradict dictates of the common sense their motives arouse

suspicion among public. And to dispel these suspicions it will

be not enough to establish authoritarian regime of the

Presidential rule.

Alexander Kalinin,

Moscow City Council deputy,

the RP's Federal Council member.