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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-09-03, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1997 PAGE 5. Sailors, a superstitious lot Well, 1 ain't superstitious, but a black cat crossed my trail Old blues lyric I've only been cuffed in the head a few times in my life, and most times I was in a situation where I kind of expected it (i.e. doing my level best to cuff somebody else in the head) - but I do recall an occasion when a backhander took me by surprise. I was swabbing decks on an oil tanker somewhere between Halifax and Amuay Bay, Venezuela. I made the mistake of whistling while I swabbed. Next thing I knew I was sprawled face down on the deck between my bucket and my mop. The Bosun, a red-faced Yorkshireman built like a beer stein, stood over me with his hand on his hips. "Eejit!" he snarled, "Do ye not know better than t'whistle on a ship?" As a matter of fact I didn't - but I learned right quick. I discovered that among sailors it's considered perilously bad luck to pucker your lips and blow while you're at sea. They believed, quite seriously, that whistling encouraged the winds to blow. That wasn't the only superstition those men 9 ■International Scene The underground economy My wife once informed me that our cleaning lady had decided to quit and that we would have to find a new one. This did not turn out to be the easiest task in the world and it was only after a diligent search that we found another one whose English did not seem to be anything but elementary. It turned out that she spoke Russian and for this reason I was ordered by my wife to be present when she showed up so that I could translate any instructions etc. I dutifully appeared at the appointed time and in no time was delivering all sorts of suggestions and the like. My wife then asked me to inquire how she would like to be paid. My question was answered with a very prompt and decisive, "Ya hachew "cash". (I want cash). Her English may have been very limited but she had already learned a vital word. If you have had somebody do some work for you and wanted no cheques, just cash, welcome to the world of the underground economy. This is that part of the economy whose activities for financial gain go unreported in any tax declaration. Every country has one and the only difference is the level of intensity. Economists like to keep some tab of how much is going on in each country and for this reason we are reading with a great deal of interest the most recent study turned out by a economics professor at the University of Linz in Austria. He has found that, over the past decade, the underground economy in the industrialized world has grown, on average, three times as fast as the reported one. There are several reasons for all this, none at sea embraced. They believed it was bad luck to change the-name of your boat; to name a boat before it was launched; for two relatives to crew on the same vessel and to board a small boat from any direction but ihe starboard side. One crewman told me that sailors never molest seagulls, believing them to be the souls of drowned mariners. They're a superstitious lot, your sailors - but then why not? They've got a risky job, flitting like water spiders over the tossing bosom of a capricious and frequently violent ocean. They need all the good luck they can get. Strange how most of us, sailor and landlubber alike, still observe many old superstitions. How many of us would deliberately walk under a ladder? Open an umbrella in the house? Not me. Not without tossing a little salt over my shoulder. Look at weddings. The bride must wear white. On the wedding day, the groom must not see the bride before she comes down the aisle. And when the deed is done we throw handfuls of confetti or rice at them. Enduring habits, superstitions. I'm not gullible enough to think that handling toads will give me warts, but I cross my fingers before I go in to ask the boss for a raise. Mind you, when it comes to superstitions, the Russians make you, me and the entire Canadian merchant marine look like a pack of scientific rationalists. Russians are By Raymond Canon of which should surprise you. The first is the increasing tax burden over the last 10-15 years as governments attempted to give consumers all or most of the things that they demanded. The heavier the tax load, the greater will be the temptation to do work on the side and get paid in cash for it. It is not only income tax which plays a role here. One of the biggest annoyances is the value-added tax (goods and service tax in Canada) which can be as high as 25 per cent. Another is the social security levy which causes a firm's labour bill to be considerably higher than the amount of money the worker takes home. In such countries as Germany, Italy, and France, it is two and a half to three times as high. Needless to say this gives both workers and employers incentive to get as much work as possible by the underground method. One of the most important causes is the regulation of labour and product markets. I have written several occasions of the inability of German stores to stay open on Sunday; the underground economy in that country has taken up part of the slack by setting up flea markets, many of which sell goods free of any taxes. In the United Slates, if you are wealthy enough to afford a nanny for the children, it is far harder to satisfy all the regulations than it is to pay the tax itself. For this reason a lot of families look to the underground market to find what they need. Back to Germany again! Under that country's labour laws a carpenter is not allowed to carry bags of cement, nor is an electrician permitted to help a plumber. However, modern building techniques frequently rely on teamwork and this can be achieved by resorting to foreign workers, many of which are skilled but working illegally in the country. Small wonder that, where flexibility is the superstitious with a vengeance. Give birth to a baby in Moscow and your neighbours will tell you not to show it to strangers for 40 days. Bad luck. They also believe it's bad luck to cut the kid's hair or fingernails for a whole year after birth. In Russia, it is also bad luck to: • be bom or married in May • shake hands over a threshold • give knives or handkerchiefs as gifts • give anybody a half dozen roses. Five roses are okay. So is seven. Odd numbers are life-affirming. Even numbers mean death. Russians aren't all negative; they have good luck omens too. They believe for example, that if you forget something in the house and have to return for it, you can cancel any accruing bad luck by looking into a mirror and smiling. Before setting out on a trip, superstitious Russians sit down for a minute of silence with friends or family. And my favourite. On Russian buses you'll often see commuters examining their tickets closely. That's because it's considered the greatest luck if your ticket number happens to have the same three numbers at the beginning and at the end. The thing to do if you get one of those tickets is ... eat it. That's right. Eat the ticket. On the spot. Man. It'll be a long time before I’m desperate enough to eat my bus ticket for luck. Touch wood. requirement, the existing laws are honoured more in the breach than in the observance. Since the underground economy is growing so rapidly, governments have been forced to crack down. In Italy, tax policemen wait for people coming out of shops, restaurants and hair dressers and demand to see the receipts which must be issued by law. Anybody found without one will be fined, even to the point of hauling in children who have bought ice cream and do not have the required receipt. It would be far better to get tax rates down, de-regulate labour markets and cut red tape as much as possible. It is no coincidence that the countries with the least regulated labour markets tend to have the smallest underground economy. As for the percentages, it is estimated that the level of business in Russia that goes unreported is as high as what is calculated in the gross domestic product. In western Europe the percentage is much lower but still high, with Italy and Spain leading the list - at 25 - 30 per cent. Belgium and the Scandinavian countries also have high levels while at the bottom are the United Stales, Austria and Switzerland. Canada is in the middle al about 15 per cent which is somewhat higher than it was the last lime that I look a look. But then everybody knows what has happened to taxes in this country during the last decade. Putting it another way, if taxes were paid on all transactions, we would collectively enjoy a 15 per cent tax reduction. This is something to think about. A Final Thought You cannot show kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late. The real issue I wouldn't have walked in her shoes for all the Crown jewels. Her home was a palace, yet this fairy-tale existence with the world and all its joys at her disposal was only part of the picture. No one could really understand unless they lived her life that her palace was made of glass and her existence was not her own. I often shook my head at those besotted with the comings and goings of the royal family. Yet, like many, many others, I was saddened this past weekend to hear of Princess Diana's untimely, and senseless, death and watched for hours as snippets of the story unfolded on television. My first reaction was overwhelming sympathy for her two sons, who have lost what may have been the one spot of warmth in their chilly British upbringing. By all reports, Diana was said to have been trying to show them a world beyond royalty, so that they understood human tragedy and would develop a compassion that reaches beyond duty. Whether a fan, or not, it would be difficult to deny that Princess Diana epitomized class. As an example to her country she displayed self-effacing honesty and a great deal more dignity in some sticky situations than her detractors could possibly muster if the tables were turned. If she often strove to promote herself positively, asking the press, along to photograph and help champion her causes, the charm and sincerity they captured on film, seemed nonetheless genuine. But it was the other side of the press that has captured the most attention in this tragedy, almost to the point of obscuring the real issue, that of an overwhelming loss to this world. While her family grieves, the media ponders its role, attacks each other and attempts to define responsible journalism. What does the public have a right to know and how much of the thirst for sensationalism should be quenched? While it has come to light that the chauffeur was legally impaired, the issue behind the hot pursuit of the vehicle, and of Princess Di in general, by the paparazzi has raised some salient points. The public may lash out at these head hunters for their invasive tactics, but how many of those declaring outrage gobbled up the details of these sensational stories and pictures from time to time? While CNN put People magazine and The National Enquirer on the hot seal for using photos published in other newspapers which were taken of Princess Diana on vacation, CNN broadcasted them again and again to illustrate how her privacy had been breached. Where's the difference? There are people who think that those who live in the public eye should expect this fishbowl existence. Yet, that this woman may have found some happiness was really none of our business and in no way reflected on her professional public life. That it got more attention from magazines and newspapers, that it sold more magazines and newspapers, than all her good works for Red Cross, AIDS and cancer patients, is a pathetic reality. But let's never forget that the real issue is the tragic loss of this enigmatic young woman, who lived a world most of us could never understand and tried to make the best of it.