WEEK 4: Social Interaction, Groups, and Social Structure

For this weeks blog i decided to write about the Roma and their issues with bureaucracy. As we all read the article by Buisness and Law, " Romanian witches have to pay taxes, abide by bureaucracy", the Roma population are being forced to pay 16% income taxes for the labor they do. I read an article by BBC News, which tells how the Roma population are migrating to other European countries because the Romanian government doesn't support them. The Romanian government doesn't give the Roma health care or financial support for their school. I chose to focus on this topic because to me it seems illogical for a particular type of social group to pay income taxes, and others aren't. Especially when the Roma population live in rural conditions and statistics show that majority do not have a long life span. Furthermore, I understand that the type of labor that the Roma perform doesn't require any regular taxes to be cut off their check, but the percent that has been decided by the government is too high. It seems as if bureaucracy in a way is trying to eliminate the labor they perform, by passing this law.
When I reflected on this topic I realized that bureaucracy has a great influence on the way we may live our daily lives. For example, as an individual I may be forced to pay taxes on unreasonable things, without being able to have a voice in the decision. In greater society, the creation of uncommon taxes can create havoc and economic changes to families.

References:

Romania Issues New Income Tax On Witches | The New Republic. (n.d.). The New Republic. Retrieved February 20, 2011, from http://www.tnr.com/article/world/81989/Romania-witch-income-tax

Romanian witches have to pay taxes, abide by bureaucracy. (n.d.). International Business News, Financial News, Market News, Politics, Forex, Commodities - International Business Times - IBTimes.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011, from http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/110709/20110209/romania-taxes-witches.htm

Thorpe, N. (n.d.). BBC News - Limited choices push Roma from Romania. BBC - Homepage. Retrieved February 20, 2011, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11028599