Not having a progressive tax is a feature, not a bug. If a progressive tax would be introduced, I'd either start avoid taxes in any way possible, or I'd seriously think about emigration. Because yes, the rich always finds ways to evade taxes, while the middle class gets screwed. And I'm also not interested in subsidizing the poor.
The total taxes you pay on a regular work contract are around 41.5%, and much of that goes to pensions. Many people in the gig economy, that haven't contributed, will wake up one day to a harsh reality.
The public healthcare system mostly works, even if underfunded and with problems. In Bucharest we benefited from treatments and expertise that would be very expensive out of pocket or difficult to find. Private healthcare is mostly a hoax, much like private education (in this country), stop paying for it.
Bribery is much less common. Still happens, but you can also get in trouble.
We barely have any homeless people, all the shopping malls are full, and home ownership is very high. Official stats can be misleading.
Our politicians are incompetents, that's true, but we are in NATO, we are in EU, we are a regional power, and we avoided far-right strongmen or communists thus far.
Many Romanians have emigrated, lifting the economy actually, and also many came back. Since the shock of the 90s, the country's economy became really fluid.
Unfortunately, Romanians are some of the most pessimist people.