Czech Republic

Along with the increase of inflation in Poland and in the whole world, the discussion about its causes intensifies. There are many voices that the main reason is an external supply shock - the prices of energy and food. It is useful, in the analysis, to distinguish within CPI inflation, a core inflation and the rest of it. Core inflation is an inflation rate that is devoid of the most unstable components such as food and energy prices.

In line with expectations, the tax burden has therefore fallen compared to last year. In absolute terms, the average employee now pays a curious CZK 666 more per month to the state than last year (not adjusted for inflation), but this is only due to the growth in average wages.

The solutions to combat inflation that Danuše Nerudová proposes are not good ones. A price cap on energy can lead to nothing but shortages. Financially incentivizing households and industry to reduce energy consumption is useless in a world of market prices.

Czechs have to hold out for one more month. After June 17, 2022, they will start earning for themselves. Until then, for 167 days, they work only for the state. That makes this year one of the least free since the Liberal Institute has been counting Tax Freedom Day since 2000.

The US Federal Reserve System (Fed) has announced that it will raise interest rates. They have been at zero since the start of the pandemic and since the last recession in 2009, they hit their highest level in 2019. But even in 2019, they were very low, with an effective rate of about 2.5%.

While for the second year now we have been tracking new numbers of coronavirus-related cases and deaths several times a day, and estimates for the cost of the economic lockdown range between two and four billion CZK a day (for the Czech Republic), another crucial figure has escaped our attention.

The term “wage” and its size are very important in national discussions about labor markets, taxes, and insurance payments, but also as a part of international comparisons for investors deciding to build a factory or place investments in a specific country.

The new policy paper prepared by the Central European Institute of Asian Studies in collaboration with the Association for International Affairs provides a comprehensive account of Czech and Slovak paradiplomatic activity towards China.

The vaccinated are already ignoring the pandemic on a personal level - and the unvaccinated are too. (Un)vaccination has become a hard political stance and nothing can be done about it.

Václav Havel, for what is sure, had generally no great respect towards authorities, certainly not for the bureaucratic authorities of the \"very real socialism\" that ruled over in his homeland.