Christmas in peril.
Christmas is fast approaching and we should be buying presents, thinking about how big a tree we're going to get this year and whether we're going to make the candy ourselves or order it. But there are so many things coming at us that some of us might even overlook Christmas. What is it? For example, the discussions about the quality of the national budget are bringing a new unsettling tone to the perception of macro-finance. Is it really a reflection of the level of expertise of finance ministry officials that the reality has recently diverged from the budget by tens of billions? Is it politically responsible to present a budget with a deficit at a time when we may be living comfortably for the last year or two? A calm and balanced period can easily and quickly pass into a less idyllic phase when we think of the results of the negotiations on the UK's departure from the European Union on the floor of the British Parliament, the unclear development of the Kerch Strait crisis, or, for example, the situation in France, where the yellow vests are not letting up in their fight against the tax burden. Together with the end of Angela Merkel's great political career, it is a mosaic which, if the elements are not put together properly, could shake the already shaky EU structure. In our, the Czech media, there are claims that all the known affairs of the current Prime Minister are only leading to the ruling ANO party increasing its preferences anyway. Is this a skilful argumentative ploy by marketers, or is it indicative of the polarisation of society? The President and his entourage are more than actively involved in dividing the population into two equally sized groups and are bravely blowing into the fire that will ultimately lead Czech society into a period of recession and crisis. It is clearly politically and economically incorrect to talk about those unpopular parts of the economic cycle which, by their inexorable logic, accompany the market economy. The mere mention of it, in itself, accelerates the process towards crisis, so that it is foolish not to acknowledge this possibility. Optically, that is to say seemingly, investment is being made in the economically weaker sections of society, for example in the form of fare discounts for students and the elderly. Practically, however, it is a very inaccurate targeting of the blurred contours of ill-defined social groups. However, if the hallmark of the government's economic acumen is to protect the interests of the youngest citizens by providing free lunches, the situation is ripe for BIS involvement. Maybe the peeps will slap something on it in the new annual report.
"