Miroslav Kalousek warns Czechs of rising national debt even during economic growth

Former Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek has sharply criticised the government's fiscal policy, saying that economic growth — which should be painlessly delivering tens of billions of crowns in extra revenue to the state budget and shrinking the deficit — is instead being accompanied by a deficit that keeps growing by the same tens of billions.

According to Kalousek, if this is happening during a period of economic expansion and low unemployment, it raises an unsettling question: what will happen to public finances once a crisis hits? He described the situation not merely as risky policy, but as "tunnelling" the country's future — in other words, effectively plundering the prospects of the next generations.

Who's responsible for the debt

Kalousek believes that government politicians are ignoring the opinions of experts and are guided solely by the moods of their voters. For that reason, he argues, responsibility for the situation also lies with citizens themselves: if people don't want to be "drowned" in interest payments on state debt, they should demand that politicians stop piling up more debt — or simply refuse to vote for them at elections.

He stressed that interest on the accumulated debt will one way or another be paid by every citizen — whether through taxes, inflation, or cuts to social programmes down the line. Protecting one's own future, the former minister said, begins precisely with how one votes.

Source: novinky.cz