Final Word from Monday, March 12, 2007
It was ČSSD, and not reform-minded ODS, that submitted a bill in Parliament on Fri. for introducing social-security caps. It'd be a pity if ODS found an excuse to reject the bill simply because ČSSD was quicker to introduce it. ODS wants to shut down CzechInvest but has yet to come up with an alternative to large foreign investments for sustaining economic growth. Social-security caps, according to Weston Stacey of the American Chamber of Commerce, can help create a middle class with the capital and expertise needed for turning small and midsize enterprises into the next big thing. So far, SMEs have mainly been the domain of undercapitalized one-man shows, restitution owners and wheelers and dealers who earned their start-up capital in disreputable ways. Social-security caps would allow managers to accumulate enough capital so that starting a small business became a viable alternative to climbing another rung on the corporate ladder.[Czech Republic health insurance tax taxation]