Final Word from Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Donald Trump said last week that the top 1% has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income and that too many families are convinced that the game is fixed against them and that their government only serves the interests of the powerful. Sorry, that was actually Barack Obama, who adopted some of the themes of Trump's successful election campaign. Yet Obama's own eight years in office saw the fastest growth ever in the number of billionaires. And so it goes in the CR as well. Bohuslav Sobotka has decided to attack billionaires, yet his party has promoted one measure after another that funnels more money into the hands of the rich and powerful. This doesn't just mean measures like the EET and invoice-matching systems that serve Andrej Babiš so well, but also ČSSD's fake fight against corruption, it's no-questions-asked approach to Chinese investment and its enthusiasm for replacing workers with robots. There are no quick fixes to the long-term trend of growing inequality, Obama said. Indeed. It can only be reverted by opposing every new step that contributes to it. [Czech Republic farewell online sales reporting]