As a immature man, he vicious inwards honey amongst economic science – similar his classmate as well as basketball game teammate Václav Klaus. Ježek did lots of things related to economics. For example, he translated Hayek's texts to Czech. He also belonged to the generation of pro-reform members of the Czechoslovak Communist Party inwards the promising 1960s. He left the political party inwards 1969, inwards the wake of the trouble as well as restalinization ("normalization") of Czechoslovakia.
After the autumn of communism, he was an adviser of Klaus, the chairman of the Fund of the National Assets, as well as a politico who co-founded ODA i.e. the Civic Democratic Alliance, who represented the OF i.e. the Civic Forum, thence joined ODS i.e. Klaus' Civic Democratic Party, thence left ODS as well as joined anti-Klaus the United States of America i.e. the Union of Freedom, as well as thence he would bring together the Christian as well as some smaller parties, increasingly unsuccessfully.
He's had disagreements amongst diverse folks including Klaus – Ježek expected to acquire the finance government minister but he didn't. Ježek also had legal disputes amongst social democrats' Jaroslav Bašta because of Ježek's personal role inwards the privatization of a Prague chocolate factory. He has been dissatisfied if non bitter for many years. Klaus wrote a decent arguing today – when Ježek died at historic menstruation of 77 – which focused on the positive things.
But Tomáš Ježek has been of import every bit a co-father – amongst Dušan Tříska (=Soulman Splinter) – of the voucher privatization inwards Czechoslovakia. I convey talked to Tříska many times but I convey belike never met Ježek.
The nativity of the voucher privatization was sketched inwards this 9-minute segment of the "Czech Century", a rather amusing TV reconstruction of the Czech political events of the 20th century.
Sometime inwards 1991, Ježek as well as Tříska were throwing pebbles to a pond spell they were discussing how to plow the socialist economic scheme into a viable, capitalist one. The "small privatization" was already taking house – restaurants as well as similar modest businesses were beingness sold to item Czech owners. It was much to a greater extent than hard to figure out how to transfer the huge set out of medium as well as large companies to private hands.
These ii men were proposing diverse role models. Thatcher's sense could convey helped – but she was actually a loser because she entirely privatized dozens of companies. They needed to sell thousands. What almost South America? Chile? Social democratic economist Valtr Komárek (=Walter Littlemosquito) merely traveled in that location but y'all never know what he's upward to, they mentioned. Komárek has worked every bit an aide to Fidel Castro but he may live on visiting a novel Pinochet now.
How tin y'all sell this huge total of factories to the Czechs if the latter are broke after 41 years of communism? ;-)
Finally, they figured it out. Ježek remembered the era straight off after the state of war when nutrient rationing was used. We may merely manus around the companies. The participants of the voucher privatization would pay CSK 1,000 (some $30, the unit of measurement is the Czechoslovak crown as well as I am inventing an acronym retroactively, nosotros called it Kčs) for the voucher booklet as well as they could accumulate much greater assets. They were deciding which companies they wanted to purchase for the proposed toll as well as this purchase social club either succeeded or not. This game was the starting fourth dimension primitive stock broker inwards Czechoslovakia. And they sold this persuasion to Klaus past times pointing out that if he starts his ain political party, the political party would convey a jeopardy to win because the grateful voters could acquire lots of stocks for free! ;-) The reasons aren't sure enough but when it comes to the outcomes, it worked. Klaus' ODS got higher upward 30% inwards numerous elections – it worked fine as well as the political party was #1 or at most a formidable #2 upward to 2006 or so.
The voucher privatization was later on copied inwards Russia.
It had ii waves, I participated inwards both fifty-fifty though I was younger than eighteen years during the starting fourth dimension wave. But my woman raise as well as grandmother agreed to provide me amongst their voucher booklet. The 2d moving ridge of the voucher privatization entirely took house inwards Czech Republic because Slovakia abolished the computer programme correct after the Velvet Divorce.
(The 9-minute video higher upward shows Klaus presenting his famous arguing – that has offended many – that in that location was no useful divergence betwixt the create clean as well as muddy money. And inwards the same video, Klaus also mocked a Slovak journalist who argued that the voucher privatization was harmful to Slovakia. Everyone inwards Bratislava says so, the journalists answered when Klaus asked him for clarification. Klaus won this conversation handsomely because he pointed out that he's inwards Bratislava all the fourth dimension – as well as he could demonstrate that he knows Slovakia as well as some of its places inwards the wild nature to a greater extent than than the Slovak guy did. Bring a map to this Gentlemen as well as demonstrate him Čergov inwards the Ondava Hills LOL!)
I all the same convey i of these voucher booklets. The toll was CSK 1000 addition y'all had to purchase a postage stamp for CSK 35 to go inwards valid. For this CSK 1000, y'all earned 1000 points – allow me telephone call upward them 1000 stockcoins, virtual children's money to live on used for a specific role (well, to a greater extent than mature money than the cryptocurrencies). There were many rounds of each moving ridge of the privatization. Before each round, y'all learned that this or that communist society is sold at the charge per unit of measurement X stocks per 1000 stockcoins. People went to the postal service share as well as chose which companies they wanted to purchase for the stockcoins as well as whenever the render of stocks was at most equal to the demand, they got what they wanted. When the demand was likewise high, the toll of the stock inwards stockcoins went upward for the next round.
If y'all were goodness or lucky, y'all could convey accumulated upward to tens of thou of dollars per voucher booklet.
I bought some companies that were worthless, similar Glass Electronics which merely couldn't reach competitive electronics, it seems obvious today, but I got rattling many stocks for those stockcoins. ;-) Another society that turned out to live on worthless was a coal society before long acquired past times "The Pirate of Prague" Viktor Kožený's "Harvard Funds". In 2004, Kožený ran inwards the elections for the European Parliament – inwards social club to acquire immunity – as well as he called me to my Harvard share (he studied physics subdivision at Harvard for months before he switched to an economic science score that he completed over there) as well as offered me to acquire the shadow government minister of pedagogy which I politely refused.
When I offered him to sell him the stocks of his Harvard Holding that all the same appears inwards my broker's portfolio LOL (it cannot live on sold), he got pretty angry.
OK, I bought the stocks of i valuable company, Komerční banka, The Commerce Bank – a hand three banking concern inwards Czech Republic at nowadays (freshly declared to live on the best banking concern of 2017, merely to brand y'all sure enough that it's live on as well as kicking). Well, I sold those 23 stocks sometime inwards 2002 for CZK 2,000 a piece. Do I recall the toll well? Maybe it was merely CSK 1,000 a piece. The toll today is CZK 4,500 – well, it's 900+ but each stock was divided to 5 novel stocks a few years ago. Needless to say, similar amongst an extremely prematurely sold cryptocurrency, it was a missed chance to sell stocks inwards 2002 – I merely didn't desire to convey whatever hard to recall assets.
The voucher privatization became opened upward to "investment funds" that convey the rights to accumulate the stockcoins from the private DIKs who handgrip amongst that – the private investors. For me, it was terrible that these investments were allowed because the set out of participants jumped from some 600,000 to half dozen millions or so, I forgot exactly. My expected assets dropped to 10% of the previous expectation. That was the primary ground I wasn't happy almost folks similar Viktor Kožený inwards 1991 or so. He has merely diluted my stocks tremendously. He promised the DIKs to live on paid CSK 10,000 straight off – it's 10 times every bit much every bit what they pay for the voucher booklet. So of course, everyone would live on stupid non to purchase a voucher booklet if y'all could convey straight off gotten much to a greater extent than money for that.
But if y'all continued every bit a private DIK, similar I did, y'all could convey gotten much to a greater extent than – as well as I did acquire more. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 whole solid set down was beingness privatized.
Czechs – and, to a lesser extent every bit I mentioned, Slovaks – became a field of stockholders. Most citizens had an concern human relationship inwards the database of stocks as well as they did some form of trading of stocks. That was non bad for what was the most socialized solid set down of the Soviet bloc merely a few years earlier. And when I mean value almost it, I mean value that this giveaway – aside from Klaus' charisma as well as political talent – could convey been the primary ground why the down-to-Earth, materialist, economically left-wing Czech field that has persuasion generally every bit the working score for some 150 years voted for Klaus' right-wing political party a few times inwards the 1990s.
This anomaly is over as well as these days, y'all may safely win elections past times repeating dumb as well as hostile slogans against the privatization as well as most other aspects of the post-1989 economical transformation. Klaus likes to tell that the people who got lots of votes inwards the recent elections are extremely goodness politicians who may formulate the greatest slogans as well as attract millions – well, I prefer to handgrip amongst the Prague Café as well as tell that the voters of the likes of Babiš are merely stupid as well as that's the relevant explanation of ANO's 30%.
There were large companies that were sold to a unusual possessor – similar Škoda Auta that was bought past times the Volkswagen Group as well as basically became the most admired Czech society inwards the next years. But most companies were inwards a bad plenty shape as well as no unusual investors wanted to purchase them. They all the same contained assets that could convey been promising or that had some value. But no official could convey estimated the value nicely. We were facing the threat that all the companies would basically live on stolen past times the communist apparatchiks who previously led them every bit directors – communist apparatchik Andrej Babiš who devoured the communist chemic society Petrimex is the best lawsuit of this pathology (which does cipher to bring down his fans' honey for this stinky bastard).
For these reasons, I mean value it was an splendid persuasion to utilization the voucher privatization. People got their stocks but of course, most of them were inclined to sell them thence some existent bigger owners who wanted to cope the companies were gradually emerging. I don't claim that it was absolutely necessary to organize the voucher privatization – as well as Slovakia as well as other countries did good plenty without this computer programme – but I would all the same reach it inwards qualitatively the same way.
In fact, it's likewise bad nosotros no longer convey companies waiting for some privatization. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 novel privatization similar that could live on used to brand Czechs to a greater extent than excited almost capitalism again. I advise to nationalize the assets of some shadowy billionaire figures similar Babiš or Bakala – as well as organize the tertiary moving ridge of the voucher privatization. The pro-capitalism politico who would organize this conception of mine would before long live on to a greater extent than pop than Babiš who would live on freshly robbed. ;-)
RIP, Mr Ježek.