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Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

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Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#301

Post by ElevenLathe »

lo_zamoyski wrote: post #202
wowoc wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Which proves that people who keep saying that Poland's growth is only due to EU's money should finally stop. Another argument: Poland's GDP had already been growing at a similar pace before it joined the EU (but after it got rid of communism).

Indeed. The self-congratulatory narrative around "EU funds" is obnoxious and ignorant. As you say, Poland's economic growth was similar before it had joined the EU. (Many economists then thought Poland's accession in 2004 was premature and should have been postponed.) Causes were cultural (there is a strong, traditional entrepreneurial streak in Polish culture) and related to the economic reforms undertaken during th…

Can't agree more. Given its geography and population, one would expect Poland to be a major economy, but it's been occupied or even completely erased from existence for large stretches of industrial modernity. The period since 1989 is the longest stretch of true sovereignty that Poland has had since the 18th century.

The fucking krauts (both the German/Prussian and the Austrian/Hapsburg varieties) can and should toss them a few złoty for economic development as recompense for the horrific treatment they've dealt Poland over the centuries. It would be nice if the Russians would too, but that's not the reality we currently live in.

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#302

Post by thih9 »

wqaatwt wrote: post #173
MaxPock wrote: post #146

They've done well for themselves for sure . 20 years ago, Poland was sending seasonal workers to the UK to pick tomatoes. Brexit largely won because of anti Eastern Europe immigration

> Eastern Europe immigration It’s hard to believe those type of people actually wanted to replace it with non European immigration, though (which is what happened). Of course cause and effect is a complex concept to wrap ones head around..

Poles return to Poland and get to see results of their hard work. Brexit people get exposed to more cultures. I guess everyone got what they needed and deserved.

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#303

Post by tiborsaas »

niemandhier wrote: post #76

I love the polish, but credit where credit is due: „Poland is the largest beneficiary of EU funds 2014-2020, with one in four euro going to Poland“ https://www.gov.pl/web/funds-regional-policy/poland-at-the-f... Update: The comments below this are strange. I ment: „Poland gets money, Poland transforms it into more money”. Is Poland more efficient in it than other countries? I do not know. Would Poland have generated…

> I ment: „Poland gets money, Poland transforms it into more money”.

It's not trivial that this works. In Hungary we messed this up big time, hopefully it can get fixed now.

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#304

Post by s_dev »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #149
niemandhier wrote: post #76

I love the polish, but credit where credit is due: „Poland is the largest beneficiary of EU funds 2014-2020, with one in four euro going to Poland“ https://www.gov.pl/web/funds-regional-policy/poland-at-the-f... Update: The comments below this are strange. I ment: „Poland gets money, Poland transforms it into more money”. Is Poland more efficient in it than other countries? I do not know. Would Poland have generated…

Think of it as an investment. The rest of the EU also benefits from their hard work, and economic prosperity. Other countries in the EU have also enjoyed economic growth and support over the years. I'm old enough to remember internal borders with passport checks in Europe, before the wall fell and Poland was still on the other side of that. Nice to see them moving on from that. Thanks to the EU free movement of peopl…

>Think of it as an investment.

An economic investment as well as one of solidarity. People forget that the EU is a peace project that ensures peace via economic cooperation. This nuance seems trivial but is actually massively important. I can see trust degrading in the US but being fortified across the EU.

Look at Hungary recently, they did a 180 not because of Brussels or Berlin saying they should. Hungarians are sceptical of both. However they do trust the Polish people who they see as genuine peers who are very pro-EU.

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#305

Post by cpursley »

10xDev wrote: post #154
cpursley wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They weren’t occupied by Russia, but the USSR which was an authoritarian communist state. That entire economic system failed for a reason, and the Chinese were wise to pivot (and not try spreading its ideology by force).

Yeah, I really don't think this is why China doesn't try to spread its ideology by force. I don't think a passive authoritarian state exists, just ones that don't have the military power or background / weak enough targets to achieve this. The US very much keeps them in check from invading not "wisdom".

I get it, we are being gaslit and pyoped at a massive scale across all channels about China and their supposed intentions. But proof is in the pudding, China is cutting deals all over the world, building infrastructure - all without forced regime changes or ideological prerequisites nor bombs.

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#306

Post by cm2012 »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #72
comrade1234 wrote: post #42

I spent some time in Poland for work about 10 years ago. I remember the cities being very expensive and chic - on par with Paris, Berlin, etc but when you got out of the cities (my project was in Bydgoszcz) it's a completely different world - poor, rundown, etc. would be curious how it is now and also where most of the Ukrainian refugees settled.

That basically describes the US as well.

US cities don't look chic lol, they are universally dirty (if economic giants)

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#307

Post by grey-area »

niemandhier wrote: post #76

I love the polish, but credit where credit is due: „Poland is the largest beneficiary of EU funds 2014-2020, with one in four euro going to Poland“ https://www.gov.pl/web/funds-regional-policy/poland-at-the-f... Update: The comments below this are strange. I ment: „Poland gets money, Poland transforms it into more money”. Is Poland more efficient in it than other countries? I do not know. Would Poland have generated…

The EU is working as intended then.

Even without funds distributing EU cash, a common market works as a leveller this way and pulls up the poorer countries, because if you can live work and operate anywhere, people naturally pick the cheapest and easiest places to start a business serving the EU.

Spain and Portugal were the previous beneficiaries and everyone benefits really as jobs are created everywhere.

This is far better than a situation where larger economies dominate all others forever.

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#308

Post by pxtail »

greenavocado wrote: post #136

Prosperity is a curse. People are no longer having children in Poland. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...

It's the South Korea model and road, people are working hard to chase constantly and quickly moving goal of securing extremely expensive home, basic setup for having the family. But process itself is exhausting and depleting.

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#309

Post by cm2012 »

FrustratedMonky wrote: post #126
seidleroni wrote: post #11

Noah Smith had a good article about this in 2024 for those interested in reading more: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/six-ideas-for-poland

I don't know much about Poland Why was other comment flagged and dead???

The guy has a ghost ban on Hacker News. He was banned for some other comment. He doesn't know that no one else can see his post.

Re: Poland is now among the 20 largest economies

#310

Post by spiderfarmer »

AlexandrB wrote: post #275
spiderfarmer wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So many false claims in one post. Impressive levels of delusion.

Don't know about the other points, but 2 is spot on. Germany now has the most expensive electricity in the EU[1]. [1] https://www.globalelectricity.org/electricity-prices-by-coun... > Germany leads Europe—and the world among major economies—with residential electricity prices reaching €0.3835 per kWh (approximately $0.41/kWh) in the first half of 2025, according to Eurostat data. This represents a 34% premium above t…

Since you're citing prices from early 2025: In the second half of 2025, electricity prices for household consumers in the EU (expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS) per 100 kWh) were highest in:

Romania (49.52 PPS per 100 kWh) Czechia (38.65) Poland (37.15)

Lowest in:

Malta (14.09) Hungary (15.10) Finland (18.77)

Residential electricity prices in Poland are 145.01% of the world average electricity price and 98.14% of the average price in Europe.

https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/Poland/electricity_prices...

The biggest problem is that prices are still tied to the price of gas:

https://ieefa.org/resources/europes-electricity-prices-are-s...

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