How much money did they get from EU in last 5 years? Combine that with a lot of ukrainian migrants that actually work and open businesses you get this
Good investment.
Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
111–120 of 189 posts
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#112I spent some time in Poland three years ago and have not stopped talking about it ever since. It stood out from the other Eastern European countries that I visited on that trip. Had a lunch in Warsaw with a German friend who had relocated there. He said it was more Conservative than Germany and there was more freedom of expression. Over forty years of Communist rule and they were never able to pull them away from the…
While you were in Poland, did you call it "Eastern Europe" to people's faces? How did they react?
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you believe a fetus is a human then banning abortion is conserving freedom of the fetus. This is no different than saying banning murder of a person who is born is a way of conserving freedom. Obviously you disagree that a fetus is human or has human rights, but for somebody who does it makes perfect sense.
So they’re happy to remove the rights of the woman carrying the fetus I assume that continues when the baby is born and people have to sacrifice their rights to feed the baby. Not in as extreme a way as bodily servitude, perhaps just taxation of the work they do to provide food, shelter, healthcare.
I am not really sure what you are getting at. I can't imagine you don't understand that some people think that a fetus, being a creature that is alive and has human DNA is considered a human. You may disagree with such an opinion but it is held by huge amounts of the population. Once you understand that you should be able to understand that some people would continue along the logical conclusion that all humans should have equal rights including the right to not be killed.
Protecting humans from being killed is protecting rights of individuals, not removing the rights of the would be murderer.
There is a clear way you can say banning abortion in about protecting rights. It is fine if you disagree, but I don't think there is any point in this conversation since you cannot even understand where people are coming from and just assume the worst in others.
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#114I don't get the hype around nominal GDP at all – looks great, but tells you little to none about the actual living conditions. Living in Poland, I don't feel richer than an average Belgian person (and I've had contact with many of them across the years).
Polish living standard in major metro areas are significantly above Belgian standards. I lived in Poland and Belgium, among a few other places, and I'd choose Poland over Belgium for a number of reasons. Its a great country, good infra, excellent engineers, high education standards, you can talk to anyone in English, the government usually does work, and if you want an appointment with a specialist doctor, it takes a…
>Polish living standard in major metro areas are significantly above Belgian standards.
I presume there is no Polish equivalent to Midi train station and its "corridor of evil". https://newsinfrance.com/in-belgium-the-brussels-midi-statio...>
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which metrics are those? Things don’t look great for the poorest Americans, but the average American isn’t living a life that’s even remotely third world.
Looking at more holistic metrics, the lowest HDI US state (Mississippi) has a HDI of 0.868 [1], around the level of Argentina/Uruguay/Oman [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Dev...
Holistic...chooses one single state....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_regions_by_Huma... Guess France is a third world country too.
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
What constitutes a top of the line house in Eastern Europe? It's unlikely to be what Mississippians consider top of the line.
250sqm, 30cm thick brick for load bearing + perimeter walls, 30cm rockwool continuous external insulation, aluminium frame triple pane windows, glazured roof tiles, floor heating + wood stove backup, 15kwp solar panels installation, deep well backup, etc. Keep being smug, it just proves my point, Americans still think Arabs live in tents in the desert, Chinese live in the jungle and eastern European build houses out…
> Keep being smug, it just proves my point,
I wasn't trying to be smug, sorry it came across that way.
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
>250sqm, 30cm thick brick for load bearing + perimeter walls, 30cm rockwool continuous external insulation, aluminium frame triple pane windows, glazured roof tiles, floor heating + wood stove backup, 15kwp solar panels installation, deep well backup, etc. Even in Mississippi what you describe would not qualify as a "top of the line house". In fact that would be pretty average working class home. The kind of homes a…
American houses are made of paper. They need reroofing so often the cost always comes up in discussion of house ownership.
Europeans think they have it hard worrying if their elderly family will die from the summer heat, but they will never know the pain of maintaining a 10 ton, 4 zone HVAC system for your mcmansion.
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
What constitutes a top of the line house in Eastern Europe? It's unlikely to be what Mississippians consider top of the line.
https://www.moderndream.cz/katalog-domu/ Some of these models are pretty modestly priced (~$500k USD) but more modern than any house you'll find in North America until you reach a price point in the several million range. Certainly higher quality, nicer and more modern than any McMansion.
Interesting, thanks for the link. For comparison, here are the "top of the line" houses in my area (Iowa, not Mississippi):
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Okoboji_IA...
This is largely lakefront property in a somewhat touristy area of my state, so that influences the prices a lot.
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
What’s the metric for that? The average American has decent health insurance. Our system can be painful and I'm not advocate for it, but the average American is not going bankrupt due to medical issues.
I know this is anecdotal from what I read here and the few engineers I’ve spoken personally. Having a good job is the only way to get good/decent health care. Even then, there are many surprises in terms of what you have to pay yourself and how expensive certain things are. Basically any chronic disease will be very expensive. And don’t lose your job either because then you can kiss the insurance goodbye as well, kic…
Being poor enough to qualify for Medicaid is another way to get decent care, but it's mostly true if we take "having a good job" to include being part of a family with someone who has one.
The thing is, most Americans do have good jobs (or are in families with one), and do have decent health care. Should people with shit jobs have shit health care? No, and it's very unfortunate that this is how things work. But that doesn't mean we all face bankruptcy for major medical issues. The number of people who do face that should be zero and it isn't, but it's also not the norm.
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which metrics are those? Things don’t look great for the poorest Americans, but the average American isn’t living a life that’s even remotely third world.
Looking at more holistic metrics, the lowest HDI US state (Mississippi) has a HDI of 0.868 [1], around the level of Argentina/Uruguay/Oman [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Dev...
This somewhat counters the idea that Mississippi is comparable to the middle of the EU pack based on per-capita GDP. But the comment I replied to said that the entire US is "basically a third-world country masquerading as a first-world one." The HDI of the US according to your links is #17 in the world, tied with New Zealand, and just above notable third-world hellholes like South Korea, Austria, and Japan.