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
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Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
31–40 of 189 posts
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US is a great example of why GDP is a largely meaningless metric. Yes, the States' GDP is ginormous, and yet it's basically a third-world country masquerading as a first-world one on most metrics that actually matter to people.
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.
Not facing the choice of dying or going bankrupt?
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#33I 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 few days tops (on a private insurance, which is cheap by most countries' standards).
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#34I 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).
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Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#35I saw an interesting stat recently that the poorest USA state, Mississippi, has a larger economy and GDP than 1/3rd of all EU members. It just seems like the EU is too top-heavy and I wonder if that's where a lot of the discontent comes from. It seems like there a lot of micro-nations in eastern Europe that have outsized influence over the union as a whole.
Poorest is a function of per-capita income and larger economy is a function of population. You're comparing different things.
Per capita GDP of Mississippi still puts it in about the middle of the pack of EU countries, despite being the lowest among US states by some margin.
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US is a great example of why GDP is a largely meaningless metric. Yes, the States' GDP is ginormous, and yet it's basically a third-world country masquerading as a first-world one on most metrics that actually matter to people.
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.
Dying in the third-world from cancer means you die. Dying in the US from cancer means you probably will bankrupt your family first, and ultimately die faster due to the financial burden/stress.
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#37I 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).
If you're in the bottom 70% of the working class anywhere in western Europe you'll live pretty much the same way: you will never be able to afford a new car, you'll never be able to retire early, you most likely will never own your own place. Nobody feels rich because the entire system is built by parasites exploiting the bottom 2/3rd. The only meaningful difference is how often and how far you can go in vacation and how much a good little consumer bitch you can be, and if that's how you measure your quality of life you already lost the game
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
> there a lot of micro-nations in eastern Europe that have outsized influence over the union as a whole Would you give an example of when that has happened? > It just seems like the EU is too top-heavy The EU intentionally admitted many poorer countries, to promote freedom, security and stability in Europe in the long term. Without EU membership, they would be under pressure from Russia and others. > discontent What…
> What discontent do you mean? I mean, Brexit was the ultimate discontent and it didn't just come out of nowhere. It's still very recent history and, as far as I know, the circumstances that caused it haven't really changed.
Brexit is widely regarded as both a failure (in the UK) and a cautionary lesson (in the rest of the EU).
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#39I 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).
Can you share more? What makes you feel less rich in comparison?
Re: Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium
#40Earlier 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.
Not facing the choice of dying or going bankrupt?
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.