71–80 of 97 posts
Even with the rest of the comments here, the single market has issues, especially in the energy sector. I live in slovenia, and with some minor modifications we have enough electricity for our country (two factories shift to half-production, and we're there). We also don't use a lot of russian gas, but mostly rely on hydro, some coal (we even have a coal mine) and nuclear... so, no problem for us, we're safe for the…
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What motivation could we have? Most British people you talk to on the internet are distinctly unhappy about Brexit and, if anything, are motivated to talk up the single market
> Most British people you talk to on the internet are distinctly unhappy about Brexit Most voted for it. If you're in a vacuum chamber that's your problem.
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I am not sure if it has anything to do with rain. Israel does not have much rain either and homes look much better there. And when we speak to the locals in Spain, their typical complaint is that they struggle to make the ends meet. "I wasn't on a vacation for seven years." - "I think twice before taking a RENFE train even though it is twice as fast as a bus." - "Kids won't probably be getting new laptops ever." etc.…
I’ve been to germany and belgium recently and frankly wasnt impressed. German roads are constantly under maintenance - cant they just build them right or why are they constantly being fixed? Belgian motorways had potholes in them and were poorly marked. Also most germans dont own the properties they live in and their savings would last enough for maybe a month. Anyway the idea is that there are issues everywhere in e…
And remember that many German motorways still have no speed limit. Hitting a pothole at 250kph is not fun and as such they need to be maintained to high standards.
And when there's a fair rental system with restricted prices there is no need to own property. Not sure if Germany has this but I know Austria does and Vienna is thriving on it.
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The Latin block (Southern Europe??) countries joined the euro to cut their interest rates, and that happened. The periphery is poor because it has been ruled by embarrassing governments for decades.
Italy used to be quite an industrial powerhouse when I was young. I still remember visiting the country in 2000, and even though the lira was weak, the overall atmosphere was much more lively, optimistic and vibrant. Contemporary Italy feels worn down and without hope. Too many young people with diplomas have simply fled. I get the same vibe in Spain, by the way, and in many cities of the former GDR, which is actuall…
Then it took 40 years of obscene governments to bring it where it is now.
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If you look at the USA then the profits are made at the periphery. Profits can be made anywhere. Sooner or later, they will be made where living is more pleasant and that's at the European periphery. Which cultural problems exists that keeps the periphery poor? I would like to argue that the cultures of the periphery are what will attract people and customers and what will allow the periphery to develop.
Germany is making a killing in selling their cars and tools to the “periphery”. East europe being their largest export market - some 30%. The main cultural issues that keep the periphery poor are those stemming from the “core”. Always shitting on the south and east is what keeps those regions stagnating. What upsets me is that they turn the other cheek instead of slapping right back.
Of course the Italians can’t take their responsibilities because of… pizza? Super Mario? The godfather?
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True, but at this point the only thing that prevents her from moving to Czechia to make better money is the fact that her son likes Madrid and she does not want to uproot him. That would be unthinkable some 20-25 years ago. Spain back then was, relatively taken, much richer than any post-Communist country and your living standard would have gone measurably down if you moved from Spain to Czechia.
I dont know why it surprises you that Czechia is more developed than Spain. Romania for instance has overtaken Greece and will overtake Portugal in the near future. Hungary is also doing rather well let alone Poland. Without wars those countries are returning to their natural state. But that still doesnt mean Spain is poor. It just means other countries progressed. And many times its the progress and growth that matt…
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The periphery is and will always be poor because of cultural problems. People make the politicians, not the other way around.
Is porn banned in germany or why do people enjoy poverty porn so much? The periphery is anything but poor. There are gaps between eu countries but east south and west are consistently ranking high in term of economic development. Anaemic growth doesnt equal poverty.
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My wife speaks Spanish fluently and we often travel to Spain. Spain as such may not be exactly poor, but quite a lot of people are living in very subpar conditions. Andalusia in particular has a lot of visibly poor natives. Even African migrants do not want to stay there and if they manage to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, they immediately travel north to France/Britain/Germany.
Oh please. Thats like saying california is poor because san francisco has homeless people. Just because people dont drive fancy cars or homes arent refurbished in a region where it rarely rains it doesnt mean they are poor. Even east eu is rich compared to most of the world. I agree with you on slow growth but eu countries are anything but poor. Mismanaged yes. Poor not so much.
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The Latin block (Southern Europe??) countries joined the euro to cut their interest rates, and that happened. The periphery is poor because it has been ruled by embarrassing governments for decades.
And in turn saw their industry unable to compete with the German one as deutsche marks stopped relatively appreciating with every german export. By the way they didn’t just join for that, so obviously saying “don’t complain! You got what you asked for” doesn’t really make sense as an argument.
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Is porn banned in germany or why do people enjoy poverty porn so much? The periphery is anything but poor. There are gaps between eu countries but east south and west are consistently ranking high in term of economic development. Anaemic growth doesnt equal poverty.
I don’t live in Germany and, of course, Italy and Spain are poor compared to Sweden or Germany, not in general.