Poland's Economy Set to Enter Global Top Following Another Strong Year (opens in new tab)

(wsj.com)

33 pointsdanielam1mo ago17 comments

17 comments

So the EU can stop paying 2.9 billion Euros in subsidies to Poland, EU‘s 2nd largest net recipient.

Poland receives subsidies in exchange for opening its market and for following the tax and labor regulations. All the poorer EU countries do. In the end, it is Germany that benefits the most from large markets for its goods. It would have probably been way more beneficial in the 90s for Poland to have a more closed economy, emulate South Korea and become a "small China in EU" with cheap labor and factories. I believe it was a grave mistake of the Western Europe to invest so much in producing high-tech goods in China, when during a period of 1990-2005 they had access to cheap and educated labor force close in Eastern Europe. You should never transfer your strategic industries into countries that you cannot influence or control.

torlok1mo ago

Poland is still low on the EU ladder in terms of GDP per capita and PPP. What I wish is that the amount of subsidies from the EU was better communicated in the face of rising anti-EU sentiments, and the periodically-returning topic of WW2 reparations.

jakobnissen1mo ago

When we pay aid to poor countries and they remain poor, we gripe. When we subsidize poor countries and they get rich, we also gripe.

I for one am happy to see what the Poles have achieved since independence, and proud to have supported them.

I mean, isn’t this exactly the European project working as intended? A strong market economy, a democracy (if they can keep it so), a strong ally and partner, and a bulwark against Russian aggression. What could you possibly find more worthy to invest in than that?

KptMarchewa1mo ago

There are countries getting much more per capita.

And no one is close to Luxembourg.

https://cdn.cursdeguvernare.ro/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/be...

verzali1mo ago

Luxembourg hosts a bunch of EU institutions and has a small population, so that explains that...

fred_is_fred1mo ago

We do the same here in the US for Mississippi, Arkansas, and other states and they only get worse - at least Poland has a path out here.

rayiner1mo ago

We don’t have any similar program in the U.S. You seem to be talking about the fact that some states pay a larger share of the federal tax burden. That’s just a consequence of progressive taxation and those states having more rich people.

In terms of federal grants to states on a per-capita basis, Mississippi gets less than California, and a bit more than Massachusetts: https://ffis.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/SA24-02-1.pdf. Some of the states with very high grants relative to population are states that have a lot of natural resources and get federal lease payments and things like that.

Also, the gap between richer states and poorer states has closed dramatically. In 1950, the nominal per capita personal income in New York was 2.4 times higher than Mississippi. Today’s it’s about 60% higher. Adjusted for cost of living, incomes in New York today are only about 11% higher today: https://flowingdata.com/2021/03/25/income-in-each-state-adju...

0xy1mo ago

Mississippi education standards are rapidly rising. They're 16th highest in the country after being 39th only 3 years ago.

Meanwhile, you've got NYC's new mayor vowing to destroy gifted programs, ensuring talented children are beaten down into average. Such attacks on gifted students are extremely common in the rich states.

KptMarchewa1mo ago

The net per capita amount we get is dropping every year - mostly by the fact the contributions are rising fast.

1 more reply

nubg1mo ago

German cope

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

17 comments

croes1mo ago

So the EU can stop paying 2.9 billion Euros in subsidies to Poland, EU‘s 2nd largest net recipient.

martchat1mo ago

torlok1mo ago

jakobnissen1mo ago

When we pay aid to poor countries and they remain poor, we gripe. When we subsidize poor countries and they get rich, we also gripe.

I for one am happy to see what the Poles have achieved since independence, and proud to have supported them.

KptMarchewa1mo ago

There are countries getting much more per capita.

And no one is close to Luxembourg.

https://cdn.cursdeguvernare.ro/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/be...

verzali1mo ago

Luxembourg hosts a bunch of EU institutions and has a small population, so that explains that...

fred_is_fred1mo ago

We do the same here in the US for Mississippi, Arkansas, and other states and they only get worse - at least Poland has a path out here.

rayiner1mo ago

0xy1mo ago

Mississippi education standards are rapidly rising. They're 16th highest in the country after being 39th only 3 years ago.

KptMarchewa1mo ago

The net per capita amount we get is dropping every year - mostly by the fact the contributions are rising fast.

1 more reply

nubg1mo ago

German cope

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse