Posts by szczecinianin

szczecinianin

10 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

szczecinianin:
There is no family allowance in Poland, for example.

Which is very good - it discourages breeding for the sake of breeding.[/quote[

It's not good in a country with a rapidly shrinking population. It's not good for people with families.

[quote]For what it's worth, in terms of ordinary life, I'd much rather live in Poland than some parts of the ex-DDR.

That's quite interesting because a lot of Poles are now 'colonising' the former DDR. The houses in the German villages close to Szczecin are being bought up by Szczecinianins. I'm thinking of moving there myself.

If it was easier to live in Poland than Germany then the population flow would be in the other direction.

szczecinianin

10 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

They would be very well off were they to earn a Norwegian salary in Poland. But they don't, they have to pay Norwegian prices (and taxation). At the end of the day, a family struggling to afford childcare isn't well off regardless if they're in Norway or Poland.

They are well off by Polish standards whether they happen to live in Norway or Poland. There is no family allowance in Poland, for example. But as you obviously prefer to believe the fantasy version of life in Poland you have read about on the internet to the somewhat (by Western norms) harsh reality, I won't make any further attempts to shatter your illusions.

szczecinianin

9 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

Depends if you think that pure numbers matter when calculating quality of life and so on. I was reading only a few hours ago about how single-wage families in Norway struggle to pay for the costs of living.

They do. And most likely those Norwegians would be comfortably off by Polish standards. If I were you I'd stop reading stuff on the internet and take a good look at the country you happen to be living in.

Comparing Poland (economically ruined in 1990) to Germany, Denmark and Spain doesn't seem like a fair comparison anyway. Wages in Poland are significantly higher than in Ukraine or Belarus, does it really mean anything?

Living standards in Western countries are what Poles aspire to, and why shouldn't they? German industry was completely destroyed during WW2, but West Germany was outperforming the UK economically by the nineteen-sixties.

szczecinianin

9 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

szczecinianin:
This might be interesting. Apparently wages in Poland are a fifth of those in Denmark, a third of those in Germany and a half that of the Spanish:

Which doesn't tell us very much, given the mess of the Spanish property market and the unemployment situation, the crippling taxation in Denmark (have you seen the taxes on new cars?) and the fact that the Germans can't even build an airport.

It tells us that, whatever problems other countries are having: 'wages in Poland are a fifth of those in Denmark, a third of those in Germany and a half that of the Spanish'.

Which isn't a happy situation to be in.

szczecinianin

9 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

This might be interesting. Apparently wages in Poland are a fifth of those in Denmark, a third of those in Germany and a half that of the Spanish:

Poles work like oxen , and what they have? Earn outrageously low compared to citizens of other European Union countries. According to official data , the average salary he receives for his work Pole is about 2669 gold on hand. But this average is skewed by earnings lavishly remunerated officers, directors and CEOs . Poles really earn much less.

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

I'm not an expert on this guy. Funnily enough, I am of the 'neo-liberal mindset' myself. I empathise with some of what he is saying.

The point is though, present-day Poles, unlike the Brits and the Irish, haven't had it easy. That's exactly why so many of them have gone to Britain and Ireland to live and work.

Personally, I, unlike my parents, have had it 'easy'. I can, however, empathise with those who have not, and do not look down on those worse off than myself, unless, of course, they have made no effort whatsoever to improve their lives.

Imho, most Poles are no lazier than Brits or Irish, but have a far lower standard of living through no particular fault of their own.

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

I'm not going to participate in this. Probably quite a few of foreigners on PF could learn a little about life, world and people (and Poland and Poles in particular, of course) and moreover - loose some arrogance. That would include also you, as far I can remember ;)

Fair enough. 'We all live and learn' as they say (including Poles).

And btw, I really like your posts. We all need to be criticized and to accept criticism - hopefully it will help us to grow as people.

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

Delph, I think you're simplifying things just as szczecinianin is with those "communist big-wigs".

Well. it's a bit of both, isn't it. Some people got successful honestly, through hard work, and others dishonestly, through contacts and corruption. There are good and bad rich and poor people. It's facile to suggest otherwise,

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

UK, Ireland / Learning Polish - Polish shops in England? [34]

some people on this forum ask ridiculous questions.

Don't see the question as being 'ridiculous', although I imagine I know the answer.

The reaction would be pretty similar to that of a Welsh speaking shop assistant to a stranger spaking Welsh 'yn y Fro Gymraeg'.

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

I haven't 'twisted your words'. Your stock reply to anyone comparing Polish poverty with that of the UK is to state that Poles should be comparing themselves with those living in, for example, Bangladesh. It's a point you've made on a number of occasions.

People who get paid more tend to have a higher value to society than those that earn less.

Cool. :)

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

Why should they need to compare themselves to others? Comparing themselves to their peers makes sense, but that's it.

I'm sure Poles on this forum will feel reassured to learn that you regard the likes of Bangladesh as their 'peers' rather than the U.K..

szczecinianin:
All people are of equal value.

Except they aren't.

Therefore, if I happen to be richer than you, that also makes me 'better' than you. Nice to know. Or were you only attempting to make a comparison between yourself and 'third-world' Poles?

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

Who was talking about Western standards?

I see. So Poles, in your opinion, should compare themselves with those in Third rather than First World nations. How characteristically arrogant of you.

I don't call "working hard" being "spending 8 hours in the factory, 40 hours a week and doing nothing to develop yourself".

Not everyone happens to be 'academic'. How well do you think you would do in a 'physical' job? I respect everyone irrespective of their education.

Football players and film stars tend to work bloody hard for it in industries that are ruthless on those that don't perform, not to mention the short career of football players.

Aye, some work hard. Others, e.g. Paul Gascoigne, George Best, just happen to be 'gifted'. Some women are born beautiful, others not. All people are of equal value.

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

That's right. Anyone in their late 20's/early 30's in 1990 in Poland who was healthy has only themselves to blame for the situation that they find themselves in now.

I see. So the likes of Polish teachers and nurses have only themselves to blame for not being 'rich' by Western standards.

That's bullsh1t. Some people work hard all their lives and have little or nothing to show for it. Others get rich without necessarily working hard. Film stars and footballers are the world's most industrious inhabitants, whereas rickshaw drivers and peasant farmers are bone idle.

You don't live in the real world, do you, Delphi.

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

What has this got to do with the thread?

You judge others as being responsible for their own misfortune.

If you count yourself as being one of the 'fortunate', then you must possess some 'virtue' or 'skill' denied to the 'undeserving poor'.

What 'skill', other than an ability to speak your native language, would that be?

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

UK, Ireland / wife wants to have baby in poland not ireland [52]

This seems to be the opposite of what you had been informing us earlier. The health service in Poland is great. But that's only really true for the 'haves'.

I honestly believe that care in the UK is more 'universal', and that the quality of it does not necessarily depend on your financial/social relationship with the person treating you.

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

Clearly you belong Victorian era with your attitudes to the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor.

No-one to blame but themselves - but then again, it's easier to blame everyone else than themselves, huh?

Those who 'made it' during those times tended to be those already in a position of power - the former communist big-wigs.

Means nothing, considering the large amounts of students who should be working in those places instead of "studying" some joke degrees.

What marketable skill have you got other than the ability to speak your own mother tongue?

What, other than your own arrogance and conceit, makes you any better than they are?

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

UK, Ireland / wife wants to have baby in poland not ireland [52]

I didn't need to have contacts or pay privately, nor did I need to tell any lies about the situation.

The Polish health service has always treated me just great. It also treats my in-laws extremely well. On one occasion a Polish doctor literally saved my life.

This may have something to do with the fact that I am often asked to translate/proof-read medical papers by medical professionals, and have close friends who are doctors.

On the other hand, I remember my mother-in-law dying painfully of cancer, before I had made such contacts. She was treated like sh1t.

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

UK, Ireland / wife wants to have baby in poland not ireland [52]

For what it's worth, I called my doctor at 10am on Thursday morning and had an appointment for 12.30 same day. Not bad, not bad at all... and the visit to the doctor was absolutely perfect in terms of being checked thoroughly.

Indeed. Not bad at all. (If you have contacts and/or pay privately).

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

Indeed, I would be genuinely surprised to learn that. The kind of people who worked on the former collectivised farms, perhaps? Probably, because for many of the really poor, it simply isn't true.

And for those who do have assets, they are still 'poor'. They could always exchange their property for cash, and go and live where exactly?

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

I'll third that. Anyone who believes otherwise simply doesn't know Poland.

I wouldn't believe a word from most Polish people about what they earn.

You may be surprised to learn that the poor in Poland don't generally own businesses. :roll:

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

I don't think anyone here claims to have a better understanding than they do, except perhaps one guy from America.

Case of 'saying' rather than 'showing', isn't it.

Personally, I observe what people do rather than listen to what they say.

A life spent in front of a computer screen on English language forums boasting about your proficiency in Polish is hardly much of a substitute for actually using Polish IRL.

If you want to fight, take it elsewhere.

You fight with every new poster coming onto this forum. Just to let them know their place. That Polish Forums is 'Delphi's domain'.

As for that piece of information, she posted it very publicly not so long ago.

And you can retrieve the quote from your index linked filling system, no doubt. Was the quote made on Polish Forums, or were you forced to visit other sites for additional research?

How queer. I could have sworn that I use Polish every day in work due to working in a more-or-less monolingual company. Must have been dreaming.

I'd just so love to be a 'fly on the wall' .....

Hell-oh pole-ski-eh h-wop. Jar jest-em now-chu-chel-em yenz-ee-ka ang-eel-ski-ay-go. Jar moo-vee-eh bardsough dob-she po pole-sku etc

Should I read the title of this thread to some of you or are you able to come back on topic by yourself?

szczecinianin

8 Sep 2013

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

Who are those people? There are very few posters on here living in Poland who don't have at least a reasonable command of the Polish language.

Or claim to have. Knowledge of the Polish language here is very much self-assessed.

I'm also not sure why you're abusing ESL teachers when you are a French teacher yourself and therefore could be called an FSL teacher. (Mods, she has posted it in public before - I'll supply a link if you want)

You don't know Poland, do you. You just know Polish Forums. Or more precisely personal information about posters on Polish Forums.

Perhaps try leaving your computer and get out and about more. And btw claiming knowledge of Polish on some expat internet forum is a very poor substitute for actually using Polish in the real world, that strange, bizarre and wholly unfamiliar place beyond your computer screen.