News / Time to clean the swamp - dePiSification of Poland [324]

Source = living in Poland and trying to do things, trying to run my business honestly and being sick of my taxes being funneled straight into the pockets of some Waldek and Czeslawa over in Chelm.

Yes this has always happened but it has steadily declined between 2004 and 2015. PiS has taken it to a whole new level (same in Hungary too BTW, where I also do business)

News / Time to clean the swamp - dePiSification of Poland [324]

In the state companies and media, many of these have written their own contracts with heavy compensation clauses for dismissal. So hard working taxpayers like myself will be paying for these lowlifes to drive around in fancy German cars for a few more years.

The directors of the Provincial post offices can have no complaints - they knew nothing about post, and not much about sitting in an office - these were pure sinecures for PiS organizers and pig farmers who funded PiS.

News / Coronavirus in Poland - part 2 [599]

Nobody from government will ever admit either

That the lockdown was too long long and severe.
That the paper masks are not proved to be effective

Scientists are even more unwilling than politicians to admit mistakes, so you probably need to wait 30-40 years for impartial research into what worked, once everyone involved is retired.

And these policies came from left and right - Boris, PiS, Hungary etc all had lockdowns just as long and hard as US Dems, Trudeau and Macron.

I supported the lockdown and wore my mask because I was told like everyone else that it would be a few weeks. When they still were trying to push us around 18 months later, after we were vaccinated, it was pretty weird.

Language / What are the best professional reasons for learning Polish? [16]

Outside Poland none - every country has a large Polish diaspora who would take any Polish language job

Inside Poland it is extremely useful, especially with French - there is high demand in Polish for French speakers

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

So in the end a convincing defeat for PiS, a rejection of Konfederacja and looks like people just want a half normal government that is not full of fruitcakes.

Will be interesting to see the results in Eastern towns like Bialystok and Rzeszow - I think PiS is losing a grip over there

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

I think Duda will use the veto sparingly and I don't think a new government will provoke it on say Sunday shop opening or abortion.

If Duda just vetoes at will that will just make PiS even less popular - they need to start attracting younger voters

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

The currency markets are sharing everyones good mood today - zloty up sharply against the Euro and Dollar.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Even a few more points for PiS won't make a difference - Konfa are too weak to do anything and probably would avoid a coalition with PiS.

Electorate have spoken clearly that they don't want PiS. For PiS the path forward will be to ditch Kaczynski and the weird cult stuff and come closer to the centre.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Seems PiS took back a lot of voters from Konfederacja. But hopefully we will see the back of them now

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Queues quite big at our polling station - all ages. I think the high turnout might benefit PiS in the suburbs.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Very weird General Staff resignations today - at least 2 top Generals.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

I turned it on at 19.10 and lasted 2 minutes.

I thought I could handle another PiS term but now I know how bad that would be.

I think it is the first time I watched TVP since the World Cup

Real Estate / Rentals Deposit Return [8]

Yes, get your contract out and check two things

- what would happen if you broke the contract early
- if there is any mention of the thing about having to find another tenant

You could have a lawyer read it would probably cost you about 300 zloty and they will give some proper advice - better than you will find on an internet forum

Real Estate / Rentals Deposit Return [8]

How much was your deposit and how much was the rent ?

If your deposit was less than say 3000 then it won't be worth the hassle with the court which will be slow and will all be in Polish

USA, Canada / Cigarettes reach nine dollars a pack in New York [109]

Gorby tried the high tax thing with booze and the Udmurtians responded in the only way they know - blinding themselves with paint stripper and perfume, leaving themselves too drunk to procreate and with an epidemic of fatal liver complaints.

It was the start of their demographic catastrophe

News / Unfulfilled promises by PiS [559]

I'm fine with that argument but now they are just handing out borrowed Gierek style money Jon - nobody has generated it, but the dwindling number of taxpayers will have to pay it back.

News / Unfulfilled promises by PiS [559]

PiS is a leftist party. It's core belief is handing out money, high taxes and nationalization.

News / Referendum to decide about exotic immigrants in Poland [559]

No - still mostly Ukies and other Ex Soviets.

It does seem a Little India is developing in the stretch of JP2 north of Hala Mirowska

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Your own link says Czech has the lowest unemployment.

Who is to say unemployment will not start to increase now ? In fact I think that is a very likely scenario but we can come back to it in a few months and argue about it

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

There is always a balance and at the moment they have that balance wrong.

The massive increases i. Minimum wage are interesting - I always try and pay 10-20 percent above that for entry staff but this year I have given up on that idea and their wages are effectively set by the govt. that is a very unhealthy way to run the economy

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Several PiS policies have been highly inflationary

Increases in minimum wage
13th and 14th pension
Suspension of mortgage payments
Extra back to school payments
Ban on Sunday trade and other supply restrictions
Banking tax
And most of all lockdown

Energy prices don't help but lots of the cost is VAT and excise

News / Poland highest inflation in 20 years [319]

GBP already up to 5.40 on the basis of this instance change

Similar moves for the USD and EUR

Real Estate / Landlord in Poland - tenant laws, statue of limitation [26]

Do not lift a finger to help him find a tenant. It is nothing to do with you.

Don't pay your last months rent. Then it does not matter if he does not repay your deposit. Probably he won't anyway, will just make up some BS about things he claims are broken.

Seems there are some terrible landlords around.

Law / Debt in Poland - inheritance after relative death? [14]

As a starting point, it's extremely difficult to throw a sitting tenant out and the procedures needed to do that would cause the windykacja a lot more grief than they need for 50.000. Talk to those charities and good luck - think you have a strong cases

The inherited debt bullshit will be over in a few years - lots of challenges to that in both Polish and EU courts

History / Historical look at various civilisational differences between Russia and the West [159]

But the fact that they have no toilets underlies the insecurities that make them want to portray military might and launch broken space ships

They didn't have the patience or will to build democracy like the Poles or Czechs or Croats or Romanians did. And now they are angry that they became inferior, an afterthought in world affairs and a problem to be managed.

History / Historical look at various civilisational differences between Russia and the West [159]

Your article suggests that the West has traded materialism for meaning.

It's not an original argument - Gandhi was using it 100 years ago.

Personally I would prefer to stick with at least some of the material benefits of democracy. That's because there is no evidence that the more primitive societies that you lionize promote dignity, human rights, creativity etc.

History / Historical look at various civilisational differences between Russia and the West [159]

I will stick with "So called modernity" - a flushing toilet is warm and nice in the morning

Are human rights and human dignity really better in this paradise that Putin built ?

Law / Can I turn my residency as a universal student to work only? [5]

Don't know - ask a lawyer or maybe try some special forum for stimmigrants.

Will you still be studying next year ?

Law / Can I turn my residency as a universal student to work only? [5]

No - you need a work permit, which is not the same as residency

News / Poland highest inflation in 20 years [319]

That's not true Jon - eventually farmers will stop large scale farming, and just go back to having enough eggs meat and whatever to feed their own family and a few city cousins.

That is exactly what happened in Cuba. There is a great film on Netflix - it is called Cuba and the cameraman I think where a US cameraman visits Cuban friends every 10 years from the 70s up until the present day.

Farming commercially is very hard work - early mornings, late nights, no holidays etc. and if there's no profit in it then people are rather going to sit smoking and drinking. Happened in the PGRs and can happen again