News / How could PiS better spend billions instead of 500+ ? [280]

But giving money away can be done at the stroke of a pen. Reforming hospitals and schools takes years of expertise and effort and the problem is that PiS does not have a lot of smart people in its ranks who are able to do that

. Health and education have not stood still in the last 4 years, they have gone backwards - probably not easy to perceive if you live in Australia, so the government should present concrete plans for them

News / How could PiS better spend billions instead of 500+ ? [280]

Yes but there are plenty of functioning welfare states in Europe that have high taxes but deliver good levels of health and education and relatively low work weeks - Sweden, Austria, Germany etc. Not socialist but rather social democracy - Poland seems to be going down a different path of handouts rather than a contract between the citizen and the state.

News / How could PiS better spend billions instead of 500+ ? [280]

I wasn't that bothered by the first round of 500+ - I travel often in small Polish towns and know that life was very hard there for young families, the stimulus mostly went on kids things and the cost to the budget was not huge and a lot came back in VAT and retailers profits.

Now I am getting very concerned with the constant handouts - more and more, combined with shrinking the tax base by exempting people under 26 (why ?) and an early pension age.

If you are a high taxpayer and generally a liberal caring sharing person then it is easy to understand the safety net for those who need it and the need for a health service and good schools. What is more difficult to stomach is no questions asked handouts that you get basically for breathing and eventually the taxpayers will get up fed up about that. PiS did some good work to squeeze tax evasion but that is not an exhausted way of funding these promises - the only alternatives are either higher taxes or more debt and neither will end well.

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [543]

Maf the irony of this is that the NIK is supposed to be the organization that supervises govt probity !

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [543]

I think he read it in Pravda during the tram ride home

In fact it has almost doubled over the last 10 years - doesn't matter if its PO or PiS - Both have benefited from the economic effects of EU membership and lots of investment

Off-Topic / Random Sports News [855]

It is weird my Alma mater in the US sending me emails 3-4 times a week to donate while at the same time paying a salary of several million bucks to the basketball coach. Of course I realize that the sports is an important way of developing a lifelong connection but all the same there are few other public servants who get that kind of cash !

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

He means that even for Polish citizens there are restrictions - you now have to be a registered farmer in order to buy and some other requirements like living a certain amount of time there.

I haven't heard about your solution but it sounds risky - I would be very cautious about buying a building without title to the land underneath.

Travel / Which places in Praga, Warsaw are MOST DANGEROUS at night? [15]

Plenty of new investment in Praga - new malls and housing and the Google campus

News / PiS and Russian political/economic interests [70]

What are the economic disadvantages? Can you pount to one economic statistic that has got worse in Poland since 2004?

Inflation ? Unemployment? Employment ? GDP ? Inequality ? Exports ? Anything ?

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [543]

The answers will of course be depressing - referring to what PO were doing four or five years ago.

I don't know why they can't have clear rules about what is and is not paid for when it comes to travelling back to your home constituency. It's really tremendous arrogance

Classifieds / I am selling my Polish money [22]

They are worth nothing i am afraid - mot enough even to buy a can of Coke

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

Also fancied getting goats Paw but was put off by their strong smell

Our neighbor has an enclosure with about 15 danielki and makes pretty good money from that

Life / Polish people and TV Series - so good and hilariously spot on :) [99]

For that kind of thing then nomrally the morning shows - Dzien Dobry TVN or PnS. But they don't normally sit on a sofa, more like a recorded interview in some studio.

In the late nights there was also Szymon Majewski a few years back - a mix of pranks and interviews a bit like Stefan Raab in Germany.

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [543]

Of course PO were corrupt - but part of the election promise from 2015 was that PIS would end this corruption and patronage - they have not done that and I agree that it has probably got worse.

As for Macierewicz being married - well it is conceivable that some married people like to experiment.

History / MAP OF POLAND IN 1880'S [95]

Some parts were - like Wloclawek and czernikowo probably right on the border.

Maybe Chasniki in Belarus ? Was a Jewish town up until the holocaust

News / Degenerate "rainbow" eyesore to disappear from Saviour Square (Plac Zbawiciela) in Warsaw [297]

Was taken down a few years ago but they are talking about a new hologram version.

Plac Zbawiciela is still one of the main hipster areas of Warsaw and a good place to get a late drink

Genealogy / Want to find a person [777]

If you know the name of the club then try its fb or instagram page

There might be a Ukrainians in Krakow fb group - sonewhere where people arrange transport, accommodation and work. You could leave a message there.

If it was a strip club then she probably used an alias.

If a normal club then if you are that desperate why not just get another Ryanair flight and find her.

Always ask for a number if you like someone!

Off-Topic / Random Sports News [855]

Here's a radical thought - like millions of people i like both football and the American version (prefer college to NFL but will watch both)

Not really keen on rugby but it got much better after going professional

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

Prices of lots of fruit and veg are going up sharply - a dry summer but also high fuel costs, closed sundays, the proposed retail taxes and higher wages both for fruit pickers and supermarket staff.

Off-Topic / Random Sports News [855]

Your team is not called Ohio but rahther Russia and they have underperformed for many years when it comes to football - even when the USSR were good it was mostly due to Ukrainian and Georgian players and they never gelled during tournaments.

No coincidence that football is one of the most difficult games in which to get an unfair advantage through drugs or bribing officials. Too much luck involved and underdogs always have a chance.

Of course the USSR and Russia have plenty of success when judges can be bunged some cash or weightlifters can be doped up to the eyeballs

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

A long time ago i worked on the privatization of Polands biggest ketchup factory - Heinz bought it and wanted to change the recipe but the Poles were used to their own ketchup taste so after a few tasting panels they just kept it as it is. I normally avoid it - sweet and cloying taste. If i am grilling i use mustard and chrzan.

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

I do sometimes have it for breakfast - I don't mean making it from scratch but if I am driving somewhere early on a winter morning and there is some in the fridge I will have it - its filling and healthy (kind of - it has vegetables) and will keep you going for a few hours.

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

The only place its eaten as a side dish is in the Red Apple buffet, washed down by some heavily marked up Okocim

Of course here in Poland its normally a quick meal in itself - at a Zajazd or on the train, at a poprawiny or from a Miedzychod jar. Maybe a slice of bread with it.

Life / Place of Living Choice: Poland vs Hungary vs Germany [44]

Living in a small town and commuting is feasible but the trains are not as frequent as they are in Germany. In winter that is going to be a challenge - dark cold mornings and evenings with quite a lot of travel disruption. I don't know Kielce we'll but in Torun or Krakow there are plenty of quiet areas of the city where you could live quite cheaply.

Genealogy / Which Polish first names are considered unpopular / obsolete in Poland? [124]

Well I suppose there is Ludwik - popular brand of dish soap !

Lech - a well known beer.

Michalki - kind of chocolate

Must be plenty more.

Law / Notice period Poland (job termination) - does 'one month' equal to four weeks? [14]

There is not a lot they can do about it.

Don't expect a reference from them however - you signed a contract which you are now not respecting.

Better to explain to your boss that you would like to work a shorter period, say half of the notice period so that you can give him time to sort out a handover.

What quite a lot of Poles do is hand in their notice and then get a sick note if you ask them to work it, though that is happening less these days.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

There are some whole towns made iup of decrepit kamienicy - Grudziaz, Chorzow, Pabianice etc - it will decades to fix them

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

How many skyscrapers or basilicas have you designed ? Or Iwonka ? This thread is about Poland.

I was in Slask recently and see that in in Bytom and Katowice some of those houses are even getting protected status. They are interesting architecture but surely still outside plumbing ?

Off-Topic / Social Media - who uses Facebook or similar? [45]

Facebook is a private company. Using Facebook is optional.

Not sure if someone can translate that into Russian to make that even more simple for you to understand.

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [543]

This by the way is the man PiS nominated to replace Tusk as head of the EU council - a position normally occupied by former prime ministers.