Life / Poles turn their backs on organised religion. [85]


I'm not surprised. They have absolutely nothing to offer young people, and religion classes are treated with utter contempt by schoolchildren in general.

The Spanish and Irish scenario is repeating itself.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


You probably can't count as well, otherwise you'd know all about the new taxes that PiS have introduced.

Even Bosak made a lot of fuss out of it - wrealu24.pl/lista-32-podwyzek-podatkow-i-oplat-wprowadzonych-przez-rzad-pis-i-prezydenta-andrzeja-dude/ - and that's not counting the new taxes such as the 'sugar' (actually a tax on all sweeteners in drinks) tax, the new taxes on small bottles of booze and so on.

What's the problem with a 5% tax? You do realise that they want to tax every single złoty earnt in advertising, not just on profits?

PiS are doing this for one reason and one reason only - to destroy independent media by making them financially unviable, therefore allowing them the chance to take over independent media and turn them into propaganda outlets.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


It won't affect them. They use Irish companies (sometimes Dutch or Luxembourgish), so they won't be obliged to pay it. It's only for companies that are registered in PL - so private media will be heavily affected by it. Think about the small independent newspapers - do you think 5% tax on every złoty earnt from advertising is affordable for them?


It's standard for PiS supporters. They point at 500+ as being somehow making up for the countless taxes imposed by the government, even though we can all see how prices have risen dramatically.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]

Well, not close down, they just want to bring it under PiS control.

What's frightening is how their supporters see no harm in the media being completely controlled by the government.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Nothing less, to be honest. The denial is strong, but it's very clear that for their electorate, a return to the PRL wouldn't be a tragedy at all.


Tell us about the SKOKi, please. Oh and GetBack.

enerad.pl/aktualnosci/afera-skok/
rmf24.pl/fakty/polska/news-wniosek-o-komisje-sledcza-ws-getback-odeslany-do-prawnikow-p,nId,4322523

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Why don't you tell us about the SKOKi and the GetBack scandals? Come on, you're better than this, what happened to the billions that Polish people lost? Why are PiS unwilling to establish a parliamentary commission to investigate what happened there?

dotyczy.pl/skoki-afera-wszechczasow-pochlonely-juz-ponad-5mld-zl-eksperci-twierdza-ze-to-nawet-nie-polowa-strat/4459/

Where's the money?


"Polish media isn't entirely behind PiS, therefore it needs to be shaken up and the management replaced with those who are loyal to the Party."

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


People, here we see the classic example of someone who only consumes pro-PiS media.

Tell me Gumishu, which part of this article is factually incorrect? dotyczy.pl/skoki-afera-wszechczasow-pochlonely-juz-ponad-5mld-zl-eksperci-twierdza-ze-to-nawet-nie-polowa-strat/4459/


Really?

Who was responsible for the financial oversight of GetBack? Why did GetBack grow from nothing to a massively overinflated company during the PiS government? And most importantly, why did GetBack sponsor plenty of pro-PiS events?


And who pays for the journalists, the offices, the transport, etc etc? Santa?

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Can you tell us about the link given? It's really not difficult - is it factual, or is it not?

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Because PO no longer allowed the SKOKi to be run in the way that they were previously. It's not exactly a big secret that the whole SKOKi network is a financial mess.


Because it's a waste of time, as we saw by the Amber Gold and Smoleńsk committees.


wgospodarce.pl/polityka-prywatnosci

Owned by Fratria sp. z o.o. A little bit of internet research reveals - pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fratria_(przedsi%C4%99biorstwo) - which tells us that Fratria sp z o.o. is controlled by Apella SA, which in turn is controlled by SKOK Holding S.à.r.l. in Luxembourg.

Who controls SKOK Holding S.à.r.l. in Luxembourg?

History / Malinowo: Polish-Nazi Supression? [447]


President and an iconic figure in Polish history, no matter how much some jealous little dwarves might try and change that.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


It's economics. Gumishu doesn't want to admit to us that the tax will punish independent media, who won't have the advantage of being handed 2bn yearly in the budget. If TVP doesn't have money, PiS will print it and give it to them. If Gazeta Wałbrzyska doesn't have cash, they're not going to get it from the government. Or if they do get it, it'll come with political conditions - replacing the editor, replacing certain journalists, etc etc.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


The margin is irrelevant in this case, because the money from this is what pays for the entire media operation.

And more importantly - why do they need to be taxed at all? The Polish companies already pay taxes - so why do you want to tax them again?

History / Malinowo: Polish-Nazi Supression? [447]


The truth is that they only want one approved version of the Holocaust. It's exactly what the Communists did after WW2 as well.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Gumishu, are you really incapable of believing nothing other than propaganda produced by PiS?

strefabiznesu.pl/koniec-ogromnych-zyskow-budzetu-z-uszczelniania-vat-z-czego-rzad-sfinansuje-program-500-plus/ar/c3-15006283

It's simply not true that the VAT revenues cover 500+. The Ministry of Finance's own numbers proved that.


Sorry Gumishu, but you really have to rely on different media than that run by PIS.

These programmes are unfunded, which means that it's our children that will have to pay the price of these handouts. Do you think that's fair or in any way socially acceptable, given that taxes tend to disproportionately affect the poorest?

Let's not forget that in Poland, you pay income tax on almost your entire earnings.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


I'm telling you that it's simply not true. The VAT 'sealing' brought around 22bn a year (may I also remind you that they simply implemented the plans brought by PO/PSL in order to achieve that?) - while 500+ costs around 40bn. You simply cannot avoid mathematics here, no matter how much the PiS controlled media tells you otherwise.

If there is to be 500+, it should be in the form of a 500zł tax credit for every child. Someone with 3 children would get a 1500zł monthly tax credit, meaning that they could earn up to around 10,000zł without paying taxes. Fair, reasonable and encourages hard work and pension contributions.

As for politicians and pay rises - losing 20-25% of your salary means nothing when your partner has a very well paid job in a state-controlled company. Standard practice for PiS, and means that only the opposition is hurt by such cuts.


If they check out TVP, they're going to be thoroughly disgusted by it. It's primitive propaganda at best, as witnessed by the fact that even people in PiS can't stand what Kurski has done to it.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Uh...you have read that link, right? Not only does it expose Morawiecki as lying, but you're also failing to take into account that Poland's economy grew strongly in the second part of the 2010's. A rise in VAT revenues would be quite normal during economic boom periods.

alebank.pl/kryzys-zweryfikowal-efekty-uszczelniania-vat-%E2%80%92-luka-wzrosla-do-36-mld-zlotych

It gets worse - the so-called 'sealing' simply hasn't worked. There's now a VAT gap of around 36bn PLN, which is similar to what existed before.


Is it really, really so hard to understand that PiS have lied through their teeth about the source of income for those social benefits, and that they're really being financed through endless taxes and printing of money?


Was he wrong, in light of the fact that 500+ is unfunded as we can see?

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Oh my word, Gumishu, what are you talking about? Have you completely ignored the massive amount of investment in Poland over the last few years? What about the fact that Poland is the outsourcing capital of Europe now? What about all those factories and warehouses that are springing up all over Poland? The improved VAT collection had very little to do with that - and everything to do with the fact that Poland was seen as a stable and predictable place to do business combined with cheap wages on a European level.


...because there are now possibilities for them to work in real companies and not just those run by Janusz and Seba? Take Amazon - every day, there are buses arriving from all over Wielkopolska and Lower Silesia to deliver workers to their warehouses. That's a real and tangible impact on the employment situation in small towns and villages.

Now we see what the real problem is with independent media. They won't allow the simple narrative of "VAT sealing means we can pay generous benefits" - they will look at the numbers and present the true situation, contrary to the government's propaganda.

500+ is unfunded. It's as simple as that, and it's being paid for through direct and indirect taxation, money transferred from other sources (health, education, etc) and through debt. I'm in education, I know how public schools are starved of investment, I know how small towns and villages are really struggling to even pay teachers because the amount of money from the government is falling each year.

And you're right about doctors and so on, but let's not forget that it was PO/PSL who started on the path of the JPK and PiS implemented it. Both PO and PiS deserve their share of the credit for digitalising and monitoring VAT - neither is particularly better or worse in this sense.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


...you do know about the 2007-2009 economic crisis, right? You know, the same crisis that engulfed Europe and which took until 2014-2015 to really escape from?

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Apart from devise the entire JPK system, of course.

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jednolity_Plik_Kontrolny - introduced by PO in September 2015.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


I can't find the article now, but basically, it's because 500+ and the pension payments are untouchable now. If they cut them, their support will vanish - so they're pinned into paying those at the cost of education, health, etc. That's why Duda made such a big fuss out of it, and why PiS were scaring voters with threats that PO/Trzaskowski will take away 500+/pension bribes.

The problem is that everyone can see that 500+ is worth less and less every day. My friend owns a private nursery, and just to keep things 'as is', she had to increase fees by nearly 120zł this year to simply stand still because of the increased costs, and she's about to increase the fees by another 20-25zł a month to cover the increased electricity costs.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Gumishu, where do you think the money comes from? If the costs to advertisers increase, who will pay it? We do. The costs will simply be passed on.

It's exactly the same with the bank tax and the retail tax. The bank tax increased costs to consumers, while the retail tax will do exactly the same.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


Oh really?

Nothing to do with this, of course: bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Nowa-oplata-na-rachunkach-za-prad-Znamy-stawki-8011301.html - which is a tax that PiS have imposed on all Polish electricity users.

Study / School meals in Poland [145]

Send me an e-mail with as much details as possible (preferably with the names of the dentists in question - it'll be useful to refer to their advice) and I'll write you a very strongly worded letter that says "either stop it, or this is going further". ;)

To be honest, if the teachers are being twats about it, the only thing to do is to go in hard. If the headteacher requests a meeting, she should also make a very clear point that there should be an independent person there (preferably one of the school governors) to take the minutes of the meeting so that the school can't backtrack later.

Study / School meals in Poland [145]

Don't worry, I think some references to government policies and so on will do the trick nicely ;)

Life / Pączki Day--do Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme count? [39]


It's a tough sell. People in corpo offices would never take a box of them to work, unlike in other countries. I suspect the ridiculous sweetness is also offputting for Polish tastes, yet it probably goes down incredibly well in the Arab world.

Subway is also struggling badly right now.

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


I think Gowin knows now that he can count on the people behind him, and that there's very little Kaczyński can do about it. Any attempt to interfere with them or threaten them and Gowin can take down the government.

I wouldn't be terribly shocked if we see a technocratic government with the quiet agreement that Gowin will have control of TVP/Polskie Radio for an upcoming election campaign.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

REM sang about this place.

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Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


I will tell you that it's not predictable :P

Travel / Foosball (Table Football) bars in Krakow ? [14]


Or just play defence well? Much easier.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

Yup. :)