Running the numbers on a GDP of 24 billion and 7.2% debt, that's like 2 billion dollars with a deficit 400 million a year or about 300 bucks a person per year on a $1500 current debt, not too likely to be a Greek-level crisis even though their GDP per capita's only about $18,000 a year. Sounds like a good deal for everyone involved.
And by "neo-liberal", I mean they've started over entirely with a radical break from their communist past, creating a highly competitive economy without burdensome entitlement issues or overly expensive social security. They even have that flat tax that iirc you were advocating in another post.
Of course, Estonia is so small that its inclusion really doesn't matter much either way. Rather like Slovenia that way. The only latecomer to the euro that really has some weight (if you leave out Greece, which wasn't much of a latecomer, evidently it should've been more so ) is Slovakia, and even that is only a country of what, five million? The real question is whether Poland or Romania will ever be in a position to join - or even the Czech Republic. Then again, all these smaller countries do add up - Latvia and Lithuania will likely follow within a number of years.
I actually looked them up on Heritage Foundation's site [right wing site], because the wiki and state dept comment son them are vague and cheerfully diplomatic. Heritage ranks them very high on economic freedom, though down a bit from their last survey, and speaks fairly glowingly - though also rather briefly - of Estonia's post cold war progress. Unfortunately while we are one of their larger distant importers, we don't really sell them much, make up only a small percent of their foreign investments (roughly tied with UK, apparently they are tight with Sweden in that regard) and really have little to do with them, but they've been fairly supportive of US foreign policy and committed troops to both our current wars. So, happy to see they are pushing upward and keeping tight relations with the West. They're very similiar in size, population and climate to New Hampshire I gather, a bit larger
Glad to hear about their Flat Tax efforts though I am not actually a supporter of Flat Tax, I just am open to it, I consider myself a fence sitter on tax policy (method not amount) by lack of deep economic knowledge. Loosely speaking, I tend to favor a smaller Flat Tax with deductions for the federal, sales tax for the states and counties, and property tax for municipal, and that tariffs should really be small and limited to offsetting costs associated with port and customs security.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
- Albert Einstein
King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
- Albert Einstein
King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
This message last edited by Isaac on 13/05/2010 at 05:36:48 PM
So the list of countries using the euro will grow longer, not shorter... Estonia to join in 2011
12/05/2010 10:51:37 PM
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Sounds like a winner
12/05/2010 11:07:38 PM
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You Americans should like Estonia - they're rather neoliberal that way.
12/05/2010 11:18:30 PM
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Apparently we do
13/05/2010 05:34:41 PM
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I liked the remark one Estonian bankofficial made
12/05/2010 11:38:26 PM
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I do sometimes wish more Belgians would understand that.
12/05/2010 11:52:41 PM
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Re: I do sometimes wish more Belgians would understand that.
13/05/2010 12:05:03 AM
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That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility.
13/05/2010 12:11:37 AM
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Social attitudes take a very long time to change.
13/05/2010 12:28:09 AM
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We have need-based scholarships. We could extend them.
13/05/2010 12:38:31 AM
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I guess it depends on exactly what the fees are.
13/05/2010 11:06:37 AM
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They're low. Too low.
13/05/2010 12:12:29 PM
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American universities do have entrance exams. Sort of.
13/05/2010 02:17:13 PM
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Those are really too lame to count.
13/05/2010 02:21:23 PM
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meh. Most degrees are useless anyway.
13/05/2010 01:14:54 AM
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That could be fixed if there weren't such stigma attached to vocational schools.
13/05/2010 02:18:40 AM
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Re: That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility.
13/05/2010 08:08:16 PM
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Re: That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility.
14/05/2010 11:48:22 AM
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Is it as late as university? Or is it a good bit earlier? EDIT: Nevermind. Answered elsewhere.
14/05/2010 05:36:50 PM
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Re: Is it as late as university? Or is it a good bit earlier? EDIT: Nevermind. Answered elsewhere.
14/05/2010 07:57:32 PM
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Re: That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility.
14/05/2010 08:02:58 PM
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naw most of them are getting degrees in liberal arts because they like to read book more then work *NM*
13/05/2010 02:01:59 PM
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Surely Sweden can say, or could have said, that they wouldn't join till they damn well felt like it?
12/05/2010 11:39:57 PM
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Apparently Denmark only got the opt-out after rejecting the Maastricht treaty.
12/05/2010 11:47:00 PM
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Good point: it seems to me no-one cares about being Belgian, only Flemish or Walloon .
12/05/2010 11:51:27 PM
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It's slightly more subtle than that.
13/05/2010 12:00:29 AM
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What do you think about this suggestion?
13/05/2010 12:09:02 AM
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That has been suggested by many, yeah.
13/05/2010 12:28:24 AM
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But before you make a decision like that...
13/05/2010 08:36:07 AM
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They can export him to another country which needs a king. Wouldn't be the first time.
13/05/2010 10:57:59 AM
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Hmm, a pan-European entity getting too big and splitting into Eastern and Western administrations...
13/05/2010 11:09:51 AM
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There is one answer to most of those questions
12/05/2010 11:49:46 PM
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I love that the rest of you have the euro.
12/05/2010 11:53:10 PM
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*waits for the Pound to drop and the UK begging for the euro* *NM*
12/05/2010 11:56:25 PM
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That would be the worst time to do it.
13/05/2010 12:05:32 AM
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I think on the balance, that's probably better than the opposite, but yeah, neither is ideal. *NM*
13/05/2010 12:14:23 AM
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WOW WHEN DID THE UK CHANGE THEIR COINS
13/05/2010 12:10:41 AM
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2008, apparently. Though I don't think we actually saw them until 2009.
13/05/2010 12:17:46 AM
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Oh. Okay. I guess the black is just a reflective thing they're doing for the photo.
13/05/2010 12:37:24 AM
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I used to use a ten-pound note to inhale...things.
13/05/2010 05:54:09 AM
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You have a thing for Charles Darwin?
13/05/2010 10:45:14 AM
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From "Mean Mr. Mustard" - "keeps a ten-bob note up his nose...such a mean old man..."
13/05/2010 02:36:34 PM
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In that case I'm going to have to disappoint you.
13/05/2010 02:54:04 PM
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I knew that, but I had limited options.
13/05/2010 03:15:07 PM
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You could try a €500 note.
13/05/2010 03:18:11 PM
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In other news, the sky is blue.
13/05/2010 03:33:25 PM
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I seem to remember reading something in 2002 about Germans paying their monthly rent in cash.
13/05/2010 03:43:35 PM
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Ooh...I'm sure THAT will shore up the eurozone... *laughs*
13/05/2010 05:51:12 AM
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Nobody said it would.
13/05/2010 12:34:27 PM
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You know what will save the eurozone ?
13/05/2010 04:55:06 PM
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