Andras Szigetvari

Sehr viel Verantwortung

Do Europeans understand how poor they are? And what will happen when they find out?

I lived in Austria and Poland, and one question has been bugging me: If Austria is considered a "rich" country, why Poland feels so much more advanced and economically developed? Recently, I got the answer – the system is just structured this way. Austria has high taxes and a social security system that favors employees over entrepreneurs. I felt it myself – when I was paid €500/day on my freelance contract, half would go to the state. So the leftover €250 didn't feel like a big deal. I took more time off and didn't care about work too much. The same goes for other businesses. Shops would have weird opening hours, ignore service quality, and not care about getting more clients. It just doesn't pay off in Austria to have a profitable business. Meanwhile, Poland has lower taxes - 9% for companies, and 19% for individual proprietors. Poland promotes business, and you get a lot of new places opening, high service quality, and even better ad creatives on the street. This doesn't mean Poland is better than Austria. It just means that these countries are fit for two different purposes. You are already rich and want to raise a family with kids - go to Austria. You will get good infrastructure, bike lanes, good schools, and safe streets that the struggling local businesses paid for with their money. You want to move fast, make money, and grow your biz – go to Poland. You will get more run-down and stressful cities, but insane service sector, low taxes, and upbeat vibe – which is the most important when you are young and ambitious.

Ist es klug, vor Schülern davon zu sprechen, dass der Iran die USA demütigt? Nein. Sollte das passieren? Nein. Ist das der Grund für das Handeln der USA? Nein. Wundert mich der Versuch, die Loslösung der USA von Europa als Folge eines unbedachten Satzes zu framen? Nein.

Angeblich ist dieses Inserat von der ÖVP. Die Partei ist (mit kurzer Unterbrechung durch die »Expertenregierung«) seit knapp 39 Jahren in Regierungsverantwortung. Wie erbärmlich, wenn man sich dann nur mehr durch die Verächtlichmachung des Gegners profilieren kann.

Ja

Und vor wenige Tagen erst der einst mächtige SPÖ-nahe Sektionsschef im Finanzminister, Gerhard Steger, die rote Erzählung, wonach umfassende Reformen bei Gesundheit, Pensionen des Teufels sind, weil sie zur sozialen Kälte führen, zerlegt 2