Today’s Rzeczpospolita has a mercifully short report on a conference organised by the Szkoła Główna Handlowa (literally: Main School of Trade) in Warsaw. A picture of its former rector Marek Rocki is captioned “Free Education is a Fiction” – a quote from the man himself. What does this intellectual titan mean? “Two thirds of students […]
This weekend’s Rzeczpospolita carries an interview with Leszek Balcerowicz, the man who administered economic “shock therapy” to Poland, freeing the market almost overnight in 1990. To some he is a bete noire; for others an economic genius. The interrogation was carried out by Slawomir Popowski and Dariusz Rosiak. Balcerowicz invited the reader to look at […]
I gather there is some concern in America about an “Arab” company taking control of their ports. I don’t see what the fuss is: what difference does the nationality of the shareholders make? The Polish government is also worried about foreign ownership, of banks, in particular. Apologies for the why-oh-why’s but why can’t capitalists accept […]
The weekend’s Rzeczpospolita, a serious Polish broadsheet, has a front page story headlined “How much will the Cheap State Cost?” It is a reference to the nearly-ruling party’s pre-election promise to cut costs. The paper estimates that the planned nationalisation of banks and insurers will cost 30 billion zloties, new unemployment benefits will cost 10 […]
