You’re already in my country. :)

OhioCoastie on June 7, 2012 at 8:38 PM

Would that it were so! You see, you live in America, but I, alas, live in California. :-(

BTW, I am sincerely delighted to virtually meet all y’all Estonians. I hope to visit your wonderful country someday!

Mary in LA on June 7, 2012 at 1:28 PM

You’re already in my country. :)

AP is taunting the birthers. I only point this out because the birthers might not be smart enough to get it.

thuja on June 7, 2012 at 1:33 PM

thuja, I disagree. IMHO, AP is essentially kind-hearted (maybe I shouldn’t be saying this out loud!), and I’ve never noticed him “taunting” his loyal readership.

My take on the “Romney/Ilves” or “Ilves/Romney” thing is that AP is indulging us all in a wonderful fantasy — political eye-candy, if you will. :-)

Romney/Ilves

AP is taunting the birthers. I only point this out because the birthers might not be smart enough to get it.

It’s tongue in cheek — based on Palinista and Tea Party tendency to call people in my demographic “elitists” at the drop of a hat and their dismissal of urban residents as somehow not living in “real” America. Usually, here, I’m called much worse.

I certainly do not count myself among the “elite.”

urban elitist on June 7, 2012 at 9:08 AM

Ah. A hypocritical self-loathing elitist. I see.

Oh, and the unemployment rate is 11.5% and your new hero is an elitist Ivy Leaguer.

urban elitist on June 7, 2012 at 8:31 AM

Ah. A self-loathing elitist. I see.

Singapore is the best bet. They speak English and are free.

I’ve always liked Estonia. A country I’d certainly like to visit.

Seeing it on TV, it reminded me of France.. but without the French.

Reaps on June 6, 2012 at 11:10 PM

France without the French? Sounds like heaven to me

jayhawkingeorgia on June 6, 2012 at 11:16 PM

But do they go down all the way??

Caught this headline today and thought that the piece missed the metaphor.

We have not just a fat government, but an “obese government.”
You don’t fix an “obese government” with “binge spending.”

I’m don’t think Michelle Obama would recommend that an obese person have a little “caloric stimulus” to help them lose weight.

Anyway, if you read the article, it said they cut ministry pay by 20% and other government service pay by 10%, as well as reforming their entitlements to make them sustainable. It wasnt easy but they all pulled together and sacrificed to do it. They are on the forefront of counties that need to tackle our debt and spending. We should be so lucky to have the will and determination to do as well as Estonia.

Oh, and the unemployment rate is 11.5% and your new hero is an elitist Ivy Leaguer.

urban elitist on June 7, 2012 at 8:31 AM

As opposed to what is it in whatever s**thole inner city you’re in? Or compared to 22% and an economy in free fall, in Greece?

6.7% debt to GDP. Must suck to be a leftist piece of garbage, and thereby feel the need to sway the stupid (and NY Times readers) into thinking that’s somehow a bad thing, not crapping on your children and grandchildren.

I wonder what Estonia’s (insert demographic statistic here) compares to the inner city s**thole you reside in?

This deserves a post, Ed/Allah.

kingsjester on June 7, 2012 at 10:33 AM

Yep. It’s Stanley Kurtz, too, not some gadfly.

This deserves a post, Ed/Allah.

So, they reacted poorly to the initial shock — allowing a recession to become a depression — and their recovery has stalled with unemployment at 11.5%. This is not an effective advertisement for austerity. And, if the government budget is in balance, how much individual wealth is being lost when the economy continues to limp.

Also, not that their tax rates appear to be pretty high — are you willing to pay that price?

The initial shock for us was the bursting of our local real estate bubble. This was followed later on by the worldwide financial crisis. Had it been only one, the situation would have been much better, but two major crisis in close succession really blew the air out of our collective lungs.

Our recovery has slowed – I believe last quarter was 3,9% growth, which is a slowing trend, but way better than most of Europe.

Obviously we cannot be really compared to the US, given that we have the population of one mid-sized US city. If we’d try printing money, we would find ourselves on top of the garbage pile faster than we could say QE.