tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post7491101044364433204..comments2023-11-05T09:55:13.077+02:00Comments on Itching for Eestimaa: nationalismoGiustinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-42407994701793240572012-03-18T13:28:52.268+02:002012-03-18T13:28:52.268+02:00For third sector to actively take part in policies...For third sector to actively take part in policies, some changes in tax policies anyways needed - exempt from income tax of donations to third sector. Expanding list of tax-free third sector entities - or different system of selection, based on transparency of funds.Ain Kendrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10603751575824748326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-27712567392399350692012-02-28T13:19:30.259+02:002012-02-28T13:19:30.259+02:00Okay, Temetsa, you do make sense. I suppose I'...Okay, Temetsa, you do make sense. I suppose I'm just being too Estonian (read: stubborn) about it, lol. But did you know that Estonia was one of the first countries to adopt flat tax? And due to it's success many in the ex eastern-bloc followed, inc. Russia. I suppose Estonia will continue to be grouped on those sort of maps with the rest of the east for many years to come, but it is not because we are in some way aligned with these countries, but many of them are literally copy/pasting our policies. Georgia being a real teachers pet, in that sense and good for them, as it seems to work to tehir advantage. It's like many Commonwealth countries are following UK and on those sort of maps UK often stands together with many African and Asian countries. And that is not to say that life is very similar in the UK and in Nigeria for example, altough both countries follow similar economic policies. So, what is good for Sweden, might not necesseraly be good for Estonia and what is good for Estonia doesn't always bring to the similar outcome in Poland, for example. And thats due to these 'other factors'. But then again we should re-evaluete from time to time, as Temetsa points out. Our main argument aginst Nordic welfare state was the massive Russian speaking low-skilled migrant community. Now, these people have by now largely integrated and maybe we could try it?<br /><br />I reserve the right to remain sceptical, however. And would still advocate for less state and more third sector. But who knows!?!?Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-83783052180373267292012-02-28T03:38:10.005+02:002012-02-28T03:38:10.005+02:00Also have a look at this map:
http://en.wikipedia...Also have a look at this map:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flat_personal_income_tax.pngTemestahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614591949410689858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-8780007624366452412012-02-28T03:31:08.879+02:002012-02-28T03:31:08.879+02:00"But I would still disagree with the 'rec..."But I would still disagree with the 'recent history' remark. Recent history has affected us in terms of wealth - our economic developement was brought to an standstill for nearly a half a century. And to follow that up with Estonian logic - if you have little, you also have little to give. As countrys wealth has increased remarkably over the past decade, well, so has the contribution to the 'social fund' but that has not happened to the same degree in Lithuania or Poland for example, as your stats highlights - and that's what I think has to do with 'cultrual factors'. If we look only the recent history then by logic, all of the ex eastern-block should have had developed to the similar endpoint but it simply has not."<br /><br />I did not mean that all ex-communist have developed exactly the same kind of societies. But if you look at statistics about taxation and social spending you see clearly two groups. In Europe only (but not all) ex-communist countries have a flat tax, and spending on welfare is on average lower than in other European countries (I forgot: Iceland also has a flat tax). But, as I said, this doesn't mean there cannot be diverging trends within this group, so other socio-cultural factors certainly also have an influence, and I also expect that this dividing line will become more blurred in the future.<br /><br />"Estonians, like Germans, don't borrow. We have a saying in Estonia - 'Debt belongs to the stranger', meaning if you owe to someone, that someone owns you."<br /><br />That's true for the public sector but privately Estonians are (or rather were) more than willing to take on loads of debt. In fact the country was so dependent on private borrowing for supporting growth that the economy shrank with almost 20% after flows of credit dried up in 2008. But Estonians have learned from their mistakes and credit driven consumption is no longer the main force behind growth.<br /><br />"So the electorate will never mandate the social democrats to borrow, but at the same time people want to see some changes made for the disadvantaged people"<br /><br />Why do you make such a straightforward connection between Social democracy and high levels of borrowing. The European countries that have known the longest periods of Social democratic rule (Nordic countries) are certainly not the ones with the highest levels of public debt. Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway (ok, Norway has oil :) ), have levels of public debt far below the European mean.Temestahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614591949410689858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-79894236331312575342012-02-28T03:15:28.826+02:002012-02-28T03:15:28.826+02:00Just wanted to apologise for my spelling. I do not...Just wanted to apologise for my spelling. I do not spell-check and treat my comments on blogs and articles as I would a random scribble in a notebook. And I'm not a native English speaker. Sry:)Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-9912564528579708502012-02-28T02:35:34.388+02:002012-02-28T02:35:34.388+02:00I get your point. But I would still disagree with ...I get your point. But I would still disagree with the 'recent history' remark. Recent history has affected us in terms of wealth - our economic developement was brought to an standstill for nearly a half a century. And to follow that up with Estonian logic - if you have little, you also have little to give. As countrys wealth has increased remarkably over the past decade, well, so has the contribution to the 'social fund' but that has not happened to the same degree in Lithuania or Poland for example, as your stats highlights - and that's what I think has to do with 'cultrual factors'. If we look only the recent history then by logic, all of the ex eastern-block should have had developed to the similar endpoint but it simply has not. We have a saying in Estonia - 'Every parish, should feed it's own poor', while in Lithuania/Poland its more of the 'well, it's their own fault' attitude or something totally different altogether. And I know this as I have spoken to people from those countrys on the subject. So there must be something else and I think it must be the wider historical/cultrual context. I also think this argument will cancel itself out within the next 10 years or so as my gut feeling is telling me that greater progress will be made here in Estonia and we might not see the same thing happening further south-west as the statistics already indicates.<br /><br />And the Nordic style of welfare state? Well, it's a big one. One of the main arguments against it in the early 90's was our enormous unskilled, non-integrated migrant community. People didn't take well to the population transfers of the Soviet Union and many tought that these people shoud have left with the Red Army, when it pulled out. But it didn't happen. So there we were, on one hand Nordic style welfare state seemed like a dream in terms of making it in to a reality. So they decided to do it the old Estonian way - tough love way, that is. Sync or swim, but it also had a major downside - it also scarred the Estonian people badly. And now, to put it all right, would mean, really, to invest heavily but to do that it would mean to borrow massivly. And that's where the 'culture-thingy' comes back in to it again. Estonians, like Germans, don't borrow. We have a saying in Estonia - 'Debt belongs to the stranger', meaning if you owe to someone, that someone owns you. So the electorate will never mandate the social democrats to borrow, but at the same time people want to see some changes made for the disadvantaged people. So in full circle we are back in the old-style 'tough love'-thingy again. That would mean that members of the public will have to bear the burden of the welfare state not by taxation but by engagement - volunteering more, giving money to charity etc. And thats what social democrats will get their mandate for - to build a permanent bridge between the third sector and the state.Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-65160481343363366122012-02-27T13:52:43.039+02:002012-02-27T13:52:43.039+02:00Oh, but I never implied that Estonia should adapt ...Oh, but I never implied that Estonia should adapt such or such system. I was just try to argue why Estonia has the system it has, and the reason for this I find in recent history. I also was arguing in favor of the 'Nordic' system because you wrote:<br /><br />"Even if the social democrats will win the next election Estonia will still not adapt the Nordic style of welfare state, they will do it as their counterparts are doing it in Germany, I'm more than convinced in that. In the end we are likely to end up like Sweden or Denmark but I believe our system will be more flexible and most importantly - sustainable."<br /><br />I misunderstood you as saying that the German system is more flexible and sustainable.<br />I also don't understand why you would group Germany together with Anglo-Saxon countries, as Germany is famous for the 'Rhineland model' which is seen as an alternative for the Anglo-Saxon model.Temestahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614591949410689858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-22251907296355058582012-02-27T04:10:23.899+02:002012-02-27T04:10:23.899+02:00Temetsa, you're missing the point. It's no...Temetsa, you're missing the point. It's not about whos doing better or worse. It's not even about to whom Estonia should 'hug up to'. All I said was that in terms of doing business - Estonians are like Germans, for better or worse. From the days of the Livonian Order, the Hanasaetic towns and even within the borders of Swedish and Russian Empires, to where Estonia once belonged - the nobility, merchants and clergy in Estonia have always been cultrually German(ic) and that followed through to the first Republic where a lot of our business elite were mainly the decendants of the old nobility, they just took Estonian names and switched from speaking German in to speaking Estonian. The customs and ways of doing things remained the same, and still do to the large extent to this day. So altough Estonians are Northern people in terms of the culture, cuisine, customs, holidays etc. - but the way we handle money, is still pretty much a German way. Thus you do get bigger class divide than in neighbouring Sweden or not so far-away Poland, yet it's pretty similar to the situation in Germany or England for example. And reasons to that lay in our history. Thats why I always argue that copy/pasting economic or social policies from Sweden might not be a such a good idea - as it is not likely to work, while looking towards Germany on those issues would have more common ground in order to work. I just don't like the fact that Estonians are often brcketed in to certain 'boxes' like - oh, you're just like the Swedes, or, oh, you're just like the Finns, or Germans, or Russians etc. Estonian culture is a fusion of cultures with Nordic-Finnic mainstream, but strong German influence on business side of things and a mild Russian influence in openess, hospitality. It's a bit difficult to pin down all these little things separately but once you live in Estonia long enough it will all start to make sense to you. To put it simply - it is, what it is, lol, hope that makes sense:).Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-46558444922850918422012-02-26T20:57:04.245+02:002012-02-26T20:57:04.245+02:00"And I must stress once more - in economic se..."And I must stress once more - in economic sense we are not like the Swedes, we are more like Germans, and thats mainly due to our historical economic developement - for nearly 1000 years business was done in Estonia by the Germans with great links to Germany proper and in essense in German way and that also explains our current credit rating in crisis battered Europe. Even if the social democrats will win the next election Estonia will still not adapt the Nordic style of welfare state, they will do it as their counterparts are doing it in Germany, I'm more than convinced in that. In the end we are likely to end up like Sweden or Denmark but I believe our system will be more flexible and most importantly - sustainable."<br /><br />Did you know that Sweden and Denmark have the same credit rating as Germany and have even lower government debt? Sweden actually has a net debt that is 'negative', meaning that they have more assets than liabilities. (Sweden: -24,8% of GDP, Germany: +55,2% of GDP) In this Sweden is doing even better than Estonia (-1,7%). In recent years Sweden and Denmark also did a lot of reforms to keep their welfare states sustainable. Sweden currently is also the strongest of Europe's advanced economies, with a budget surplus and high growth rates (5,7% for 2010 and an estimated 4% for 2011). I don't think there's a reason to assume that the German system is somehow more sustainable or flexible than the Swedish system. Sweden and Denmark also score higher in the Ease of Doing Business Index and the Index of Economic Freedom.<br /><br />http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=53&pr.y=10&sy=2009&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=128%2C939%2C134%2C144&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CGGXWDN_NGDP%2CGGXWDG_NGDP&grp=0&a=<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ease_of_Doing_Business_Index<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom#2012_rankings_.28First_30.29Temestahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614591949410689858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-58371114451786839012012-02-26T17:25:12.617+02:002012-02-26T17:25:12.617+02:00Thanks, Temetsa, interesting stats but it also pro...Thanks, Temetsa, interesting stats but it also proves my point:<br /><br />In Estonia there were remarkably high year-onyear<br />rates, especially between 2006 and 2008,<br />which led this country to be ranked among those<br />with the highest average increase in terms of<br />overall expenditure on benefits (10.2 %). This can<br />mainly be explained by the broadening of the social<br />protection system (new benefits and higher<br />allowances) with respect to disability, family and<br />unemployment benefits. For this last function<br />(increasing at a yearly average of 16.9 %) the rates<br />recorded in 2006-2007 (+43 %) and 2007-2008<br />(+104 %) are remarkable.<br /><br />While at the same time a rise in Germany was a flat zero. Estonia is still catching up, but we can't deny any effort being put in as the figures show - giant steps have been taken. And I must stress once more - in economic sense we are not like the Swedes, we are more like Germans, and thats mainly due to our historical economic developement - for nearly 1000 years business was done in Estonia by the Germans with great links to Germany proper and in essense in German way and that also explains our current credit rating in crisis battered Europe. Even if the social democrats will win the next election Estonia will still not adapt the Nordic style of welfare state, they will do it as their counterparts are doing it in Germany, I'm more than convinced in that. In the end we are likely to end up like Sweden or Denmark but I believe our system will be more flexible and most importantly - sustainable. People in Estonia do give and like to give to people in need, but they do not want to be forced to do so by the state and it's important to remember that.Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-40714493699524693592012-02-26T13:15:43.471+02:002012-02-26T13:15:43.471+02:00Many countries didn't have welfare states befo...Many countries didn't have welfare states before the Second World War, like my country for example, Belgium, and now we have a very extensive one (too extensive I think :)). In my opinion the preferences of the Estonian people have more to do with specific historical experiences than with some ingrained cultural trait: half a century of communist occupation and the need to rebuild the country afterwards. In this way Estonia is very similar to other European ex-communist states, who all spend relatively less (as % of GDP) on social protection compared with European countries that didn't experience communist dictatorships.<br />In this data from eurostat the pattern is clear, with some minor exceptions:<br /><br />http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-11-017/EN/KS-SF-11-017-EN.PDFTemestahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614591949410689858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-46194555435163345172012-02-26T02:43:53.263+02:002012-02-26T02:43:53.263+02:00Poverty is always relative, subject to circumstanc...Poverty is always relative, subject to circumstances. Altough Estonia shares a great deal with it's Western and Northern neighbour cultrually, in historical-economical sense Estonia is essentially Anglo-Saxon. We always had the poor and always will have, just like they have them in England, USA and Germany. That's an important disdinction between us and the Swedes/Finns and should not be overlooked. Now, that doesen't mean that more shouldn't be done to help people with disadvantaged backrounds but like in any other Anglo-Saxon economy this is not usually done by the electorate but more often by engaging third sector(charities, philanthropists, etc) in to talks with government while they form social policies. An average middle class Estonian does not want to see their tax money going to feed the poor, but at the same time they are more than happy to give money to cahrity who then disdibrutes it to the poor. Thats how it works also in England and thats how it used to work in Estonia prior to occupation and I'm more than confident it will work in future, exactly the same way. No need to reinvent the bycycle - it's there already - we just need to learn to ride it again, and in some parts of Estonia people already do.Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-9353046108603259632012-02-25T19:42:17.756+02:002012-02-25T19:42:17.756+02:00Sure, the best social system so far revised, the s...Sure, the best social system so far revised, the social democratic compromise, is strangely unpopular in Estonia. But as it wasn't really an option in the 90's, it's not surprising that it hasn't been much thought about as a possibility even later, these kind of choices tend to stick with you. I think this might well be a cause for regret later, but it's always easy to be wise after the event...stockholm slenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-52065069086243330902012-02-25T13:16:12.042+02:002012-02-25T13:16:12.042+02:00"But I would be bit more hesitant than YLE in..."But I would be bit more hesitant than YLE in thinking that it would have been easy - or even remotely possible - for Estonia to have chosen a Scandinavian style state and economic policies. There is a certain historical amnesia in Finland, that surely leads to justified anger in Estonia."<br /><br />Maybe in the nineties it was not possible for Estonia to have a Nordic welfare state but by now it is a deliberate choice. Most Estonians vote for parties that deeply despise welfare states. At the moment Estonia doesn't have a welfare state for ideological reasons. Many Estonians think that higher taxes for people who have high wages are more unjust than letting people live in abject conditions.Temestahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614591949410689858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-84467771915465581072012-02-25T07:23:41.906+02:002012-02-25T07:23:41.906+02:00Hmm, I didn't see that programme, but I doubt ...Hmm, I didn't see that programme, but I doubt if it was specifically anti-Estonian in any nationalistic way, just a regular arrogantish Nordic attitude towards a society that hasn't got a Nordic style welfare state. Anyway, I don't doubt at all that there are people in Estonia who do live in great poverty, I think that's pretty much an empirical fact.<br /><br />But I would be bit more hesitant than YLE in thinking that it would have been easy - or even remotely possible - for Estonia to have chosen a Scandinavian style state and economic policies. There is a certain historical amnesia in Finland, that surely leads to justified anger in Estonia.<br /><br />But I wouldn't exaggerate these spats: the links between the two countries are massively extensive and there is a very deep basic sympathy that the modern media cannot really disturb.stockholm slenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-27521607785625850132012-02-24T18:40:12.304+02:002012-02-24T18:40:12.304+02:00Lpr wrote: "I find loyalty to sports teams en...Lpr wrote: "I find loyalty to sports teams endearing, childish and immature at best. "<br /><br />But how to you pet your national ego then?<br /><br />Nowadays it's hard for a bunch of läänlased to go and rob some villages in Harjumaa.<br /><br />So instead you go and hail to your local basketball team.<br /><br />And it's damn hard to sail overseas to burn down some churches, with all this EU law and political correctness in place.<br /><br />So instead you put on your war face and go to a stadium to watch the slaugtering of Uruguay.<br /><br />Or even go and count yourself in an online census to beat those damn Canadians. Yay!<br /><br />And, not to forget the Russians...<br /><br />Recently there was following joke made on some Russian TV channel...<br /><br />The children of Russian tourist start running and brawling at 6 AM in some Spanish hotel... The German from neigboring room comes complaining about early disturbance... The Russian resposes to complaint: Nevermind 6 AM, you invaded us at 4 AM.-raul-https://www.blogger.com/profile/14842496066956885334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-64366603440667693562012-02-24T15:02:33.741+02:002012-02-24T15:02:33.741+02:00Wow, Asehpe, you're on everybody's side, a...Wow, Asehpe, you're on everybody's side, arent you? ;)Rainerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11160091690005391250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-18961970555549232982012-02-24T14:23:18.635+02:002012-02-24T14:23:18.635+02:00Everybody likes to say they're better than the...Everybody likes to say they're better than the neighbors. Do the Finns want to congratulate themselves on having a better country than the Eestlased? Well, not so long ago the Finns were the Swede's pour cousins. And the Estonians are also often self-congratulatory when talking about the Latvians...<br /><br />Human frailties, in the end. I'll bet you could even find that within Estonia itself -- I don't know, people from Tallinn feeling superior to people from Ida-Virumaa, maybe?<br /><br />I wish this kind of at-least-I'm-better-off-than-the-guys-over-there attitude would disappear everywhere, but I'm not holding my breath.Asehpehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15848623582152684860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-66330575457504430642012-02-24T13:29:52.123+02:002012-02-24T13:29:52.123+02:00I know that you know that I know ;)
Again - it'...I know that you know that I know ;)<br />Again - it's not about the message, but the way of delivering it.Rainerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11160091690005391250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-44963344392782061582012-02-24T13:14:33.519+02:002012-02-24T13:14:33.519+02:00Yeah, I know that was what she meant.
I guess MY p...Yeah, I know that was what she meant.<br />I guess MY point was lost on you :PSpawniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01591255810208162691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-23223427072635393512012-02-24T13:12:55.300+02:002012-02-24T13:12:55.300+02:00"And also, call me heartless, but I found it ..."And also, call me heartless, but I found it funny how that old lady living in that horribly run down house mentioned she hasn't been to a sauna for 3 years. I have never been to one in my life. Does that mean my living standards are lower than hers?"<br /><br />I believe her point was that she hadn't wash herself thoroughy for a long time. <br />I sense a cultural misunderstanding.Rainerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11160091690005391250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-63485680121736648922012-02-24T12:59:48.535+02:002012-02-24T12:59:48.535+02:00"But Rainer, the reporters were Estonian.&quo..."But Rainer, the reporters were Estonian."<br /><br />So? That doesn't make it an Estonian documentary. Did you actually read the credits in the end? Only one Estonian, a cameraman, is credited. So basicly they do Finn's dirty work for them.<br /><br />Let me emphesize: I'm not saying the documentary is inaccurate per se, I resent it's patronizing and oh-so-concerned tone.Rainerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11160091690005391250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-42057149364553473972012-02-24T12:15:36.007+02:002012-02-24T12:15:36.007+02:00I believe documentaries like this can be made in p...I believe documentaries like this can be made in pretty much every country in the world. Are you telling me Finland doesn't have any poor people? Seriously? <br />It's a heartbreaking reality. I couldn't tell if the comments in Finnish were biased, since I can't understand it. But Rainer, the reporters were Estonian. It's not like one of those documentaries made by Americans about Romania, where all you see is kids living in atrocious conditions in orphanages, thatch roof houses, donkey pulled carts and lots of gypsies at every step. That's what I call an inaccurate account of reality. What I saw in this documentary is, sadly, objective truth.<br />And on a side note: did you see those old Russians speaking Estonian? Sure, those in Narva didn't bother to. But this is just further proof of my theory that most Russians in Estonia DO speak the language, they just prefer to find excuses not to.<br />And also, call me heartless, but I found it funny how that old lady living in that horribly run down house mentioned she hasn't been to a sauna for 3 years. I have never been to one in my life. Does that mean my living standards are lower than hers?Spawniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01591255810208162691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-1863312460828084682012-02-24T11:42:33.341+02:002012-02-24T11:42:33.341+02:00Oh goody, another one of those "concerned&quo...Oh goody, another one of those "concerned", self-righteous Finnish accounts of how everything is wrong in Estonia. And how everything is, by default, stellar in Finland. I'm not trying to deny or belittle those social issues, but documentaries like that are fundamentally designed to make Finns feel better about themselves. I wonder, if Estonia manages to defeat certain problems and truely become a boring normal country, who will the Finns piss down on then? The Russians? I think not. They wouldn't dare.Rainerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11160091690005391250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-45857922129785525132012-02-24T09:37:49.696+02:002012-02-24T09:37:49.696+02:00I have no idea how Estinia could fix its problems....I have no idea how Estinia could fix its problems. Poor little Estonia I hope it gets its act together. Here is a show related to poverty, it is in Finnish except for the interviews.<br /><br />http://areena.yle.fi/video/1329508229950?ns_campaign=social-media&ns_mchannel=facebook&ns_source=like&ns_fee=0&cmpid=yesSkeptigirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09114437797095740146noreply@blogger.com