Thirty years ago paved roads and modern plumbing were rare in most parts of those two countries. These things take time. By the time I’m an old man, Poland will be a serious world competitor.

If they’re so proud of having built up their own country, how come they’ve all come to mine? Because of all the wonderful low-paying menial insecure rights-violating employment it offers?

Well, you don’t clarify your position when you start hurling insults around, so I had to start making assumptions. And you think other contractors are any better? We have had German contractors on base that perform substandard work on a regular basis. And your lucky if you get a barely competent American military contractor. I assume you are using the Poles as cheap labor for construction or some other thing (once again, I have to assume because you don’t give any info). Given that they know your motive, can you really blame them for passive-aggresively giving you some shitty performance? Also, don’t you think that contracts go to those who have ties to the government/corporate officials who hand out contracts and not necessarily the most skilled at their craft?

I take offense because my wife is Polish (born and raised in Gdansk). Many Poles are fiercely proud of the work it took to rebuild the country from the devestation of WWII and the subsequent Soviet influence (until the late 80s). All this, without a Marshall Plan.

I have been doing business in Europe (including Poland) for the past 8+ years.

I rag on Poland because of the retards they send to the EU commission, their EU voting tendencies (thuggish at best), and the fact that I cannot get decent quality work out of Polish contractors. The last one I really don’t understand because I do not think all Poles are idiots. Just poor tradesmen.

If you have had a different experience – great. I have not.

Wait, I understand now. You are a college backpacker that has made his way across Europe, and now you think you have the right to judge countries based on your myopic experiences. It takes a special kind of idiot to make some of the inane remarks that you have wrote, and an overpriveledged recent college grad/dropout fits the bill.

Don’t troll, it’s not nice. So, really, why the hate for Poland? Is every Pole a opportunistic thug looking to benefit from the good graces of benign countries like Germany, France, and the UK? Sure, the Kaczynski administration isn’t great, but they have a strong economy and currency. There is no real incentive for them to move to the Euro any time soon.

Here’s some recent data on the strength of the zloty vs the euro… www.exchange-rates.org/history/PLN/EUR/G