If eastern europeans are so great, why are my taxes needed to build their country an infrastructure?

Question

With all of the praise to eastern european workers that they are contributing so greatly to our economy; it hit me the other day. If they are so great why is it that their homelands are in such disarray? Surely if they were of such a great economic benefit their home countries would be flourishing, am I over simplfying this?

Answer 1

johnnyhawkyns - UK is one of the larger recipients of EU funds.
Where do you think "EU funds" come from?
They come from us - the EU taxpayers.
Are we expected to be grateful just because they give a little of it back to us!
It's a scam - just like the rest of the EU.

Answer 2

In answer to AJ - yes, these countries are in Eastern Europe.

In answer to the main question, as i see it, the biggest problem with the Eastern European workers being here is that they undermine things from 2 viewpoints. 1. They accept lower wages because they send it back home where it is seen as a large income. 2. They do not put anything back into our economy. The argument exists that our people will not do these jobs, but the truth is more likely to be that they cannot afford to do the work for such small reward as they have taxes and mortgages to pay which the migrant workers do not. Most of the time the real beneficiary is the companies that employ them in terms of the cash saving they make that increases their profits for their shareholders.

It is very interesting to note that in certain Eastern European countries they now have such a short fall in their own workforce (because they are here?) that they are having to import labour from places such as Russia.

Answer 3

It will take over 100 years for the East and Central Europe to come on par with Western Europe at current rates of investment - growth in the West conntinuing.

Over the past 20 years, most manufacturing companies from the West have moved to the East. This amounts to TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS of revenue for the companies, which is why their share prices are so high now.

Selective industrialization and de-industrialization of various regions of the world have helped keep manufacturing prices low.

Interestingly, the biggest investors in the low income areas are westerners who are buying second and third homes, or just buying up houses to rent to the locals.

The trade is far from one sided and whilst the stock markets remain in Frankfurt, London and New York, the worries of 'the east' sucking all the money out of 'the west' are just the talk of a few unhappy xenophobic journalists who have failed to make the break into big time journalism with their stories of how evil all the other groups of immigrants have been over the years.

Answer 4

First off by infrastructure in that sense, he's not talking about roads and dams, he's talking about laws and regulations that made it possible for businesses to develop under a sound economic model. Secondly, the government doesn't need money or anything else to produce infrastructure, a government can simply put everyone into poverty, or never have been wealthy to begin with, and pay people a very nominal wage to produce whatever it wants. This however is not a sound economic model to do trade with the world under.

Answer 5

Well,well,well, the government has suddenly decided that its figures of immigrants living here is slightly higher than once thought! Well, hoo dee fukkin hi, what good is that going to do now? The damage has already been done. I went to my local hospital for an ultrasound scan on my chest because we think I have a wee ulcer but I overheard an English nurse saying she had had enough of pampering foreigners and trying to make a living outside of nursing and was going to leave to get a better paid job elsewhere.

Let me be blunt. Eastern Europeans are nothing more than the scum of the earth who deal in human trading, selling children to the porn industry, selling human organs,fake bullion and are all interlinked with the Russian Mafia. Little kids go missing to who knows where but the Eastern Europeans know exactly how even children can be utilized to make a nice earner. Your kids,by the way! Vote Labour, you know it makes sense?

Answer 6

Um, I think Britain's infrastructure would need some rebuilding if we had been ruled by the USSR for 50 years.

Imagine if we had been subject to communism and had 10s of thousands deported to Siberia. It would take us a while to rebuild too. Don't forget most eastern European countries have only been free for 15 years of so.

Answer 7

AJ, they are in Eastern Europe.

The question is quite simple, if polish workers are so great why is Poland sucking millions from EU coffers - due to being one of the poorest countries in Europe.

I do think its a bit more complicated than that but its handy to pull the Polish back down to earth, at the moment they seem to think Britain exists for them.

Answer 8

I assume you are referring to the newer entrants into the EU. These countries benefit from a large injection of funding during their initial years inorder to bring their economies up to a standard whereby they may compete and trade more fairly with the existing members. This is not a new subject, the same has been in place since the inception of the original EC and before that the European Coal & Steel Community which was founded to economically tie France & Germany to hopefully prevent them starting any more wars!
The UK has in the past received large amounts of funding as have Spain, Portugal and many others.
To answer your other question their home countries have spent years in isolation without outside investment, now thanks to open borders money is flowing in. One example is the number of people buying properties in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and heading to these destinations on holidays.

Answer 9

Although Eastern Europe is still far behind Western Europe, it is recovering, and many of the countries are recovering at a remarkeable pace.

Do remember that Eastern Europe was under communist rule for many decades, and nothing good has ever come out of communism except for the proof that it doesn't work.

Just as it took time for Western Europe to heal its wounds from WW2, It takes time for Eastern Europe to heal from the wounds of communism.

Answer 10

Why are you asking such a stupid question?
I,m eastern European,and i paying all taxes i have to pay,and all of us I'm sure doing the same!
I cant understand where did you take this kind of question ...?

Answer 11

Specifically which countries are you referring to. Most folks in the UK seem to think Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia for example are in Eastern Europe

Edit - Er, Dale, I live there, it's Central Europe. I'm British living in Slovakia. When was the last time you visited?

And it's not in disarray here.

Edit again -Dale, this might assist you
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia