« Europe vs. Islam: The Metastazing of Political Correctness | Main | The Domino Effect »
February 23, 2005
East vs. West (Europe, that is)
When it comes to delivering value-per-blog-viewing-minute, Arthur Chrenkoff has to be near the top--his post are always jam-packed with good information. Today he writes on the revitalization of eastern Europe, and the consequent heartburn of the EU:
Starting the engines of growth: As the Old European economies stagnate, the Eastern and Central Europe is adopting tax policies designed to spur growth. Many countries in the region, for example, have adopted flat taxes. [...] Taxes, particularly corporate taxes, throughout the Eastern Europe are already generally significantly lower than in the West. No wonder the Old Europe is hating the competition and trying to undermine the low tax push.
Why it matters: Because as V. Arun, research analyst with Frost & Sullivan writes, "low tax rates coupled with cheap labor prevalent in the [Eastern European] countries can have a drastic impact on the employment, investment, and industrial production in the EU member states. As a result, the corporates in the west are bound to move eastward in the hope of benefiting from the tax advantage."
It's already become self-evident, due to their appreciation of democracy and support for the Iraq war, that the eastern European countries are on a different path than the EU dinosaurs. And I think it's a great idea that the U.S. is making plans to shift our military assets to the east (via JINSA):
The initial repositioning of American forces will most likely be towards Eastern Europe. The drawbacks to the German and Italian bases were obvious to all when the German and Italian governments, opposed to U.S. policy toward Iraq, dragged their feet in granting permission to move equipment to ports for sea shipment. The Pentagon plans to take over military bases formerly used by Soviet forces in Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria. [...]
In contrast with Germany and France, central and eastern European countries firmly aligned themselves with the Bush Administration's plans for Iraq. The American Enterprise Institute's Thomas Donnelly said, "As the Europeans with the most recent experience of tyranny, they are most willing to pay the price of liberty". Military officials insist, however, that the move will make U.S. forces more mobile, allowing them to jump from country to country.
Contrast this encouraging situation in the east with the creeping PC totalitarianism infesting the western European countries.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.thebernoullieffect.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/24
