Estonian Parliamentary Election, 2015

[Scepez]

I'm not old enough to vote, but I certainly can see that the Reform Party is not doing anything of use. Sure they might promise something, but they just end up changing absolutely nothing.

[Murkwood]

Pro Patria and Res Publica Union or the Estonian Reform Party. I can't decide.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

If they are any similar to the FDP of Germany and VVD of the Netherlands, then most likely they'd be socially liberal, or at least socially moderate. It's the liberal tradition.

Reform seems like a Classical Liberal party to me, they're to the right of the "Conservative Liberal" VVD, but to the left of the American Libertarian party.

To me, they seem quite similar to Germany's FDP and Holland's VVD. After all, all these parties support market liberalism, social liberalism, and relatively limited state intervention in the economy.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

Pro Patria and Res Publica Union or the Estonian Reform Party. I can't decide.

If you choose the latter option, we may agree on something political, which would be quite a surprise.

[Murkwood]

Pro Patria and Res Publica Union or the Estonian Reform Party. I can't decide.

If you choose the latter option, we may agree on something political, which would be quite a surprise.

I am surprisingly Right-wing on economics.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

I'm not old enough to vote, but I certainly can see that the Reform Party is not doing anything of use. Sure they might promise something, but they just end up changing absolutely nothing.

Really? In the 1990's, Estonia was in a terrible place, but the Reform Party has overseen over almost two decades of rapid economic growth, a growth in the quality of life, which has led to the term "the Baltic Tiger."

[Liberty and Linguistics]

If you choose the latter option, we may agree on something political, which would be quite a surprise.

I am surprisingly Right-wing on economics.

I'm well aware of that. But, you manage to be to the right of me, and I'm pretty right-wing.

[Arkolon]

Hnng, Reform Party, without a shadow of a doubt. I've had this strange desire to emigrate to Estonia recently. Low tax, upstart and business-friendly, it might just be an adequate neighbourhood for me. Any Estonians mind giving me some insight as to whether or not this would be a good idea? Within the bounds of relevance to the thread, of course.

[Murkwood]

I am surprisingly Right-wing on economics.

I'm well aware of that. But, you manage to be to the right of me, and I'm pretty right-wing.

It's that Social Conservatism.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

Hnng, Reform Party, without a shadow of a doubt. I've had this strange desire to emigrate to Estonia recently. Low tax, upstart and business-friendly, it might just be an adequate neighbourhood for me. Any Estonians mind giving me some insight as to whether or not this would be a good idea? Within the bounds of relevance to the thread, of course.

I'm not Estonian, but I wouldn't be able to stand the perpetually gloomy and melancholy Baltic weather. I live in the scorching desert Southwest, I need sunshine and 90F+ temperatures.

[Scepez]

I'm not old enough to vote, but I certainly can see that the Reform Party is not doing anything of use. Sure they might promise something, but they just end up changing absolutely nothing.

Really? In the 1990's, Estonia was in a terrible place, but the Reform Party has overseen over almost two decades of rapid economic growth, a growth in the quality of life, which has led to the term "the Baltic Tiger."

I'm not going to even argue against that, cause it's true, however they aren't putting enough emphasis on actual quality of life. The minimum wage is still quite poor, and our PM doesn't seem to have a strong enough hand to be capable of doing something big.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

I'm well aware of that. But, you manage to be to the right of me, and I'm pretty right-wing.

It's that Social Conservatism.

Indeed. I shouldn't say I'm "pretty right wing", since I'm about as socially liberal as one gets. But, when it comes to the economy, I firmly believe in privatizing just about all the things.

[Calimera II]

It's that Social Conservatism.

Indeed. I shouldn't say I'm "pretty right wing", since I'm about as socially liberal as one gets. But, when it comes to the economy, I firmly believe in privatizing just about all the things.

One question: Don't you think that the wealth of national resources of a country belong to its citizens?

[Liberty and Linguistics]

Really? In the 1990's, Estonia was in a terrible place, but the Reform Party has overseen over almost two decades of rapid economic growth, a growth in the quality of life, which has led to the term "the Baltic Tiger."

I'm not going to even argue against that, cause it's true, however they aren't putting enough emphasis on actual quality of life. The minimum wage is still quite poor, and our PM doesn't seem to have a strong enough hand to be capable of doing something big.

In all fairness, Estonia's minimum wage is higher than that of it's other Baltic neighbors. Obviously, it doesn't have a minimum wage akin to Western Europe, because it's not quite as developed. But, despite the fact that Estonia has a relatively low minimum wage, the wages are higher than in any of it's neighbors(well, except for Finland), and very few citizens live in poverty. Lastly, income inequality isn't a major problem in Estonia. All seems to be going well there, and as the economy continues to grow, as will a generous welfare state.

[Arkolon]

Hnng, Reform Party, without a shadow of a doubt. I've had this strange desire to emigrate to Estonia recently. Low tax, upstart and business-friendly, it might just be an adequate neighbourhood for me. Any Estonians mind giving me some insight as to whether or not this would be a good idea? Within the bounds of relevance to the thread, of course.

I'm not Estonian, but I wouldn't be able to stand the perpetually gloomy and melancholy Baltic weather. I live in the scorching desert Southwest, I need sunshine and 90F+ temperatures.

Google says it bites, but it's only an average 2-3 degrees celsius lower all year round than where I currently live..

[Liberty and Linguistics]

Indeed. I shouldn't say I'm "pretty right wing", since I'm about as socially liberal as one gets. But, when it comes to the economy, I firmly believe in privatizing just about all the things.

One question: Don't you think that the wealth of national resources of a country belong to its citizens?

When a country "creates wealth", generally the quality of life and median income rise, ergo, creating wealth for it's citizens. So, yes, of course. But, this is irrelevant to the thread, and privatizations. I've heard this hackneyed argument to argue against privatization before, and it tends to appeal to emotion instead of facts. Lastly, I don't support privatizing everything. Healthcare, education, the military, social services, and all of that jazz should remain in the hands of state.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

I'm not Estonian, but I wouldn't be able to stand the perpetually gloomy and melancholy Baltic weather. I live in the scorching desert Southwest, I need sunshine and 90F+ temperatures.

Google says it bites, but it's only an average 2-3 degrees celsius lower all year round than where I currently live..

You live in Luxembourg. You could easily adjust to a cloudy, cold climate, since you currently live in one. Maybe, just maybe, I'll consider moving to Estonia if global warming manages to make the temperature much warmer there.

[Scepez]

I'm not going to even argue against that, cause it's true, however they aren't putting enough emphasis on actual quality of life. The minimum wage is still quite poor, and our PM doesn't seem to have a strong enough hand to be capable of doing something big.

In all fairness, Estonia's minimum wage is higher than that of it's other Baltic neighbors. Obviously, it doesn't have a minimum wage akin to Western Europe, because it's not quite as developed. But, despite the fact that Estonia has a relatively low minimum wage, the wages are higher than in any of it's neighbors(well, except for Finland), and very few citizens live in poverty. Lastly, income inequality isn't a major problem in Estonia. All seems to be going well there, and as the economy continues to grow, as will a generous welfare state.

The economy is growing, but the money goes to the wrong hands. In my city, the government can't even give the school where I go to enough money to do some very necessary repairs. The Politicians are the ones with some of the biggest wages and that lead to some distrust in the public.

[Calimera II]

One question: Don't you think that the wealth of national resources of a country belong to its citizens?

When a country "creates wealth", generally the quality of life and median income rise, ergo, creating wealth for it's citizens. So, yes, of course. But, this is irrelevant to the thread, and privatizations. I've heard this hackneyed argument to argue against privatization before, and it tends to appeal to emotion instead of facts. Lastly, I don't support privatizing everything. Healthcare, education, the military, social services, and all of that jazz should remain in the hands of state.

You are right, this isn't the right topic to discuss this. I don't agree with you though, it isn't an appeal to emotion: examples are Bolivia and Venezuela, two countries that had been robbed of their natural resources. Their populations lived in poverty and the wealth created by these foreign corporations were never seen by the population. But well.. it isn't the right topic to discuss this...

[Arkolon]

Google says it bites, but it's only an average 2-3 degrees celsius lower all year round than where I currently live..

You live in Luxembourg. You could easily adjust to a cloudy, cold climate, since you currently live in one. Maybe, just maybe, I'll consider moving to Estonia if global warming manages to make the temperature much warmer there.

I'll rev up the SUVs.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

You live in Luxembourg. You could easily adjust to a cloudy, cold climate, since you currently live in one. Maybe, just maybe, I'll consider moving to Estonia if global warming manages to make the temperature much warmer there.

I'll rev up the SUVs.

No need to do that, I just remembered that Estonia has cheap liquor. It's tough to think about the cold when you're belly up at an Estonian bar.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

When a country "creates wealth", generally the quality of life and median income rise, ergo, creating wealth for it's citizens. So, yes, of course. But, this is irrelevant to the thread, and privatizations. I've heard this hackneyed argument to argue against privatization before, and it tends to appeal to emotion instead of facts. Lastly, I don't support privatizing everything. Healthcare, education, the military, social services, and all of that jazz should remain in the hands of state.

You are right, this isn't the right topic to discuss this. I don't agree with you though, it isn't an appeal to emotion: examples are Bolivia and Venezuela, two countries that had been robbed of their natural resources. Their populations lived in poverty and the wealth created by these foreign corporations were never seen by the population. But well.. it isn't the right topic to discuss this...

Indeed, it's not. Perhaps one of us could start a thread discussing the benefits/drawbacks of privatization.

[Scepez]

I'll rev up the SUVs.

No need to do that, I just remembered that Estonia has cheap liquor. It's tough to think about the cold when you're belly up at an Estonian bar.

Too cheap
There are bums walking around the park 24/7.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

No need to do that, I just remembered that Estonia has cheap liquor. It's tough to think about the cold when you're belly up at an Estonian bar.

Too cheap
There are bums walking around the park 24/7.

Stay away from the park, stay at the bar. Problem. Solved.

[Calimera II]

You are right, this isn't the right topic to discuss this. I don't agree with you though, it isn't an appeal to emotion: examples are Bolivia and Venezuela, two countries that had been robbed of their natural resources. Their populations lived in poverty and the wealth created by these foreign corporations were never seen by the population. But well.. it isn't the right topic to discuss this...

Indeed, it's not. Perhaps one of us could start a thread discussing the benefits/drawbacks of privatization.

Feel free to do so.