And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Tallinn, Estonia. Not that long ago this was behind the Iron Curtain. Shows what a little freedom can do.
Well, the place looks like it's about 600 years old, so the sum total existence of the Soviet Empire lasted for about 10% of its life span, so far, and getting less as time goes on. History tends to make things fade, and that can be a good thing.
I went out with an Estonian girl 50+ years ago. Every time I went to her house, her father went to the refrigerator pulled out a bottle of vodka, poured a tumbler full and handed it to me. She was a gorgeous blonde beauty, but I had to break up with her for the sake of my liver.
Like we had during the PDJT Presidency where business and life in general threw off government shackles and roared to life...as it should be. Yet now we are in a state of soft Iron Curtain by this demented and reckless administration, and it's on purpose.
The Estonian Economic Miracle is one of the greatest examples of the rocket-like acceleration which can happen when an economy gets set free from government control. When the Soviet Union crumpled, Estonia established a flat tax for personal income. Within a couple years it was so successful that the tax rate was reduced because it produced so much revenue. The idea is this (are you listening, Washington?): when a person can increase his income proportionally to his increased labor, the economy booms.
The same thing with Poland. I was there shortly before the Soviet empire expired and about a year after and I was amazed at how rapidly things improved.
There was an Estonian exchange officer in my Infantry Officer Advanced Course class at Fort Benning back in ‘98. He had started his service in the Soviet army. He HATED the Russians.
Well, the place looks like it's about 600 years old, so the sum total existence of the Soviet Empire lasted for about 10% of its life span, so far, and getting less as time goes on. History tends to make things fade, and that can be a good thing.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI went out with an Estonian girl 50+ years ago. Every time I went to her house, her father went to the refrigerator pulled out a bottle of vodka, poured a tumbler full and handed it to me. She was a gorgeous blonde beauty, but I had to break up with her for the sake of my liver.
There is an older section of Gdansk, Poland, where beautiful old buildings stand in stark contrast to hideous Communist buildings.
ReplyDelete"...what a little freedom can do."
ReplyDeleteLike we had during the PDJT Presidency where business and life in general threw off government shackles and roared to life...as it should be. Yet now we are in a state of soft Iron Curtain by this demented and reckless administration, and it's on purpose.
The Estonian Economic Miracle is one of the greatest examples of the rocket-like acceleration which can happen when an economy gets set free from government control. When the Soviet Union crumpled, Estonia established a flat tax for personal income. Within a couple years it was so successful that the tax rate was reduced because it produced so much revenue. The idea is this (are you listening, Washington?): when a person can increase his income proportionally to his increased labor, the economy booms.
ReplyDeleteThe same thing with Poland. I was there shortly before the Soviet empire expired and about a year after and I was amazed at how rapidly things improved.
DeleteThere was an Estonian exchange officer in my Infantry Officer Advanced Course class at Fort Benning back in ‘98. He had started his service in the Soviet army. He HATED the Russians.
ReplyDelete