The Economic Situation in the Baltics
 

I think there's going to be deflation here as well, but not as bad as in the north. Latvia is gone. Estonia will be mauled but will get up.

How much are your countries worth atm? Maybe we could buy one or two?.. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/cute.gif

Was the government in Latvia right or left?

Yes, we do. By buying your country we'll actually increase average electrification of Russia. :P

Wrong in what respect? I've been reading about this topic and it seems to me little could have been done to avoid this crisis short of fighting tooth and nail against people who want to give you money at 4% interest. Not easy http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/biggrin.gif

When will we see some new faces on the scene?

IIUC, the Austrian banks are in deep.

Russia is apparently planning on "saving" the Baltics by forcibly repatriating them to keep "order." This may be Putin's test of Obama. Or he may try the same thing in Ukraine. Doubt he'll go after all four at once. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...milies/dev.jpg

Soldiers being used to bring "order" and by the way collect massive debts. Buying off foreign governments by promising that the new occupiers will assume the bank-related portion of now "pacified" nation's debts. Does all this sound familiar? Putin is a careful student of modern successful propaganda. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/evil2.gif

Might want to get out of ther Solver while you can. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/doitnow.gif

Perhaps Russia could help them.

If things continue as they are, there may well be a new government, or at least major changes in the government, before this thread is gone from view. Should it get really hairy, I hope that Dan has an Apolyton refuge set up in Canada http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/biggrin.gif

Unless you have a mortgage or a family.

That would even be closer to a computer expert who's just graduated / started a job. The average salary for IT people / programmers would be higher. And yeah, for now at least, computer people are somewhat less affected by the trouble, except for those who work in state institutions, where all salaries were cut and layoffs are also happening rapidly.

But let's not forget taxes and pensions. The quoted 800 euro figure is net after all deductions. Average guy at Google, Microsoft or similar doesn't get six figures. Last I looked it was about 80 000 (gross) for non-managerial positions. That was pre-crisis. When you do some approximate calculations it comes out as about 2000-3000 euros net per month. Compared to 1000 in Latvia or Croatia it is better, but not out-of-this-world better.

Why don't the Baltics merge into one country?

Yeah, they should bring Russia in, and give it a new name, like "The Soviet Union".

The thought made you feel all warm and comfy, heh?

In your dreams http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.gif

That's one of the weirdest arguments I've ever seen.