4th February 2002
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
We can dream, can't we?
We can dream, can't we?
The year is 2005: Poland is basking in the glow of last year's successful European Union entry. The economy is chugging along at some 5% annual growth, unemployment is on the wane, hundreds of kilometers of world-class national motorways have been built, and years of low inflation mean more affordable credit for increasing numbers of Poles looking to buy 140,000 newly built homes. European monetary union is on the horizon. It would be beautiful if they pull it off. And without big plans, little is accomplished. Reality, however, has a habit of quickly intruding on dreams like these. Take the four big reforms launched by Solidarity Election Action (AWS) in 1999. Most people would agree that the previous government bit off more than it could chew by tackling administrative, health care, education and pension reform all at the same time - but not because the idea to overhaul these sectors was bad. The reforms were simply very poorly executed, particularly in the case of health care. Fast forward to last week's release of the "Belka plan," named for the finance minister. On the surface, the government's four-year roadmap for revamping the economy looks both highly ambitious and improbable given the number of elements needed to fall in place. A lot is riding on predictions of a return to the fast-growth track - 3% next year and 5% in 2004 - that will help generate tax revenue sorely needed to cofinance lofty infrastructure investment projects that in turn will help reduce unemployment. But where will the money come from? Are the pension funds willing to plow their cash into highways and construction projects at the expense of potentially more lucrative, shorter-term investments? Much remains to be seen. As with AWS' big plan, the devil is in the details. Let's hope the current government realizes this too. More changes With this issue, the WBJ adds to a number of recent design and content changes by introducing a "Time well spent" listing of cultural and entertainment options opposite the restaurant review. We hope you find it useful. Among other modifications, we have moved the "Week in Review" to a more predictable location on page two. "Sign of the Times" will be an occasional feature and moved to page three. Having celebrated our seventh anniversary in December, our aim is to improve the overall look, quality and usefulness of the WBJ. At the same time, we will continue to provide timely, objective and practical information about the Polish business scene and, equally important, about how government policy is likely to affect your company. If you have any comments about this issue or the WBJ in general, please contact the editor at editor@wbj.pl. We appreciate your feedback.
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