The average wage in Estonia was max. 50 US Dollar at the time they started reforms in 1992

“In only two years in office, he negotiated the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonian soil and introduced the kroon, one of Eastern Europe’s most stable currencies. He also instituted a flat tax rate, a move which has been widely copied—even in Russia.”

Perhaps the best thing with Laar is that he has some credibility of being a dissident in the Soviet times, for example writing about the so-called forest brothers.

However, I strongly dislike this kind of cult of personality and personification of politics as shown above. It really sounds like one thirty-something had alone negotiated something with the mighty Russia, introduced a stable currency (of course it’s stable because it’s tied to a strong currency) and a flat tax rate. No single man can do all this, it’s all the workings of a certain part of a very enthusiastic Estonian generation.

Listing heroic deeds as above would better suit North Korea.

MM

I think we should trade governments with Estonia

I think we should trade governments with Estonia

Let’s do it when Estonia has become a bit richer and implemented the welfare-state structures. And that time is not far, in order to survive – when the salaries in Tallinn are reaching the Finnish level – they have to start investing in education and other ways to make the national econmy work on something else than cheap labor. If it’s not too late already …

It is fallacy to claim that the welfare state is responsible for Finland’s high standards of education. Those standards were there way before the welfare state started its course towards bloat, 30-40 years ago.