as I said, economic freedom is going down. We are already having our shops closed on Sundays to force us to "celebrate" Sundays instead of doing shopping after a full week of work. And it is only a tip of the iceberg. New welfare scheme since 2016 has been creating a huge inflation and shifting women from workforce into homes. It also indebts the country to massive amounts of debt.
As a result, private investments fell, companies are going bankrupt unless in cahoots with government, workforce participation falls and there is a major risk that Polish economy starts winding down.
As for personal freedoms, there is no freedom of speech in Poland, you can go to jail for "hate crimes" just like in Western Europe, and if Poland becomes more authoritarian, such instances will only increase. Also, the overall quality of justice system is bad, compared to more civilized countries. It's not as dramatic as in Russia, but still.
What about the new changes to the justice system is that a good thing? Do you think they are trying to push women out of the work force in order to increase the birthrate?
yes, they introduced a new welfare scheme called "500+" which pays monthly for the second and subsequent children borne by the woman 500 PLN each, which is considerable income for families from rural or small town areas. This scheme basically makes women not work because they just won't bother working the minimum wage job if they can give birth to another child and get another 500 PLN a month. It has been in effect for the last 2 years and made many women quit their jobs. Now Ukrainians actually come to Poland to fill in for them, there are whole industries where most employees are immigrant Ukrainian workers, who work hard, can communicate in Polish with no problem and basically are a net benefit for the economy. If government clamps down on Ukrainian immigration, that would slow down economy considerably. On the other hand, mass migration always creates problems of its own, with migrant gangs forming instead of proper assimilation and what not. It will be an issue for the decades to come.
As for the justice system, it's going to be a nail to the coffin of efficient justice system. I just can't see how a politicization of this branch of government can improve anything.
But aren't the justice system reforms designed to get rid of the old communist era judges? Isn't that a good thing?
there aren't many "communist era" judges anymore, most are younger. The system is deep-rooted in communism though, because it was never reformed thoroughly. But these so-called reforms today are basically subjugating the whole justice system under the thumb of politicians. This will not solve the problem, but exascerbate it in time.
The solution would be to make the justice system more like in the US, but that's completely beyond reach for the likes of men who are politicians in Poland.
Thanks for answering my questions. I am curious about poland because as far as im concerned america isn't doing so well either and people of the west may need to flee to central and eastern european countries at some point