Friday, December 23, 2005
Large Scale Experimentation
Back when the Soviet Union fell, the world found itself with a number of satellite states on its hands that essentially had a clear slate in terms of how to build a capitalist nation -- they did not have all that much in the way of their own government since they'd been run so tightly from Moscow. What a great place to try new ideas -- like say the flat tax.
The NYTimes ran a piece the other day looking at exactly that. Estonia, a new Blogotional fav since we were there last summer, adopted just such a tax back when it pulled itself together and seems to be succeeding quite nicely.
Whatever, it is a blessing to see a success break out from the communist thumb.
The NYTimes ran a piece the other day looking at exactly that. Estonia, a new Blogotional fav since we were there last summer, adopted just such a tax back when it pulled itself together and seems to be succeeding quite nicely.
The subject was the flat tax, which Mr. Forbes never succeeded in selling in the United States. Here in the polar reaches of Europe it is an article of faith. Estonia became the first country to adopt it in 1994, as part of a broader strategy to transform itself from an obscure Soviet republic into a plugged-in member of the global information economy.The article continues as a general examination of a genuine Post-Soviet success story. Maybe this explains the rather bumbling nature of my encounter with the tourist business there -- all the really good people find themselves busy in the tech business?
By all accounts, the plan is working. Estonia's economic growth was nearly 11 percent in the last quarter - the second fastest in Europe, after Latvia, and an increase more reminiscent of China or India than Germany or France.
People call this place E-stonia, and the cyber-intoxication is palpable in Tallinn's cafes and bars, which are universally equipped with wireless connections, and in local success stories like Skype, designed by Estonian developers and now offering free calls over the Internet to millions.
Whatever, it is a blessing to see a success break out from the communist thumb.
