The pension debate - foreword

Time to catch up with the pension debate. A long two-part post is in the phase of preparation, due to be published on Saturday (part 1) and Sunday (part 2)

Today's post in the wake of yesterday's debate, to dispel all doubts concerning the owner ship of assets kept in pension funds. Don't let anyone fool you, these assets do not belong to people. Unless you call into question the ruling of the Supreme Court handed down on 4 June 2008. Some crucial excepts below, in Polish, as Poles are involved in the issue...

„środki te na podstawie przepisów ustawy z dnia 28 sierpnia 1997 roku o organizacji i funkcjonowaniu funduszy emerytalnych, znajdują się w ograniczonej dyspozycji ich członków, co może świadczyć o ich częściowo prywatnym charakterze. Jednakże z uwagi na to, iż powstają one z podziału funduszy o charakterze publicznoprawnym, to jest z podziału składki na ubezpieczenia społeczne (art. 22 ust 3 ustawy o systemie ubezpieczeń społecznych) stanowią formę realizacji zadań w zakresie zabezpieczenia społecznego wynikających z art. 67 ust. 1 Konstytucji RP (…)

System emerytalny ma charakter powszechny i jego celem jest urzeczywistnienie zawartego w art. 67 ust. 1 Konstytucji prawa każdego obywatela do zabezpieczenia społecznego na wypadek osiągnięcia wieku emerytalnego. Nie został on skonstruowany przez ustawodawcę dla indywidualnych ubezpieczonych (…)

…system emerytalny oparty na zasadach ubezpieczeniowych charakteryzuje się przymusem ubezpieczenia społecznego związanym ściśle z obowiązkiem odprowadzania składek , a powstający z mocy przepisów ustawy systemowej stosunek ubezpieczenia społecznego ma charakter publicznoprawny. Inaczej rzecz ujmując, środki na ubezpieczenie społeczne, w szczególności emerytalne, są i będą przeznaczone na wypłatę świadczeń dla innych podmiotów aniżeli mich płatnik i w tym znaczeniu są środkami publicznoprawnymi (…)

Składki na ubezpieczenia emerytalne nie są prywatna własnością członka funduszu (…)

…składka emerytalna, z uwagi na jej przeznaczenie na tworzenie funduszu emerytalnego, posiada publicznoprawny ubezpieczeniowy charakter, który zachowuje nadal po przekazaniu przez Zakład jej części do funduszu.”

Almost three years have passed and I still feel sorry for Mr Mielczarek, a financier from Warsaw who waged war against pension funds on his own and lost it...

To be continued on Saturday and Sunday...

Winter timeline

A diary that was written over last four months; today, in the eve of spring, comes out.

Before it hit – according to long-term forecasts winter 2010/2011 would be long, chilly and snowy. But until the last decade of November the predictions were wide of the mark – first two decades of November were balmy, with temperatures of +17C and sunshine occurring on 1 November and 14 November.

25 November 2010 – first light snow, lingers on the grass for two days, temperature hovers around 0C.

26 November 2010 – 27 November 2010 – chilly, nothing heralds the imminent nightmare.

28 November 2010 – overnight snowfalls, temperature still doesn’t fall much below zero, some of the snow melt in the afternoon, forecasters predict the first winter attack for the next week

29 November 2010 – for that day meteorologists predicted heavy snowfalls and blizzards and unfortunately got it right. Flurry begins around 7 a.m. in Warsaw and continues for the whole day. 27-centimetre-high layer of snow brings the capital of Poland to a standstill in the evening rush hours. Temperature drops continually from –2C in the morning to –8C in the evening. Polish Met Office warns of extreme cold in the coming days.

30 November 2010 – Warsaw gets over the paralysis caused by snowfalls. Main roads are even clear of snow, traffic is not heavy since many drivers left their cars in garages and on car parks. Temperature goes down to –11C, but the frost doesn’t make itself felt as the air is still.

Average temperature of November 2010 in Warsaw: +6.0C, 3.3 degrees above long-term average. November 2010 was categorised as very warm.

1 December 2010 – it takes 17 days for temperature to drop from +17C to –17C. Is “seventeen” a magical number then? Day-time low of –18C in Warsaw.

2 December 2010 – another snow storm paralyses Warsaw, this time in morning rush hours. The biggest havoc is wreaked to rails.

3 December 2010 – cloudless dawn, just –12C at daybreak, no wind chill. The temperature doesn’t rise above –5C, in the evening some snow showers.

4 December 2010 – winter eases up a bit. Day-time high hits –5C. Sunshine and still air make it seem it’s even warm.

5 December 2010 – respite from all imaginable disastrous side effects of winter continues. Not a single snowflake falling to the ground, but the layer of snow lingering in the capital of Poland has reached 33 centimetres, 20 centimetres short of the recent record dated 16 February 2010. Long-term forecasts don’t leave much hopes for any thaw before Christmas.

6 December 2010 – 8 December 2010 – a heat wave (after a week of harsh winter temperature increases overnight by almost ten degrees) comes over and hangs around for three days. In the afternoons temperature even creeps slightly above zero. An almost-thaw is accompanied by snow showers which don’t disrupt traffic.

9 December 2010 – thaw decides to stay the night, so snow doesn’t fall, but is melted by pouring rain, around five centimetres disappear within a few hours. Over the day the temperature falls.

10 December 2010 – sub-zero temperatures and snow showers come around. It’s not really cold, but wind chill makes it below –10C.

11 December 2010 – morning greets Warsaw with clear sky and moderate frost (-7C), then clouds take over and around midday it begins to snow. Forecasters have bad news for those who expect the annual Christmas thaw (unless you think the snow melts when it’s below –20C).

12 December 2010 – the last day of thaw, gloom takes over for good, temperature stays above zero for the whole day. Rain showers melt some snow

13 December 2010 – melted snow and rain fallen the day before freeze over as the temperature overnight drops to –5C. Roads are pavements are slippery.

14 December 2010 – second cold snap this winter begins. Temperature rangers from –10C to –5C, but wind chill factor makes it around –15 (unless you find a shelter). Snow precipitation: 2 centimetres.

15 December 2010 – meteorologists know how to cheer us up. They say if it wasn’t how the layer of clouds, earth would give off heat over the night and temperature would fall much below –20C. Lucky us? If it’s ten degrees warmer than it could be, might we consider ourselves lucky?

16 December 2010 – 18 December 2010 – cold snap continues, temperatures range from –14C at dawn to daytime highs of –7C, the only day of sunshine is Friday, 17 December. The only upside is that it doesn’t snow.

19 December 2010 – after overnight flurry sunshine takes over and it’s gets much warmer, in the afternoon temperature rises to –5C, as no wind blows, it feels like around 0C.

20 December 2010 – 10 centimetres of snow fallen in the morning, then weather changes rapidly – southerly winds blow in warm air, temperature rises to +4C. Snows turn quickly into slush and dirty puddles… It has to be said forecasters predicted daytime high of –1C and were wide of mark. Hopes for white Christmas – dashed?

21 December 2010 – yesterday’s thaw lasted no longer than four hours. Three days before Christmas Eve temperatures doesn’t rise above –2C, falling snow (just five centimetres) paralyses Warsaw in evening rush hours, traffic is snarled up even late in the evening. These days forecasters don’t fare well. Weather is so changeable that they fail to predict temperature and precipitation even for coming six hours…

22 December 2010 – the last day before Christmas thaw means the last day to take delight in winter scenery. Next day I won’t see trees beautifully cloaked in snow (unless forecasters get it wrong, again). –1C = excellent temperature, could stay like this until Boxing Day, but won’t…

23 December 2010 – thaw takes over, Poland’s capital is swathed in the fog all day long. Snows melt and layers of brown flakes, blended with frozen slush and mud emerge. Slush, gloom, slush… in abundance…

24 December 2010 – temperature even in the dead of night doesn’t drop below 0C. Christmas Eve is white, just because so much snow couldn’t melt in two days and it won’t melt before new snow falls. Traditionally, Christmas Eve is the warmest day in the whole month (in the afternoon +7C, well above forecasts)…

25 December 2010 – to put it briefly – gloom & zgnilizna. It’s colder hour by hour, and by the evening it begins to snow… Not the dreamt-up Christmas Day (in terms of weather) for sure.

26 December 2010 – winter returns with some flurry, not yet very cold – some –5C.

27 December 2010 – temperatures drops to –12C in the morning and refuses to incline to more than –7C over the day, but weather makes up for chill by clear skies.

28 December 2010 – gloomy and chilly, between –10C and –8C all day long, it somehow reminds of North Korea…

29 December 2010 – still chilly and but cold is accompanied by gusty wind, wind chill around –20C, in the evening it begins to snow.

30 December 2010 – after an overnight snow Warsaw is bestowed with 5 centimetres of totally superfluous white powder, the upside is rising temperature –4C from dawn to dusk.

31 December 2010 – snowfalls cease around midday, by that time we have a few more centimetres of snow. Temperatures rise. Fortunately, the night is quite windless and not really cold.

Average temperature of December 2010 in Warsaw: -5.5C, 5.1 degrees below long-term average. December 2010 was categorised as anomalously cold.

1 January 2011 – howling, gusty (up to 70 kmph) wind wakes some inhabitants of Warsaw up in late morning. As every child knows, snow + wind = blizzard. Before midday temperature creeps above 0C, for the first time since Christmas. Unfortunately, thaw stays just for a few hours and wind chill takes the edge off it.

2 January 2011 – Polish example of changeable weather: 11:15 – sunshine, clear skies, 0C. By 11:30 skies cloud over, snowstorm breaks out, temperature drops to –2C.

3 January 2011 – mild winter returns. Temperature hovers between –1C and –3C, unfortunately, the snows refuses to hold back from falling to the ground.

4 January 2011 – sky is overcast in the morning and the partial solar eclipse can be hardly observed in Warsaw. It is slightly dim only, skies clear up in the afternoon. Winter stays mild – around –5C.

5 January 2011 – this year the annual early-January cold snap does not hit as it did in three preceding years. 4 January 2008 was the coldest day of the year with day-time low of –14C, 6 January 2009 was the coldest day in 2009, temperature at dawn fell to –22C. 4 January 2010 saw temperature of –19C, four degrees warmer than on 26 January 2010. This year the weather pattern does not recur. Cloudless sky lets the earth give off heat, but temperature in the morning drops to only –12C. It will not return to double digits below zero for a while…

6 January 2011 – The last day of proper winter with sub-zero temperatures, clear sky and chilly wind. North Atlantic Oscillation seems to be perking up for good.

7 January 2011 – overnight rain freezes on roads and pavements. All usual routes, no matter if used by pedestrians or vehicles, turn into genuine ice rinks (layer of ice is even 0.5 centimetre thick). A definite upside is the temperature – day-time high of +6C (well above forecasters’ consensus), a downside – lack of sunshine. Snows are melting rapidly.

8 January 2011 – 9 January 2011 – the big thaw continues over the weekend. Day-time highs hit +5C, day-time lows are above 0C. Balmy, but gloomy; melting snow uncovers general dirt, turds, rubbish. I like it anyway.

10 January 2011 – 12 January 2011 – nothing heralds the end of ongoing thaw. Temperatures hover slightly above zero and occasionally drop below zero at night. Deficiency of sunshine makes itself felt, but I still prefer it to frost and snowfalls. Yes, snows, the only remnants are old mounds of snow mixed with salt, grit, soil, mud. Grisly…

13 January 2011 – 14 January 2011 – gloom and warmth continue. Grotty mounds of iced snow melt very slowly. I asked a few people whether they prefer a proper winter with snow and frost or a gloomy thaw. Unanimously all opt for the latter.

15 January 2011 – temperature hovers around +5C. Pouring rain does the job of melting temperature-resistant snow mounds. By and large, the old snow has gone, now there’s enough room to store new, due around 20 January.

16 January 2011 – temperature rises to +7C, gloom slowly gives in, but skies fail to clear up for good yet. After yesterday’s rainfalls some areas in Warsaw and around are flooded.

17 January 2011 – temperature doesn’t fall below +6C and hits month-time high of +9C, the only missing piece is sunshine; despite upbeat forecasts (sunshine from dawn to dusk), clouds unremittingly occlude the sun.

18 January 2011 – 19 January 2011 – heat slowly retreats. On Tuesday it is not well felt yet, as sunbeams warm the air up, but on Wednesday temperatures are no longer well above zero. Sky is generally overcast and the fortnight-long hot spell draws to a close.

20 January 2011 – morning wakes us up to the temperature of around 0C and one-centimetre-thick layer of wet snow. Beauty of the winter is properly dosed – snow sets on threes, fences and plants, but melts on roads and pavements immediately, which means the dream of Warsaw’s road-clearance services has come true.

21 January 2011 – 22 January 2011 – the winter treats us gently. Temperatures still fluctuate around 0C, snow lingers everywhere but on roads or pavements, so it is generally bearable…

23 January 2011 – morning: light frost means falling snow is heavy and wet, the overnight precipitation brings five centimetres of such wet and heavy snowflakes. Before midday snowfalls cease, skies clear up, temperature rises to 0C and snow begins to melt.

24 January 2011 – till now the second winter episode is not obtrusive. Temperatures do not fall below –5C and snow does not paralyse the traffic. May winter stay merciful…

25 January 2011 – snowfalls give a rough ride, yet it’s not a disaster. Temperature is a bit lower and hovers around –4C all day long. Longing for the sunshine.

26 January 2011 – sub-zero temperatures linger and any thaw is unlikely to give us a relief from winter. A consolation to me is a reminiscence of the previous winter – exactly a year ago, on 26 January 2010 temperature in Warsaw hit its four years’ low of –23C. If it is twenty degrees warmer, grumbling is forbidden.

27 January 2011 – mild winter continues, temperatures hover between –5C and 0C and are bound to stay on. Weather forecasts say uplifting sunshine and mild frost may cheer us up in the coming days.

28 January 2011 – 30 January 2011 – three consecutive days featured by gloom and chill and temperatures ranging from –11C to –2C. Weather spites forecasters, who for each of three days foresaw sunshine and temperatures between –3C and –1C.

31 January 2011 – sunbeams still fail to break through the clouds. Uplifting weather can be found in the forecasts only, but good news is that the first half of February is said to bring temperatures above zero.

Average temperature of January 2011 in Warsaw: -0.5C, 1.7 degrees above long-term average. January 2011 was categorised as normal.

1 February 2011 – 2 February 2011 – ‘North Korean’ weather continues. I call it ‘North Korean’ because I watched two films shot in winter in North Korea and it looks that bad there: chilly, cloudy, windy and little snow on the ground. But winter in the northern part of Korean Peninsula are much harsher than in Poland and the country is anything but joyful…

3 February 2011 – winter slowly retreats. Temperature rises above zero for the first time since 26 January, snows slowly melt. A period of a few warm days is set to come. The downside of the early-February hot spell will be the lack of sunshine. Downpours and gusty winds will take the gloss off the thaw.

4 February 2011 – in the morning the weather is even clement. Sun breaks through the clouds and temperature lingers above zero. In the afternoon wind blows only stronger, sleet falls on the ground.

5 February 2011 – gale does not let me sleep a wink. Overnight downpour accompanied by relatively high temperature of +7C melts the whole snow within a few hours. The day is blustery, yet warm.

6 February 2011 – 8 February 2011 – three subsequent days marked by high temperatures, ranging from +4C to +10C, blend of sunshine and overcast sky. Gales and teeming down rain do plague intermittently.

9 February 2011 – 11 February 2011 – it is getting colder, day by day, yet not below zero. Winds are not as strong as they used to be in the previous days. Sometimes sun breaks through the clouds. Residents of Warsaw are bracing themselves for a return of frosty winter.

12 February 2011 – sunny, windy, chilly – Saturday is the first day since 2 February when the temperature over the day stays below zero. Very little snow precipitation – does not augur well for lawn and plants in the garden. Ground needs a natural cover to be protected from frost, this why usually cold snaps are preceded by bountiful snowfalls. This time it did not happened.

13 February 2011 – looks like pre-spring. Temperatures hover below zero, but thanks to sunshine and lack of wind it feels much warmer. And nothing heralds the advent of biting frosts.

14 February 2011 – February cold snap no. 1, day 1, lots of sunshine, temperature in the morning goes down to –11C, windy.

15 February 2011 – February cold snap no. 1, climax. Temperature in the morning drops to –14C, but howling wind makes it –20C. In the afternoon the absolute temperature is some five degrees higher, but wind chill hits –21C. Ghastly.

16 February 2011 – a bit warmer than yesterday and the last day of with sun on. Look outside the window and you would not guess it is winter at all. There is almost no snow, what means ground is freezing up deep.

17 February 2011 – sun is occluded by clouds, snow showers remind that winter is here. The temperature does not drop that low overnight, day-time low is –8C. Winds relentlessly blow strong.

18 February 2011 – February cold snap no. 1 draws to a close. Snow falls all day, temperature stays between –4C and –2C, wind chill around six degrees lower. But it feels warm.

19 February 2011 – snowfalls recede, yet the temperature does not climb above zero. Winter gives temporary relief, before it hits again. According to current forecasts, the second cold snap will be worse than the first, but this winter’s chill record for Warsaw (-18C on 1 December 2010) will not be broken.

20 February 2011 – snow showers interspersed throughout moments of glorious sunshine. Looks lovely when you stay in. Outside temperature does not rise above –8C.

21 February 2011 – temperature in the morning drops to –16C, with sunshine and still air quite bearable.

22 February 2011 – today’s low hits –17C. The record dated 1 December 2010 has not been broken and nothing augurs it will be broken. Next night should be a bit warmer. Russian high is said to linger until Friday, so three consecutive days should be dry, sunny and frosty. Hang on! It is late February and it is much dreadfully cold. If the same mass of air had come over Poland a month earlier, temperatures would have been some five degrees lower. –22C. Oh, we saw it in January 2010, January 2009, January 2006.

23 February 2011 – the worst is officially over. Temperature dropped to only –16C. I actually got immune to the cold. Temperature is predicted to surge over the weekend, for next Monday meteorologist expect balmy 0C.

24 February 2011 – actually this –17C in the morning is getting boring and doesn’t impress me much.

25 February 2011 – Winter, three months on. First snow fell on 25 November 2010, I can’t even say the end is near. A few days ago forecasters said today it would get warmer. Over the day it was, but morning saw another drop to –15C

26 February 2011 – now it’s really noticeably warmer. –5C, overcast skies, no wind.

27 February 2011 – no wind??? Woken up by a howling wind. Sun breaks through the clouds in the afternoon, temperature slightly above gives a foretaste of spring, which is yet beyond the horizon…

28 February 2011 – in the morning –7C, but shining sun take the edge off frost. In the afternoon –1C and sunbeams melt some snow.

Average temperature of February 2011 in Warsaw: -4.0, 2.7 degrees below long-term average. February 2011 was categorised as a bit frosty.

1 March 2011 – the first month of meteorological spring begins with temperature of –10C in Warsaw. Over the day it barely makes it above zero, but forecasts for the coming days in terms of temperature are upbeat!

2 March 2011 – 3 March 2011 – days of winter are numbered! Daily temperature fluctuations are staggering. In the morning it drops to –8C or even –10C, but it definitely does not feel that cold; as the sun goes up, temperature shoots up to reach around +3C in the afternoon. Days of clement, sunny weather might be also numbered.

4 March 2011 – the last day of glorious sunshine, temperature ranges from –5C at dawn to +5C in the afternoon. The ground is still frozen. Winter quite probably will not return for good, but it may smack us one or two times.

5 March 2011 – overcast sky, chilly wind and occasional short moments of sunshine best describe the day. In the evening a drizzle.

6 March 2011 – morning brings a thin layer of flurry, yesterday’s drizzle had frozen on the ground (-2C overnight), so pavements are treacherously slippery. Moments when sun shines intertwine with snow showers. Although it is slightly above zero, wind makes it feel like –10C.

7 March 2011 – I officially declare the winter is over.

Next days proved I had been right. Dawn-time temperatures hovered around zero for a few days, it took the leftovers of snow three days to disappear, ground was frozen for around three days as well. The next weekend was exceptionally warm, with day-time high of +17C on 14 March. Winter gave up the ghost considerably early, although a light snowfall was observed on 19 March 2011 in the morning and today temperature dropped to –2C.

Polish teenagers and assertiveness

Lesson from the last weekend (everything ended up happily) learnt: unfavourable circumstances will happen, but they should not serve as an excuse to hold back from blogging. The only fix are short, up-to-the point postings, like this one.

Commuting to town by train, though not as convenient as in one's own car has the same advantage as travelling by bus. Being tinned like sardines with fellow passengers means overhearing their chats and going unpunished with it. Apart from listening to ordinary grumblers who gripe about how much work they have, how stupid their boss is, one can hear what contemporary teenegers talk about with one another. I have commuted to Warsaw for almost eight years and have watched the subject matters of those talks drfiting from school goings-on, family affairs and friendships towards... partying. Almost every day I hear teenagers reminescing last weekend's booze-up, bragging about how much they drank, what they did after they got hammered, who puked first, who licked whose... Never mind... I have to say when I was 14 or 15 I wasn't an exemplary teenager. I wasn't a problem child, but I partying didn't affect negatively my performance at school, I never got really badly pissed, I never smoked, never did anything I would regret or could be ashamed of. Generally it has never occured to me that indulging in boozing can be something I can be proud of.

Yesterday I took the fast train from Radom at 7:07 from NI. I travelled with a group of first-year students who tried to cadge some money from fellow passengers, because they were suffering from hangover. They planned to knock back a few bottles of some kind of low-budget alcohol to survive first two lectures, then get hammered again and sober up during the last class. Fortunately, none of the passengers granted their request. I also said 'no'. Without hesitation, yet I wonder whether I should have used foul language to give them to understand what I thought about their stupidity. On the other hand, this could provoke at least a verbal scuffle and I actually wanted to spend the day at work, not somewhere else.

Today I took the 7:55 Warsaw-bound service. On my way to the station, as I was passing a local shop, I spotted a girl. Somehow she immediately caught my eyes. With hindsight I realised she had reminded me of someone (another long story, should be titled "I could kick myself for what I desisted from"). She looked kind of strange - unzipped jacket and low-cut blouse exposed her cleavage to easterly, chilly wind and she staggered a bit. We moved closer, staring at each other's eyes. Passing me by, she smiled, as the one she reminded me of used to smile, grabbed my arm and asked if I could buy her something... Before she finished the sentence several thoughts ran through my head. Was she hungry and wanted me to buy her food? Did she stagger because she had not eaten breakfast? Should I give her money or go with her to the shop? Surely the latter. ...because I'm under eighteen. "I'm sorry, I won't help you", I rebutted and walked away, still slightly mesmerised by her smile and bufuddled. I knew I had done what I had been supposed to do by refusing to grant her request, but unanswered questions kept nagging me...

Should I have told her off?
Should I have asked her what exactly she wanted me to buy (she could mean only cigarettes and alcohol)?
Why did she look like a tart?
How old was she? She looked like 16, but it was just next to middle school so she could be younger...
Why was she desperate to get what she wanted to get?
Should I have asked what the hell she was doing with her life and why?
Should I have tried to show interest in her situation, should I have stopped for a while and talk to her?

I have been thinking about the sitaution for some 13 hours. I told the story my colleagues at work, they treated it as an anecdote and expressed their concern about their teenage children. I worked normally but I had the girl in my mind all the time. It even prompted me to do what I do very seldom - I posted something in the middle of the week!

If I happen to meet her, provided I recognise her (I have no memory for faces), should I react anyhow? I'm not indifferent, yet I can't honestly say I care about her fate. She was a splitting image of my 'wasted chance', she reminded me about her, what actually was a reason for my emotional reaction...

Unsuspecting

Look back on 10 March, look back on early morning on 11 March. Think of millions of Japanese... How many of them thought on 11 March in the morning their country would be devastated by a destructive earthquake Japan had not seen for decades? I bet the number ranges somewhere between 0 and 100 and is slightly misleading, as to carry out this experiment correctly we should exclude all geologists, seismologists and other people who deal with earthquakes day in, day out. But ordinary people? It struck them out of the blue. This is the life, its charm consists also in unpredictability...

On Friday I watched footages of monstrous tsunami waves wreaking havoc to Japanese coast and apart from sympathy I felt a strong admiration for that nation. Film coverages showing people's behaviour during the earthquake showed an amazing picture of people who, confronted with a dreadful danger, kept a cool head, do not fall into panic and try to wait out the worst. Japanese construction technology again has proved its mastery. Very few building were destroyed by the earthquake of magnitude of 8.9 Richter degrees itself, that was the tsunami wave that really went on the rampage. Trains did not derail when the earth was quaking, they were wiped out by the blast of seawater. Japanese communication and early warning systems also worked perfectly. Thousands of people from coastal areas were told to evacuate just two minutes after the giant wave formed near the epicentre of the earthquake. Given the scale of the disaster, death toll of 10,000 to 20,000 is not a striking figure. Probably if the same happened in any other country, in densely populated area, the number of fatalities would be much, much higher...

On Saturday early morning everything seemed to herald a nice weekend for me. The twist of fate hit my family and me out of the blue. Fortunately, things are slowly getting back to normal, but I had to cross out a few items from my weekend to-do-list, so during this short spring episode (at least the weather is uplifting - sunny, temperature "in its teens") I had to do without the first bike ride this year and gave up on writing an important post about Polish pension system reform. Big apologies for such a short posting.

Hopefully, things will straighten out and next weekend I will publish a post which has been written since late November and will be the longest published on PES. In two weeks, circumstances permitting, I will catch up with the issue of pension reform, the post planned to released today will be supplemented by coverage of a TV debate between one of the biggest advocate of the reform, finance minister Jan Vincent Rostowski, and one the biggest opponent of the reform, Leszek Balcerowicz, tentatively scheduled for 21 March.

All in all, life has reassured and convinced me it should not be the bed of roses. All difficulties toughen us up, if we do not let them kill us, they make us stronger, they shape out resilience. This is the leaf to be taken out of the Japan's book. The earthquake and the subsequent tsunami did bring the Japanese to their knees. Mentally they will get up of their knees quite soon, but the damages will pose a much bigger problem for the economy. Japan is the most indebted country in the world, with the public debt accounting for almost 200% of GDP. For this reason the earthquake will take a heavy toll on the Japanese economy...

Out of the frying pan into the fire...

I managed to give up on politics for a month only. Time to revert to the touchy topic, this time approached from a different angle...

Jokes about fellow head of state's wife's infidelity...
Sitting down joyfully when guests are standing...
Another president standing in the rain without an umbrella over his head...
Setting out to eating when the host is speaking...
Calling several meetings to arrange the date of parliamentary election and not rulling out 30 October right away...
Inviting a former president Jaruzelski to a delegation travelling to Rome for JPII beatification ceremony and then declaring to think it over?
Saying in an interview to a newspaper he does not know if he would entrust Jarosław Kaczyński the mission of creating a government if the party Kaczyński runs wins the elections.

The list of major missteps of Polish president made this year only numbers seven slip-ups. Probably slated, bad, ex-communist president Kwaśniewski did not make so many blunders during his ten years in office.

First four gaffes are quite obvious, I will just take a liberty of commenting on the last three ones.

Date of election is not the biggest problem our attention should focus on. It should not be held just before All Saints' Day because it is the period when Poles get around the country and hence the turnout would be lower. And two-day election, as put forward by Mr Komorowski is a big waste of money. Politicians of PiS reject the idea by saying it makes room for irregularities (typical for the mistrust-driven party), I say if holding one-day election can save 50 million zlotys, this money must be saved. With our ailing public finances we cannot afford this. Over!

General Jaruzelski remains a big problem in Polish politics. It is quite clear that in his state of health he would not go there, even regardless of his atheism. But invitation is about protocol. Mr Jaruzelski, no matter what you think of him, repeatedly met with the Pope and after His death was a witness during the beatification procedures. Has nobody thought of it? Manners of Mr Komorowski remind us of what late president Kaczynski did in March 2006, when his officials mistakenly awarded Mr Jaruzelski a medal for his WWII gallantry. Mr Jaruzelski later sent it back to Mr Kaczyński and after all he, not the president saved face. Handling Mr Jaruzelski will remain a problem for Polish politicians for a while...

The statement in Mr Komorowski interview for Newsweek is much simpler. He, as a president, is duty bound to assign the leader of victorious party the task of forming the government. Those are voters, who go to the polls to decide who should be the prime minister, not the president. May he remember about it. If Kaczynski's party wins the election, he has no choice, just as Lech Kaczynski in 2007 properly, but to do it without a murmur!

And this is the man I voted for... Some eight months ago I exercised my right to vote, now I want to exercise my right to criticise! I did back him, because I realised there was no other choice. I knew he would be a mediocre president, but his mediocrity has gone far beyond my expectations. I now regret not voting for Mr Olechowski in the first round, but not regret voting for Mr Komorowski in the run-off. If time could be turned back, I would do the same, despite everything. I have observed what Mr Kaczynski and Mr Napieralski have been doing since the election and I know they do not make a reasonable alternative. Mr Komorowski is, pardon the expression, a 'lout', but does not turn the country upside down. Mr Napieralski, with his background and education not only does not have any makings for a head of state, but also for any minister. Can you tell me which ministry could he take charge of?

Who said before the presidential election we should vote for Komorowski if we did not want to be ashamed of our president when he goes abroad? I am ashamed of him not only when he travels abroad, but also when he plays host to foreign guests in Poland. Jarosław Kaczyński would not make all those blunders, but on the other hand many of those meeting Mr Komorowski attended would not have taken place. Foreign policy, as pursued by PiS, consisted in not pursiuing it, or pursuing it selectively.

All in all I in my voting decisions I was guided by model of presidency and views, not by manners. Mr Komorowski's views fairly squared with mine, his unbiased presidency is a big step towards in comparison to his what his precedessor did. Unlike late president, Mr Komorowski could appoint a governor of central bank who was not his henchman, but was competent to take up that position. He has two economic advisers, one (Jerzy Pruski) has liberal views, other (Jerzy Osiatyński) has rather statist views and the balance is struck.

I was not that really ashamed of Lech Kaczynski, I rather disagreed with what he did as a president. I felt sorry for him. I knew he was not cut out for such office, he felt uncomfortable and stressed out between movers and shakers, who have never been his breed. He was a bit gauche, but his ineptitude rather evoked my sympathy. He was in a way one of us, he embodied our shortcomings, yet in most situations he was self-concous. Mr Komorowski, in turn, is overly self-confident and hence uncouth. A proper balance of self-conciousness and self-confidence is essential to behave well in all situations when impeccable manners are required. It seems to me Mr Kwaśniewski has had that knack, Mr Kaczyński and Mr Komorowski, although they are both proud to boast their 'noble' descent, simply lack good manners which should have been instilled in them at homes.

After all Mr Komorowski has messed with me much more within seven months than PO-led government managed to do within over three years. I have voted for both and I will be watching their doings.

'Business school' versus 'School of economics'

In practice, I have actually parted company with my school, although in theory I'll do it when I pass my Master's exam. Formally I'm still a student, and both as a student and as a would-be graduate (a diploma from the Warsaw School of Economics is a recognised 'brand') I should be interested in the strategy of WSE (PL: SGH), thus the direction in which it is drifting.

Recent years have brought significant changes in the workings of my university. Most of them have been brought about by an obligation to implement the so-called Bologna system. The biggest revolution to take place under the new system was the shift towards two-tier studies. Each student now has to no choice, but to take a three-year BA course and then, if they wish to continue their education, a two-year MA course. This has replaced the previous cycle of five-year MA studies, which left the decision to take a Bachelor's exam at students' discretion. The shift necessitated changes in the curricula. In the old system studies lasted five years, now they last three plus two years. This indeed equates to five, but the new system lacks continuity, as studies have to be split into two separate cycles and new curricula for each cycle have had to be drawn up.

Proponents of the shift (not those from Poland, but EU officials and scholars) pointed out the Bologna system would bring benefits to students. As it now transpires, its introduction was to the benefit of the overwhelming, problem-piling-up bureaucractic machinery and students are not key beneficiaries of the Bologna system. Since the introduction of the new system in 2006, when I began my studies, SGH has pressed on with two curriculum reforms. Both have come in for harsh criticism for cutting down on number of course hours allocated for "core" courses (intermediate macro- and microeconomics, advanced economics, statistics, econometrics, mathematics) and "not strictly economic" courses (sociology, economic history). The most ardent opponents of the reshaped curricula even cried out against SGH turning into a "vocational school" and retaining the word "economics" in its English name only.

In the West we have two different types of universities:
1) business schools,
2) schools of economics.
And they must not be mistaken for each other!

Let's look at the top bar at "The Economist's" main page.

This is not a coincidence that 'economics' and 'business' have separate sections.

The difference between the two is quite simple. Economics is about understanding people's and companies' behaviours on the marketplace and functioning of economies and it is a social science. Business in turn is simply about making money. The two are strongly tied-up with each other, yet the latter is just a part of the former.

This assertion leads us to another conclusion. It takes much more to educate a good economist than a good businessman. In fact a 'vocational school' would suffice to churn out graduates who would pursue their careers in 'business'. They should have all competencies and skills that would allow them to generate money for their corporations and, consequently, for themselves. A graduate of a business school can work in a consultancy firm, as accountant, auditor, product manager, at a bank, they can successfully run a company. In many of the jobs listed above they would outperform graduates of economics, but think about a business school graduate analysing financial markets, working in a central bank (remember the former president of Polish central bank, ridiculed for his diploma from an 'inferior US business school'?), as an economist at a bank or drafting a pension system reform. All those tasks require a graduate of economics, equipped not only with essential knowledge, but also taught to understand all complex phenomena that take place in the economy, taught to analyse and track causations and, above all, able to shape their own opinions independently. In the context of independence the word 'business' has to be stressed. Being in business involves money-related tie-ups and conflicts of interests that jeopardise an economist's independence. But bear in mind that only business, but also politics might pose a threat to an economist's independence.

Nevertheless, the education of an economist needs to be much broader that the one of a business school student. Courses such as sociology, economics of development, economic history, economic policy have to be run and taken by students. Being an economist requires broader horizons and open mind. The style of teaching should differ. Students of economics should be encouraged to discuss; during such discussions various opinions should clash, substantive arguments backed by examples and calculations should be traded. Analytical skills should be developed, students should be taught to discern possible impacts of some factors on other ones. A few useful rules should be instilled, such as recently quoted one that in economics you can prove a theory if you can't disprove it. And a grasp of psychology is essential when analysing the mechanics of economies and financial markets! Business students, in turn, can crack case studies, learn how to manage people, run companies, foist stuff upon customers and develop other skills requisite for making money.

I don't wish to denigrate students and graduates of business schools. They're just a different breed and are not cut out for some jobs. As a rich man I would not hesitate to take on a business graduate to run my company (but remember the currency-option botch-up from early 2009), but they would not be allowed to manage my personal finances.

And having said that I can't stress strongly enough there is no clear dividing line between business and economics. At my job I am somewhere in between; I try to make the most of my knowledge in economics, but the job has a tilt at the 'business', which means my career path might have to be reassessed...

Coming back to the issue of SGH, I'd like them to settle on 'school of economics' model. Maybe this is not what the market, ruled by money, needs most, but this what next generations will surely need. Moreover, 'business school' means taking a path of least resistance, while SGH with at least some of its excellent staff, is capable of aiming much higher. May it stay the Warsaw School of Economics, not in name only!

The art of manipulation honed to the limits

The contract with our current Internet provider (Play Online) expires soon. Their service generally sucks. Connection speeds are comparable to those standard in Belarus and my shoddy modem stops trasferring data whenever it feels like. Wrangling with customer service of P4 is a big ordeal, so the decision to give up on them was an easy one. We don't know yet what company will our new provider be (only mobile internet is comes into play), but we have already taken steps to break up with Play Online. We send them a letter in which we noticed them we wanted to terminate the contract on its expiration date. In response we received a missive in an electronic form, scan of its print below. Watch out for the underlined words and phrases.

Now a small exercice in translation. A word which crops up four times in the missive, not accidentally, is aż, it doesn't have a short equivalent in English, so I decided to do it into Eglish as 'as much as'. Slightly stilted, if you have better suggestions, please let me know.

Ref. no. 2723****

Dear Sir,

We confirm the reception of your letter dated 2 February 2011 regarding the cancellation of services provided by P4 sp. z o.o.

On this occasion we are glad to thank Sir for the current cooperation and by the same token for placing trust in our company.

Especially for Sir we prepared an offer "RePlay Online Great with a discount" without a modem. As part of this bargain we offer you a discount of 10 PLN for the whole contractual period what adds up to a saving of as much as 120 PLN. The monthly allowance under this contract is as much as 5 gigabytes and the contract length is only 12 months.

There is also a possibility to prolong the contract for 18 months, under a modem plan. Under "RePlay Online for Christmas" special offer, the monthly charge for first four months will amount to mere 1 PLN. The monthly allowance under this plan is as much as 5 gigabytes. After the discount period ends, the monthly charge will be mere 45 PLN.

We will be pleased, if you get in touch with our Customer Service at the number *500 (call only from  mobiles in Play) in order to learn about the details of the offer and to place an order. The order will be effected by courrier free of charge.

If your decision is upheld, we inform that the Contract for the number +48791****** will be terminated on 9 April 2011, after the cancellation period, defined in paragraph 14 point 5 of P4 Terms of Telecommunication Services for Subscribers, expires. The current Play Online number will be transferred to Play Online pre-paid service, in which the service account may be topped up only when necessary. When the new plan is activated, Sir will receive as much as 1 gigabyte of data transfer to be used up within 30 days.

Yours sincerely,

Anna M****

Now some essential remarks.

1. Our letter was dated 26 January 2011. Why the hell did they change the date? Never mind that.

2. Especially for Sir (specjalnie dla Pana) is nothing but a barefaced lie. The same plan is offered to any customer who wishes to prolong their contract.

3. The contract set out 1 April 2011 as expiration date, so why did they discretionally prolong it by eight days? But to make up for this they gave 1 gigabyte as a farewell gift, so this can be forgiven.

Now let's get to the core of what I'm drivng at.
The word aż (as much as) was used four times.
The word tylko (only) was used once.
The word zaledwie (mere(ly)) was used two times.

Back in August 2007 I did my first job as telemarketer for another mobile operator. I went through some trainings and realised the importance of these seemingly unimportant words. A human beign feels a natural need to make a good deal. By using those words hard-sellers persuade their clients victims they do so, although the deal in fact is not a big bargain. Believe us, you'll pay so little and we'll give you so much. How can you turn down such a great offer?

That job was a big nuisance, but with hindsight proved to be a very valuable experience. Now I'm very sensitive to all kinds of manipulations I am exposed to and can make wiser and well-thought-out consumer decisions and I don't fall for all the twaddle I'm being said. And after all I sometimes sympathise with those poor people who sometimes call me to sell a product or a service and try to make me believe I can strike a great deal.

"Politics, Economy, Society" two years on...

Gosh, that's been a lot of time. And on other hand it feels like it was yesterday when I returned home and on the spur of the moment set up my account on blogger and twenty minutes later clicked the 'PUBLISH POST' button for the first time.

Much has changed since then. The day I began running this blog economy was in the middle of its worst post-war crisis, I was a third-year student with unsettling career prospects and quite good command of English. Today economies of many countries are back thriving, I am a would-be graduate of SGH, have an almost dreamt-up job (it would be truly dreamt-up, if it wasn't for the owner), I have worked on my English and pledge to soldier on.

When it comes to the downsides, a significant one is posting frequency. My sluggishness made itself felt in late May 2010, when I decided to suspend blogging for two weeks to press on with exam period and job-seeking duties. Then since July 2010 I have posted only once a week. I tried to break away from this "ultra-predictable" pattern in January 2011, but now it seems it will be hard to revert to the satisfactory rate of ten posts a month. The only way out are short, up-to-the-point (no more than 20 sentences) postings over the working week and longer posts on Saturday or Sunday.

PS. Don't think I wrote it at midnight, as the footnote suggests. The post was written last Sunday and scheduled to come out today :)

Last year, short before the first anniversary I put in a visit meter. Around 17 February 2010 it read around 2,500 visits. At that time I said I would be happy to see 10,000 by the end of the second year of blogging. The meter hit 10,000 on 17 January 2011. Now I set a target of total 20,000 visits by the end of the third year, if I keep up doing what I do, it should be met. Compared to some outstanding blogs in Polish-English blogosphere, which recorded over 250,000 visits (20 east), over 1,000,000 visits (Polandian, turning three today), or can boast around 9,000 visits each month (W-wa Jeziorki), my figures look poorly, but given my motto "the last thing I need is publicity" I am glad to have small audience who appreciate my job. After all it could not be any other, as the language barrier takes its toll on the blog.

At the end I would only like to thank all commentators, your contributions add much value to this blog and other blog-keepers and site-owners whose pages link to "Politics, Economy, Society".

The ship that weathered the storm is sinking?

No longer than a month ago I extolled Polish economy for its resilience in the context of the first interest rate hike in the current cycle of monetary tightening, but over the course of last two week I mulled over the issue, took it apart and now I feel like taking back what I wrote then, although I cannot deny I did believe what I wrote was true and reflected my opinions.

What prompted my recent change of heart was a market analysis. I observed the performance of Warsaw Stock Exchange blee chip index (WIG20) and compared it with performance of other major indices (German DAX, US S&P 500, Japaness Nikkei 225). All the foreign indices this year hit their many months' highs repeatedly, whereas Polish WIG20 barely climbed to 2,809 points, peaked there and retreated. Polish stock market's relative performance has been very poor in the last weeks and this seems to be a distrurbing signal.

Stock market performance is one of Leading Economic Indicators, what in simple words means its changes herald changes in the whole economy. It has to be said stock market performance is not unfailing and if "Wall Street predicted nine out of five recessions after WWII", signals it sends might be misleading. But if we look at recent happenings in a broader context, Warsaw Stock Exchange does not have to be wrong this time.

Please note that performance of stock market is correlated not with GDP but with the pace of GDP growth. Economy may contract, but if the contraction is not as deep than in the previous quarter, stock prices should rise. This rule works also the other way round - if economy grows, but not as fast as earlier, stock prices should decline. To be precise, stock market should precede real economy by one or two quarters, although in the recent crisis there was no lag (rebound in 1Q2009 and peak in 3Q2007).

Let's have a look at some facts.

1. A lion's share of the turnover on the Warsaw stock market is generated by foreign investors and speculators. They generally buy the most liquid stocks and therefore their interest focuses on securities that make up the WIG20. Their decisions are generally based on their perceptions of prospects of Polish economy. Buying stocks is actually about buying future, as all present information are already incleded in a price. So if speculators and investors are optimistic about Poland, they buy Polish stocks; when they turn pesimistic, they dispose of Polish securities. If their perception of Poland worsens, it is not because they have it in for Polish stocks, but because something might be amiss with Poland. What is happening now is not a reprise of speculative sell-off of Polish currency and assets from early 2009, when market sentiment was overtly negative, now it has only fallen back.

2. Why? One reason are the proposed changes in the pension system. Regardless of what I think of it (I am in two minds about it, I will try to present a subjective evaluation of those changes before they take effect), the motives behind the government's decision to transfer a part of pension contribution from private-run pension funds to state-run pay-as-you-go social security system are clear. The government did not concede private pension funds are too expensive and too ineffective (as they in fact are!) are did not wish to save poor citizen's pensions from being squandered by greedy fund managers. Polish state gripped that money to curb the increase of outright public debt and swept the problem of its obligations towards future pensioners under the carpet. It does not mean I fully disagree with their decision, but this time a drowing man was desperately trying to catch a straw. The move also reflects upon the pitiful state of Polish public finances and interminable shortage of money in the system, which results from years of mismanagement.

3. What could have scared the investors and speculators away? If the government seizes the money, situation in Poland must be quite bad. Private sector fares well, but if things keep getting worse it will have to bear more and more burdens and so the consumers will. Higher taxes will impinge on lower investments and consumption and thus will hamper GDP growth...

4. Another factor is connected directly with mechanics of capital markets. Pension funds every months have bought stock on the market to their portfolios. After the reform, if they get less money, they will buy fewer stocks, what consequently will weaken the demand side on the market. Without demand from pension funds rates of return on the market will be lower. This assumption could have deterred some market participants.

5. Many economists say the best year in the current business cycle will be 2011. Growth will be stimulated mainly by investments, in a large part financed from EU funds and aimed at EURO 2012 preparation. Poland has reached its limits as a free-rider - it fared well during the crisis, but the current pace of growth is unsustainable without structural reforms.

6. Rising interest rates also might negatively affect the economy, but with inflation as the overriding target, we have no choice, but to accept monetary tightening.

7. Appreciating zloty may harm our exports and contribute to the slowdown in pace of GDP growth. If interest rates disparity increases (quite probably, as in the Eurozone and in the USA interest rates are said to be kept near-zero to sustain the recovery), carry traders will do their job and no central bank interventions will help. Only a shift in market sentiment towards Poland can bring Polish exporters relief.

Neverthelss Polish GDP should be on the rise for the next three years, if only nothing unexpected happens, but we should be prepared that the growth will be sluggish (2% - 3% p.a.) rather than robust. Warsaw stock market might be already discounting these information. In turn German economy proves its perfection - our Western neighbours have turned around their public finances and they proved again their economy stayed competitive. Over the last decades competitiveness was the crucial performance driver. Here we can take leaf out of German's book. On the other hand I would not wish Poland to follow the example of the USA. Their stock market is soaring just becuase the US central bank is carrying out quanitative easing to buoy up US economy, what in simple words means guys from FED are printing money, economy still is in the doldrums and speculators borrow money at 0.25% and drive prices of equities and commodities up.

Paradoxically, even if Poland underperforms in comparison to other countries in the coming years, it may give it a soft landing. Other economies, affected by asset price bubbles (if nothing changes in terms of regulations and monetary policy they are bound to inflate, but not in Poland, Polish economy will suffer from rising food, petrol and gas prices) will go through another, even more severe financial downturn and Poland, if run wisely, might be again the only green country on the economic map of Europe.

Transition

Hard to put it into words what I feel in one of turning points of my life. I suppose I would even have problems defining my emotions, and, disturbingly, they are rather sparse, though they should not.

On Wednesdat I took my last exam at SGH, to be precise this was the penultimate exam, since I still have to take my Master's exam, due... probably in late spring, bereaucracy permitting. My last two exams taken this week were both rough rides, however I hope for the best and contend that I will have gone through my studies without a single re-sit.

On Monday I start my first permanent job (formally I will have a three-month probationary period and then, if both parties agree, will it be a permanent job). This does not actually mean delving into a totally different world. I have had two encounters with the corporate world before and I cannot confess to feel anything like a "stage-fright", but I do feel a bit self-concious though.

The transition might be the right moment for some summaries. To put it possibly briefly, I have drawn up two lists of things I will miss and I will not miss after parting with SGH.

I WILL MISS:

1. Day-to-day contact with peers. Truth be told my colleagues will be a bit or much older than me. From my past experience I know I can get along with older colleagues very well, but they are a sort of a different breed, they have different problems, pastime activities, interests, priorities in life, usually they have a different point of view because they have their own families and obligations it entails.

2. Clever, awe-inspiring lecturers, just to name a few:
dr Bogusław Czarny, who taught me basic micro- and macroeconomics, inspired to think independently, form my own opinions and who stressed the importance of the overriding rule in economics, that an assertion is true when it cannot be disproved, not when it can be proved,
prof. Marek Garbicz, for his breathtaking lectures, sense of humour and open mind,
prof. Maria Podgórska, for her patience, consistency and the fact she did not confine just to teach econometrics and mathematics in finance and insurance, but also wanted to instil in us integrity and made us aware how important in life it was,
mgr Sławomira Rajkowska, my best German teacher ever, unfortunately she stood in for our lecturer just for one term, but the progress I made (without much effort) was unbelievable. Had my Deutsch been that good today...
mgr Aneta Piwko, my best English teacher ever. If all teachers had such excellent command of English, passion and drive to teach, Germans would not stack up against Poles in terms of English skills.
prof. Sławiński... Here words are very unnecessary. Who experienced the pleasure of attending his lectures knows what I mean. The rest may only regret.
dr Piotr Mielus, the supervisor of my MA thesis and an outstanding practitioner.

3. Casual clothes. From next week will fit for weekends, holidays and cult dress-down Fridays. I actually like formal outfits so this one should be taken with a pinch of salt.

4. Commuting in non-peak hours. Lovely it was to get from or to Warsaw within fifty minutes in the middle of the day or in the evening when streets were already unclogged. My new recipe for avoiding traffic jams will be trains, so the journey between home and the office should take around an hour.

5. Job fairs, event, meeting famous people who visited SGH and other events. First two and a half years abounded in such events. Later the crisis came, companies cut their promotion budgets and I ran out of disposable pens.

6. Privileges. Not that soon. I will pick up my diploma some three months after the final MA exam, so I until then will I make the most of my ticket concession and other measurable benefits of being a student. The new world will compensate me for this by giving perks.

7. Unfettered speculation on stock exchange. From now I will not be able to do a real-time trading plus I will have several trading restrictions. This does not mean I will pull back from the stock market at all; the speculator will become a mid-term investor.

I WILL NOT MISS:

1. The overwhelming mess, bad communication between authorities and students and general disinformation.

2. Ignorance and laziness of lecturers. I do not even wish to comment. The list of admired lecturers was short. The list of big let-downs from the whole course of my studies would be much longer...

3. Workings of the student office (dziekanat), its surly personnel, quiant decisions (deleting completed courses from track record of studies, informing me about my Bachelor's exam the day before in the evening)...

4. To boot bad organisation, doing everything at eleventh hour...

5. Appaling use of English, which was ridiculed on this blog repeatedly.

6. Broken down central heating when outside it was -15C or unopenable windows and lack of curtains or blinds when outside temperature hit +30C

7. Lectures at 19:00 for day-time students (prevalent, alas).

Immersing in the corporate world will not only mean I will be self-supporting, but also will bring new challenges and real learning opportunities. In the coming months I expect to work harder and learn more than within four and a half years of my studies.

Hitherto I have not observed any sympthoms of depresja magisterska, (graduates afflicted with this malady are down in the dumps because the carefree period of studies is drawing to a close and they are in for forty years of work), but the worst might be still to come.

The last thing I can mention is the higher education system reform passed yesterday by the lower house of the Polish parliament. The new law is intended to curb two pathologies that plague Polish universities. Firstly, it imposes limits on number of jobs scholars can take. Secondly, it introduces tuition fees for students who take their second studies. From what I have observed, both steps will do Polish universities only good. At least in this respect the current government can be credited with a good job.