Initially a lot of Polish people went to the UK to work but Poland is now developing fast and they are starting to move back.

and wheres that money coming from to develop them?
Next in queue will be bulgaria, czech, slovakia, romania, turkey, albania & any other former red curtain country you want to add.

a) Its worth remember the Euro hasnt crumbled like a lot of people thought it would - were almost coming up to a decade of its use in 2009. Im not saying its perfectly setup, any such endeavor will have teething problems, but I dont see a problem in joining single currency.

It hasnt crumbled no. It did put the price for a lot of items up though - as business round prices up rather than down. - Look at Petrol. 1p tax = 2p price hike. Why? Because 1p + Vat = 1.175p. Shell / Tesco / BP aint going to pay that.. instead its passed on to the consumer who pays 2p. That way Shell / Tesco / BP not only cover the 1p tax increase + the VAT ontop, they make an extra .825p

b) Cost of goods is largely determined by firstly manufacturing costs and secondly locale; cost of transportation, local taxes, cost of hiring the area required to sell the item. It doesnt suprise me that bread might be cheaper to get to market in Romania than in Germany, just like its probably cheaper in Bradford than in Chelsea. Youll find that pretty much everywhere (outside a Communist country).

I would guess the price difference between bradford & chelsea would be nearer the price of germany. I would assume the price in Romania a lot less.. probably at least 1/2, maybe a 3rd - but a lot of that would depend on Bio Fuel. Currently it makes our bread expensive as farmers are switching to sell their grain to them, meaning theres a shortage of grain to make into bread. - Not sure what its like in Romania.

You wont find such a price difference in the USA because the States started on more of an equal footing when they formed their Union. That isnt the case with the EU, but that doesnt mean its doomed. Thats the whole point of the system, itll balance itself out over time - prices will rise in Romania (with standard of living) while drop for such items in Germany (because they can be produced where its cheapest and shipped in without extortionate tax costs because its within the Union.)

I am not saying the EU is doomed. I am saying we are doomed. Maybe it will level itself out - well, it should in time over theory, but we would risk an over developed world. Just look at the emergence of China in the last 10 years. Were all paying for that on the fuel pumps & other raw materials like wood, copper, steel, etc.

If everyone had the same standards of living & all able to afford things like Cars, latest TVs, Broadband, etc. Prices would skyrocket.

Now I have no idea the amount of Car owners in a % there are in countries like Turkey, Romania, Poland (as examples).
In the UK & Germany combined, we are looking at near 80million cars.
Population of UK & Germany added together, equal that of Turkey, Romania & Poland. - What do you think thats going to do when Cars become more affordable to them? You get approx 20 gallons of Petrol from a Barrel of Oil.. Currently priced at about £45 a barrel.

I very much doubt you would find such a high cost of living difference in the USA.

Yes you do! Here in PA you pay way way more than in Delware and NJ for alcohol. This is because PA state govt controls alcohol sales and sets the prices. In delaware and NJ they dont. Philadelphia is only a few minutes from both Delware and NJ and people nip across the state border for christmas booze. You are paying £5 for a bottle of wine that is £3 elsewhere.

Fireworks are illegal in NJ. You cannot buy them. People from NJ nip across the border to PA to get fireworks for Christmas.

Another example is sales tax. PA is 6%, 7% in Philly centre, and 0% in delaware. Wanna buy a new TV for Christmas? Nip across the state border and save.

And the biggest example is property. In the north east its quite expensive,  around the same as buying in the north of england. Go down to Alabama and they are giving houses away. Because the southern states are similar to our Eastern European countries - way poorer.

Quote from: Eggtastico

I very much doubt you would find such a high cost of living difference in the USA.

Yes you do! Here in PA you pay way way more than in Delware and NJ for alcohol. This is because PA state govt controls alcohol sales and sets the prices. In delaware and NJ they dont. Philadelphia is only a few minutes from both Delware and NJ and people nip across the state border for christmas booze. You are paying £5 for a bottle of wine that is £3 elsewhere.

Fireworks are illegal in NJ. You cannot buy them. People from NJ nip across the border to PA to get fireworks for Christmas.

Another example is sales tax. PA is 6%, 7% in Philly centre, and 0% in delaware. Wanna buy a new TV for Christmas? Nip across the state border and save.

And the biggest example is property. In the north east its quite expensive,  around the same as buying in the north of england. Go down to Alabama and they are giving houses away. Because the southern states are similar to our Eastern European countries - way poorer.

Try doing it without using alcohol as an example. Alcohol is a huge generator in Tax.
Try maybe, Bread, Milk, Sugar, Coffee, Vegetables, etc.
Sales tax is down to individual states. Its difficult to compare states of america to the nations of the EU. House prices are priced on Demand.
The UK is small country with big population, hence our house prices are so high.

Who cares if we have to pay £3 a litre. We can switch to electric cars tomorrow if we had to.

but throughout the USA they are priced more or less the same give or take a few cents?

Or is the difference as much as it would be between the UK & say Romania?

But Bread is on the rise worldwide because of Bio Fuel. Farmers are getting more for their grain for Bio companies than they are from those who want to turn it into flour.

UK and Romania is a bad example. Youve picked two ends of the scale, and romania has only been in the EU for 1 year (not even). Give it 10 years and see. Like Czech - their prices are becoming in line with ours now.

which is exactly my point... Where is the money going to come from for Romania to develop?
Where has the money come from for Czech Republic to develop? FWIW, their prices are nowhere near ours. £1.50 for a pint of stella in Prague 1. Equivelent place in the UK would cost £3.50