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Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

(www.ecb.europa.eu)
256 points toomuchtodo | 10 comments | 09 Jul 25 00:44 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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isodev ◴[09 Jul 25 01:24 UTC] No.44505504[source]▶
Nice. It’s amazing to see the progress Bulgarians have made in the last 20 years after joining the EU. I can imagine it hasn’t been an easy process.
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petesergeant ◴[09 Jul 25 02:11 UTC] No.44505750[source]▶
Two things that surprised me when I spent a couple of months in Bulgaria:

* Bulgarian support for the EU is pretty low and people didn't think it made their life much better

* Bulgarian support for Russia is very high, like 50%, probably due to their historic help in kicking out the Turks

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1. csomar ◴[09 Jul 25 05:43 UTC] No.44506656[source]▶
Bulgaria economy and the average citizen quality of life are not that correlated. You can have one improving while the other is deteriorating. We saw what happened in the US when such a gap became wide enough.
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2. epolanski ◴[09 Jul 25 06:15 UTC] No.44506811[source]▶
By many metrics (life expectancy, inequality, literacy, poverty rates) the US is a third world country.
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3. petesergeant ◴[09 Jul 25 06:18 UTC] No.44506822[source]▶
Even grok would call you out on this.
4. decimalenough ◴[09 Jul 25 06:25 UTC] No.44506860[source]▶
No, it really isn't. Although there are some pockets of poverty that come close.
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5. guappa ◴[09 Jul 25 06:36 UTC] No.44506933{3}[source]▶
Rich people in 3rd world countries do very well.
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6. wiseowise ◴[09 Jul 25 08:07 UTC] No.44507404[source]▶
You must be American. Only Americans hate their country that much.
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7. raspasov ◴[09 Jul 25 08:15 UTC] No.44507454[source]▶
You are just plain wrong.

Also, social mobility is preferable to inequality. Inequality is terrible on many levels.

Everyone is poor – low inequality (1)

Everyone is middle class – low inequality (2)

Many poor, few rich – high inequality (3)

Theoretical cases, not observed in the real world:

Few poor, many rich – high inequality (4)

Everyone is rich – low inequality (5)

The metric of "inequality" only scores well with either poverty (1) or average outcomes (2) in the real world. Is that socialism or communism? I forget.

8. csomar ◴[09 Jul 25 09:04 UTC] No.44507777[source]▶
I don't think a "third world country" or "developing country" mean anything any more. Turkey/Istanbul and Congo/Kinshasa are both developing countries/cities. One has issues but functional transportation, water/electricity, acceptable healthcare, etc. and the other is a literal shit-hole. The term was invented very long ago and now is no longer applicable.

Edit: Also third-world country mean something else completely since Turkey is first-world by original definition.

9. xdennis ◴[09 Jul 25 09:19 UTC] No.44507863{3}[source]▶
So true. The weirdest part is that so many non-Americans think the same about America whilst simultaneously lining up to legally or illegally immigrate there.
10. dzhiurgis ◴[09 Jul 25 11:41 UTC] No.44508776{4}[source]▶
Rich people do well everywhere