There is a country on this globe that has been in control of its own destiny for a mere two decades. Yet …
It has the highest GDP of any other country in its region. It is listed as a High-Income Economy by the World Bank. The United Nations lists it as “Very High” on the Human Development Index. It is also ranked highly for press freedom, economic freedom, democracy, and political freedom. On the State of World Liberty Index, this country ranks 1st out of 159 countries.
This country is a democratic parliamentary republic. It identifies itself as a “non-welfare-state” with a flat income tax rate of 22% that is paid by both worker and company. With no “exemptions” to be calculated, this country collects income tax fully as the income to which it is applied is earned. No need for a tax industry.
This country has the lowest ratio of government debt to GDP among all EU countries. It has a mandatory balanced budget, almost non-existent public debt, free trade regime, and competitive commercial banking.
Its government operation is based on technology with everything from national elections to the payment of taxes being handled by e-services. The ratio of government bureaucratic employees to citizens is the lowest in the EU.
This country supplies more than 90% of its own electrical needs and locally mines its own oil shale, making it nearly 100% energy independent.
It has a 99.80 percent literacy rate among young people aged 15-24. It has less than a 2% high school dropout rate. Post-secondary students who choose to pursue a trade or technical education are as respected and valued as those who choose traditional university.
The biggest challenge this country faces in its breathtaking charge forward is a pressure to rapidly upgrade its post-soviet era health care systems. They have chosen to keep control of health care in the public sector in order to continue to focus on inner efficiencies. They have a comprehensive plan with a 2015 goal line.
If the young new United States of the late 1700s had access to technology of the early 21st century, it would have looked like this country – the fiercely can-do spirit is the same for both.
Even as this new young country is emulating all of the principles that made the United States great, the United States is now sadly, and rapidly emulating the bureaucratically stifling policies that are destroying the economies of its socialistic western European neighbors.
I didn’t know anything about this country before I closed my eyes, stuck a pin in the map, and chose it as our vacation destination for this summer. A big part of our yearly trip planning is the research and discovery before we ever leave home.
Thanks to their technological advancement, I won’t have any trouble finding wifi hotspots. So I’ll be reporting in on our in-country impressions as we travel around the country.
As the United States of America slides further into mediocrity, it might be a good idea to check out the immigration rules for Estonia.