Romney got his facts wrong on Polish economy, government role
Print version Aug. 1, 2012, 10:46 a.m. | World — by Associated
Press  U.S. Republican presidential candidate, former
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks with Polish World War II
veterans after laying a wreath at the Warsaw 1944 Uprising
monument in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. (AP
Photo/Alik Keplicz) © AP  Republican presidential challenger
Mitt Romney hailed Poland's economy Tuesday as something akin to
a Republican dream: a place of small government, individual
empowerment and free enterprise.  While it's true that Poland is
one of Europe's fastest-growing economies and boasts dynamic
entrepreneurs, Romney's depiction of Poland as a place of small
government is debatable. Even 23 years after throwing off a
communist command economy, the Polish government continues to
have a strong presence in people's lives: it gives women $300
for each baby they have, doubling that sum for poor families; it
fully funds state university educations;