Virgis, Kenli, and Ken in front of Warsaw's Wall of Tears commemorating the deaths of Poles and Jews by firing squad in WWII.

The Polish American Foundation for Economic Research and Education (PAFERE) hosted us for presentations at 17 schools, universities, and public events in five cities around Poland over spring break. Interviews were provided to radio, television, and newspaper journalists and meetings were held with the ?ód? Political Club, the Nowogrodzka 44 Discussion Club, and the PAFERE Conference on “Ethical Sources of the Present Crisis: What Will Be the Future of Capitalism?”

Audiences were most interested in hearing about causes and cures for the global monetary crisis. They have a healthy skepticism of the panicked clamor to give trillion dollar bailouts to cronies in the financial sector. In fact, many Poles felt that the “recession” was being over-hyped. How else could American politicians get away with bailout pledges that amounted to more than double the total expense of World War II?

Students, well-versed in the politics of corruption in Eastern Europe, were bitterly amused to learn of the revolving door in Washington, D.C., where personnel and payoffs so deftly coursed through the halls of government and allied corporate boardrooms. PAFERE was founded in a staunchly Catholic Poland to combat immoral political behavior that blatantly violates the Seventh Commandment: “Thou shalt not steal.”

Ken was hosted by Polish American Foundation for Economic Research and Education.

Ken did much of the talking and Kenli did most of the thinking. She provided the technical support for PowerPoint presentations and more. Virgis Daukas, Kenli’s “uncle” and founder of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, provided counsel, transportation, and laughs.

Other topics included Free Market Ethics, Trade and Labor Protectionism, and the new, third Polish edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey. People came from all over the country seeking autographs for copies published nine years ago in Lublin and Kraków. Ironically, this educational tool of Small Business Hawaii has made a greater impact in Poland than in Hawaii.

The perennial question on the tour was, “When will the recession end?” We answered with a straight face, “August 23 at 8:47 AM.” But this is not a joking matter for the people of Poland. After all, they experienced the worst of inhuman horrors for half a century, when their neighbors east and west sacrificed personal liberties to political tyrants who promised to rescue them from the 1930’s Depression.

-GIR-

After the trip, Kenli returned to her studies at the University of Buckingham in the British Isles where she is a leader in the Economist Club. Ken returned to the islands where he learned that Jonathan Gullible has been renamed Jamal Attaib for the new Arabic edition in Jordan. This is the 43rd language edition of the book. HPU Professor Ken Schoolland is a member of the Board of Directors for the Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation, the Board of Scholars for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, the Board of Directors for the International Society for Individual Liberty, and a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.