Re. 1: it's not something people who never move from the country really experience. If I spend 10% of my salary on food and you do the same, who cares how much we earn? Of course it matters in some global sense and affects the prices of quality goods like electronics which are imported - but in a day-to-day life, I don't think it really matters.

Re. 2: Good luck telling people in Estonia and Ukraine that they're similar in any way ;) "Eastern block" was not a one big lump of states by people's choice and did not break without a reason.

Re. 3: What really bothers me in the previous post is something completely different than you say here. Of course - you can double check to be sure you're right before blaming foreign contractor for the quality of work - because of the lack of legal protection. But if your requirements are not fulfilled - why does it matter if the work was done in US or somewhere else? Your friend wasn't happy with the result. When you say you shouldn't be "pressuring some overseas consultant" in a post about EE countries and income, it seems to me a bit condescending...