The report points out that even though purchasing power of Estonians has slightly improved over the past years, it's still below the stats of pre-crisis, making 69 per cent of the  EU27 average. The rise in prices, however, has been by far faster,  having increased 7 percent since 2007 compared with the European average. Even though the salaries are now at a historical high point, reaching a gross average of 887 euros in 2012, the rise in prices (and mostly in electricity and heating where rise has been 11,4 per cent) has completely eaten up the 7 per cent increase in salaries over the past 5 years. Not to mention that most people you encounter are amazed by the average monthly salary being nearly 900 euros, saying they can only dream of an income like that – in reality most people earn roughly around 500 euros per month. The minimum wage in Estonia is currently 320 euros per month.
 
Refusing to burrow money or dip into the country's reserves, the Estonian government has forced the people of Estonia to pay up for the crisis – by freezing pensions, lowering state salaries by about 10 percent, and raising VAT by 2 per cent. Increased unemployment over the years of the crisis and cuts in salaries and social support, in addition to rise in prices, has pushed lots of Estonian families to despair. Not being able to make ends meet has led to people massively leaving the country in search of better opportunities to work and study elsewhere. By the beginning of 2013 nearly 83,000 Estonian citizens were living (and paying their taxes) abroad. For a country with such a small population this number is huge, and definitely alarming. Specialists and people with higher education leave Estonia to work as janitors and construction workers in Finland, parents encourage their children who have just graduated from high school to move abroad before even trying to start a career or a family here, to leave before they form any ties that would trap them here – hoping they would have a better shot at securing their future this way, because most parents today aren't capable of supporting their grownup kids financially. When talking to young Estonians you'll realize that many of them don't plan to bind their future with their home country.
 
The current situation is especially difficult for students. From this September the university reform has come into force, making the higher education free of tuition fees for the students who study full-time. But this reform's financial aid's side is very problematic. To study full-time means one has to complete at least 30 credits per semester, and to be able to complete the curriculum in that extent means the students don't have the option to work to cover for their rent and basic needs. So far there were state-provided scolarships that motivated the students to put effort in their studies and that money helped them cover their expenses. The refom, however, has cancelled these scolarships, substituting them with so-called need-based aid. As students younger than 26 are automatically considered a part of their parents' household and the parents' incomes are taken into account when calculating the “need” for support, most young people in actual need are being denied the aid. If the student has worked the previous year this income is also being taken into account in the calculations, so if you've had to quit your job in order to be able to study and your parents earn enough to support their household but not enough to support you, you're – quite frankly – screwed.
 
Even though virtually the whole population is suffering due to the neoliberalist Reform Party-led government's austerity-worshipping fiscal policy, the Estonian people fall roughly in two opposing groups when it comes to stating their opinion about it. There are those who are very critical about how the government is treating the people. Andrus Ansip, the Estonian Prime Minister, announced lately in an arrogant manner that the current child benefit – for the first and second child – of 19 euros per month is not too little. The amount has been the same since 2004, having lost about half of its purchasing power over time and been mostly just a symbolic value rather than offering any considerable support to families. Ansip's only reasoning to such an announcement was that in some countries the child benefit is even less than in Estonia. Of course the announcement recieved lots of disapproval, both from prominent public figures and the people. However, if Estonians are not content with something, they hardly ever show their disapproval in any other way than slipping a few curse words at the dinner table and writing furious anonymous internet comments.
 
And then there's the opposing side. That group of people is a curious phenomenon. Their stoic denial, groundless pride and  ability to overlook everything is quite amazing. I'm not talking about the politicians who've got their hands in the cookie jar here, I'm talking about regular people whose families are suffering due to the crisis and austerity just like everyone else. They're quick to excuse and justify every cut and lay-off, their blind patriotism has led them into sort of a defense-state, rejecting any critisizm, however justified, on the government's moves. This phenomenon seems to stem from the “legacy” of the series of occupations in the Estonian history. Regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 is something so dear and remarkable for most Estonians that for some of them this also translates into giving the govenment of independent Estonia a sort of untouchable nature – the government's decisions aren't to be questioned, which has led to a big part of the population alienating themselves from the politics completely, having this kind of “They know what's best for us, let them do their jobs” mentality and not acknowledging their right and possibilities to be involved in making the decisions about their own lives and well-being.
 
Ever since the last year there's been a bit of a shift in people's minds though. All the biggest parties – Reform Party and Pro Patria and Res Publica Union from the government coalition and Center Party from the oppostion – have been scandal-ridden and this has caused more people to take interest in the political processes. In November 2012 a protest against deceitful politics was organized and some 1.500 people took part in that, which is a remarkable number for Estonia. The same kind of protests also took place in other cities. In Tartu, the second biggest city of Estonia, a community named Vabakund grew out of that protest movement, and ran for office in the local elections this autumn, opposing the political parties and advocating for a more human-centred cooperation culture to city council and city administration. Though a new and unexperienced force in the political field their transparent programme granted them 3 out of 49 seats in the city council which is a notable accomplishment and a step forward for a viable civic society and encouraging citizen activism in the Estonian society.