György Matolcsy urges (Head of the National Bank of Hungary) urges: the construction of a high-speed train to the airport, imposing sugar tax, state support of medical treatment for pregnant women etc. He also suggests a solution for nursery flu and the complete renewal of Budapest – just like for a change in the tendency of foreign language learning by 2030 as well.
According to 24.hu, a study of Matolcsy was published by novekedes.hu, in which the Hungarian National Bank’s head collects Hungary’s “shame spots” in ten points that should disappear by 2030.
You can read the 10 points of Matolcsy what’s supposed to be done by 2030, below:
- High-speed train and road to the downtown of Budapest
- Modern roads everywhere – without roads there is no way out of poverty
- State support of ovum donation for women who would like to have children
- Nursery flu is widespread in Hungary because of bad practices – children should be examined at the moment of entering the nursery/kindergarten, like in China, not at around noon like here
- The irrigation system does not function properly, because we irrigate only a tiny portion of the agricultural land – in time of drought we lose 0.5-1% of the GDP (30-40% of the harvest) just because we do not irrigate properly. Building 100 irrigation lakes are required along with canals
- We only use the thermal water of Budapest in a strictly limited way – we should max out our possibilities and offer more opportunities to our guests
- Let’s make a healthy way of life fashionable – we are one of the most obese nations, so sugar should be taxed.
- It is high time to start evaluating the results of certain state measures. It is time to measure the performance of teachers and doctors as well to see what we finance exactly from public funds – we should also make the results public on the internet. If we filter out 5% of the worst associates of these professions, we would have a 50% better result – it is compulsory in the digital world
- Let’s not accept that foreign language skills are both weak in younger and older generations as well – let’s turn the tendency entirely by 2030
- We cannot let the capital city stop in improvement! Let’s involve many civil renewal plans for Budapest with the financial support of the state and sources of the private sector
You can further read about the concepts of György Matolcsy concerning the Hungarian economy here and here.
This is a response to the 10 shameful things in Hungary.
1. High speed trains – fix the existing train system. More employees, better maintenance, better pay. Only in big cities does it seem that everyone is in a hurry.
2. Roads – roads are bad, but if you do not fix the cause, the damage will continue. Overweight trucks and excessive speed are a main cause of road damage. Obviously, freezing and thawing are contributors, but enforcement of weight restrictions and speed limits would either reduce the damage or increase the money for repairs through fines.
3. Ovum donations – eliminate abortions and make adoptions simpler and cheaper.
4. Nursery flu – I agree!
5. Irrigation – I agree again with one caveat – since the farmers will benefit, they should be invested in this endeavor and share a portion of the cost.
6. Thermal water in Budapest – Don’t care!
7. Tax on sugar to reduce obesity – while I agree that sugar is a problem, the root cause of obesity is usually poverty, because carbohydrates and sugars are so much cheaper than oils and proteins and it is all most people can afford. If you impose a tax on sugar, use the money as a subsidy to reduce the cost of meat and oils.
8. Doctors and teachers performance measures – since I am a member of each category, perhaps we should be evaluating the politicians that make the idiotic laws that restrict our abilities. In schools, it is nearly impossible to discipline because of the laws created by the politicians. Consequently, the bad kids are the ones hindering the learning of the good ones.
Doctors…what can I say…their pay is atrocious for what they have been through and the responsibility imposed on them.
9. Foreign language – not everyone can or wants to learn a foreign language. Why should they be forced? The students that can’t or won’t learn only drag down the learning of those that do want to learn. It also puts a tremendous burden on the teachers trying to accommodate everyone.
10. Budapest improvements with state support – let Budapest take care of Budapest! Let the rest of the country survive on what meager amounts they can earn.