Politics and economy

Along on our program is a gal, Annie D, who grew up in Budapest and then left at somepoint and now lives in Canada. So, this is quite the experience for her, and lucky for us, as we are getting her impressions of the changes from the time she grew up to the present. She has been back before, but I don't think for this length of time, and usually just to visit family. Through her, we are having a number of conversations about the politics of the country and of the economy.

One thing I have noticed, is that the change from communism to democracy is referred to as "the changes". Szoltz, our municipal liaison, also refers to it this way. Hmm, I wonder what he would think if I told him what "the change" meant to all these women in this group!

There have been recent changes. First, the schools in this area have consolidated. Some have closed and many teachers were laid off. Teacher's salary is very low and now they have larger classes and longer schedules. However, what I see are classes of around 20-25 (at the most) and school goes from 8am - 2pm. The teacher I am with does not get a prep period, as she is taking a university English class and must work extra hours daily in order to have Friday off for the class. We see conflict between the students from the different schools. Also, all education used to be free, and just recently (twenty years after the changes), tuition is being charged for university, although from what I gather, it is still quite low.

Secondaly, the hospital is now charging what I understand is a nominal fee. Again, this has just changed. Doctors are not well paid either, and they are leaving for Germany, Switzerland, Australia and the US.

Both the schools and the hospital are operated by the municipality. Szolts has told us that the hospital will change again soon to either be free or reduce the cost due to the anger of the people for having to pay.

On the other hand, dental tourism is on the rise! When we arrived here, there was a woman from Ireland who had come to have dental work done! Last night we had a law and economics professor come to dinner with us. She talked about how this is a growing area in Hungary as they have joined the EU.

They are not saying when they will switch to the Euro, as the economy must meet certain criteria before they can switch. I don't know what all the criteria are, or the difference from what it needs to be, however this is not going well, and they really don't expect to switch by January 2009, as I have read in many places.

The professor said their unemployment is around 10%. They pay unemployment insurance, have government employment service, and have child labor laws that require one to be 16 years old before working. (Anne B. asked if there is much of a black market for younger workers, and was told there is not.) From 16-19 years old, there are some restrictions on power equipment, driving, etc., however, not on the number of hours a youth can work in a day or in a week, etc. They are required to be given more holidays though. (Yes, I asked all of this as she teaches labor law.)

Apparently, due to the low wages and high living expenses, many young people put off getting married, or starting a family, as they can not afford to establish their own place. (Again, a bit of resentment, as housing was free before the change.) However, I see teenagers with all the latest in clothing: baggy jeans, t-shirts with American brand names or sayings, baseball caps and stylish jackets for the boys, while the girls are wearing jeans (very tight) and the latest styles in tops. (I've also noticed the 6th grade girls are already wearing high heals and hose!)

In the morning on the way to school, I think we see more people on bicycles than we see cars going by. However, most of the cars that we do see are new. I have seen a couple of really old box style cars that remind me of the old Volvo stationwagons, but I doubt that is what they are. (I will try to get pictures.)

At the restaraunts, we are not the only people taking our evening meal, so many people have the means to eat out. Anne D. explained that her brother and his wife who live in Budapest, both have good jobs, and they do not cook. They eat out every evening. So, I think the range of "weatlth" really varies.

On the politics side, Anne D., Milt and one of our other interpreters have argued that they were not communist, rather socialist prior to "the changes". I find this interesting, especially after reading James Michener's book, "The Bridge at Andou" which talks of the Russian communist regime prior to 1957 and the revolt of 1957. Now maybe they became more socialist after that, but they were definately communist prior. So, I have some more reading to do to understand this.

(For some reason, the spell check is not working on this, so please forgive my mis-spellings!)