May 18th, 2012

Quotable: György Matolcsy on where new ideas come from

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“New ideas come only in a relaxed state of mind and not through logical thinking: It doesn’t work if you’re stressed.”

Economy Minister György Matolcsy, in an essay published in conservative weekly Heti Válasz. In referring to his efforts to stimulate the Hungarian economy, Matolcsy wrote that "If we had chosen a path of [austerity], the bipolar [Hungarian] nation would have sunk into depression overnight: new ideas would not have come," and "It may not have seemed logical, it was definitely unconventional, but it was new and today we can say that it works." [hetivalasz.hu]
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  • Aloof

    In his case it’s out of his ass or whatever hits the floor first after he throws it up against a wall. This guy has never had a clue and wouldn’t know an idea if it punched him in the face. Fidesz if full of dumb people but this guy wears the crown. What a friggin’ moron.

  • procastinator

    yeah maybe thinking like that is one of the reasons the huf has dropped vs the euro by almost 1% in the last week nearly 10ft more per euro , good times :-)

  • goribo

    Hungarians suck ass.

    • Cicero

      Then get the FUCK out, and stay out. NOBODY will miss you, asshole – you can be sure of that! (Actually your dick should be cut off and stuffed in your piehole for making such a statement about Hungarians on a Hungarian web portal; but Hungarians are civilized people and won’t stoop to that level…)

      • Paul

        “Hungarians are civilized”…a lot yes…not all though.
        You for example do not sound civilzed at all.

        • Cicero

          And writing “Hungarians suck ass” on a Hungarian news website, insulting the entire country and ALL of its people without offering a single word of actual argument about any subject, is “civilized” according to you, huh? That’s not “civilized discussion”; that’s the behavior of a bigmouthed arrogant jerk who needs his ass kicked!

  • Democrat

    This Mr M is great. Just when you think he has made a complete idiot of himself he manages to go one step further. What is he smoking to give him such insight? We should make it compulsory in schools and then tax it.

  • Bowen

    Hey everybody, go easy on Matolcsy. Just try and imagine the weekly meetings he has with Orban.

    ORBAN: So, Matolcsy, how is the economy going these days. Are we a financial superpower yet? I hope you won’t disappoint me.
    MATOLCSY: Er…
    ORBAN: You do want to make sure your job and your family are comfortable for life, don’t you?
    MATOLCY: Of course, sir. Yes, the economy is doing extremely well. Everything is on course to make Hungary the new financial hub of Europe. All of Europe is watching us keenly to learn from our unique, inventive Hungarian minds!
    ORBAN: Excellent. You may go now Matolcsy. Bring me more good news next week!
    MATOLCSY: Of course, sir. Thank you, sir.

  • Leto

    The telephone tax and the financial transaction tax were good ideas. After studying the effects, the cutoff parameters will need tuning. And the costs of employing people need to be cut a lot more.

    • Vidra

      Any ideas that were both good and well implemented? No, I can’t see any either. Orbán should have come up with some in all the years he was in opposition, instead of just lurking there in parliament like the proverbial poo in the grass

  • GW

    Leto,

    A tax on speculative financial transactions — like the proposed Tobin tax — would probably be a very good thing, but it requires universal adoption or these transactions will simply go to countries without such taxes. On the other hand, there is no good argument for a tax on ordinary banking transactions — deposits, withdrawals, transfers — no matter how small; it unfairly burdens the least wealthy and contributes to making the cost of doing business in the country uncompetitive precisely in a time when it is urgent for Hungary to be made attractive for job creation.

    To make the costs of employing people less, then the reform has to go in the direction of individuals contributing more to their own health care and pensions rather than requiring this of their employers, which is exactly the opposite of the policies presently pursued by the government.

    How about a tax on EU-subsidies for agricultural land leased on a long-term basis from the state? How about increased “sin” taxes (gambling, prostitution, alcohol)?

    • Aloof

      @GW

      A lot of what you say here is right but what stops OV from his nationalization policies that would allow him raid private pensions, which he already has done and is investigating others?
      Look what Argentina just did from WSJ: Argentine President Cristina Kirchner said the move to take over the private pension system was aimed at protecting investors from losses resulting from global market turmoil. The rest of the funding needs could be obtained from a state-run bank or by dipping into currency reserves. Sound familiar? Wait until OV places limits on bank withdrawals.

      I like what José Piñera said, a former Chilean cabinet minister who pioneered the privatized pension system and has served as a consultant to many other countries that have implemented it, called the nationalization proposal “just another step in Argentina’s 100-year road to underdevelopment.”

    • Leto

      “it unfairly burdens the least wealthy ”

      :D

      Yeah, if you earn 100,000 HUF then you’ll be taxed 100 HUF on that. In comparison, when I got a new card a few weeks ago I was charged 200 HUF in order to change the default PIN number. A bus ticket in Budapest costs 320 HUF.

    • Bowen

      What’s your point Leto? Have you actually got one?

      Don’t forget all the amounts you’ll be taxed when you withdraw any money you have from your bank account, paying bills, transferring money, etc. etc.

      If you’re earning 100,000 in Hungary, it’ll vanish pretty soon on nothing much at all.

      • Leto

        I wouldn’t have thought you’re so dumb like this.

        Just for your sake, after 10 transactions on a 100,000 HUF salary: 100,000*(1-0.001)**10= 99005 HUF

  • Andy

    Communists love taxes too.

  • sheesh

    I am truly amazed how people in this forum still get a kick out of kicking themselves in the groin by trying to engage individuals like Leto in a meaningful conversation. You are true heroes, you are. :)

    • Leto

      I’m truly amazed your postcommie ilk still dwells under the frog two years after the elections. Maybe because you’re unable to calculate how much burden the transaction tax is for “the least wealthy” :)

  • wolfi

    That rabid bastard aka Orbán’s kutya is making fun now of the poor Hungarian people – 1000 HUF less and an inflation rate of 5.7 % …

    Yeah, very easy to survive on 100 000 HUF a month …

    PS: Many people I know here have less than 100 000 – how are you supposed to get by on this ?

    Of course no problem for the Fidesz Nomenklatura …

    • Leto

      @unwelcome foreign alcoholic idiot:

      “Many people I know here have less than 100 000 – how are you supposed to get by on this ?”

      Of course, no problem indeed. (Who is that “Nomenklatura”?) Just give them the money you’d pay for a single bottle of wine, that’ll compensate them. ;)

  • wolfi

    Just found a picture of our rabid kutya here – guess where:

    http://www.cracked.com/funny-1447-hungary/

    PS: Ask your party friends what Nomenklatura means – they should remember from the good old times …

  • Anonymous

    Guys, why waste your breath discussing with the pro-gov. people?
    Their minds are set and it seems they are living a good life under this gov. and under Mr.M “policies”
    They won’t care about the disadvantaged or their next generations as long as their pockets are full.

    • justasking

      ‘They won’t care about the disadvantaged or their next generations as long as their pockets are full’

      Gimme a break…the same thing happens when the other side is in power. D’oh!

      • just telling

        Then both sides are as bad as each other. Equally deserving of criticism.

        • justasking,

          @just telling,

          Never said they shouldn’t be.

  • Aloof

    That’s twice in the same thread you just made yourself look like a hypocrite. I’ve seen some of your comments over at realdeal.hu too. Sounds like you have maturity and/or anger issues or you’re just another young Jobbik whack job. I don’t know you tell me. If you want to be taken seriously then rise above people like Goribo not sink below their level man.

  • Cnut

    New taxes come only in a relaxed state of mind and not through logical thinking.

  • DoubleH63

    “Matolcsy wrote that “If we had chosen a path of [austerity], the bipolar [Hungarian] nation would have sunk into depression overnight”

    The nation sunk into deeper depression [if it’s possible; except of course for Simicska, Nyerges and alike], maybe not overnight but in two years, seeing your anti-austerity moves.[Bokros is in hiding now].
    After all the ‘Great Thinker’ Zsiga M. told the nation that it’s easy to live on 47000 Forints – maybe he meant in a day- that’s what he gets daily to be so fucking smart.

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