The workers' loan is any-purpose, meaning that young people can decide how to spend it, emphasized Szabolcs Pasztor, research director at the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation, on The Hour of Truth (Az Igazsag oraja), a joint program by the Center for Fundamental Rights and Hir FM.
I think it's a very good scheme. It can boost the labor market and attract people who were previously not part of it,
he argued.
Raising the threshold for VAT-exemption for businesses from 12 million forints to 18 million forints was described as a specific step in making an economic flying start Tamas Zoltan Cseh, energy policy advisor at the Center for Fundamental Rights. He emphasized that this decision benefits and strengthens small and medium-sized enterprises, which form the backbone of the Hungarian economy. It strengthens the middle class, and tax policy is one of the best tools for achieving this, he said.
"We tend to forget to emphasize certain things when it comes to raising the minimum wage or guaranteed wage minimum," noted Szabolcs Pasztor. One example is that benefits tied to these wages also increase—such as maternity benefits. Another point is that raising the minimum wage affects the entire pay scale. The bottom income decile is directly affected, but it also influences wage negotiations for other salary categories, explained the research director of the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation.
The show also covered the opposition’s intent to abolish not only the 13th month pension but also the utility cost reduction scheme. Tamas Zoltan Cseh stated that he does not understand the arguments that say that the utility cost reduction scheme is unsustainable. "The scheme has been in place for more than ten years, to the great satisfaction of the Hungarian population. It is a proven and viable system ensuring the lowest energy prices in the European Union," emphasized the energy policy advisor of the Center for Fundamental Rights.
You can watch or listen to The Hour of Truth in Hungarian here:
Cover photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: Hungarian PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)
