Paul Gelencser wrote:

'....realising the real risks introduced by foreigners is only wise.. ...
I think the economy would do better with a small amount of foreign
investment, and the freedom of the people to make their lives better
through their own initiative......hi-tech would not allow this since it
would require too great of a start-up investment from the small
company.'


Your approach to the economy might have worked in the last
century, unfortunately it does't work today....

It'd be really cute to see small manufacturing operations
popping up everywhere in Hungary, the trouble is that today
you'll have a hard time to find a product which can be manufactured
cheaper in Hungary than importing it from China, Korea..etc. Of course,
Hungary could build a protectionist economy ... the communists already
did that.

Foreign capital is badly needed to utilize the relatively well-educated
Hungarian work-force; foreign capital will create better paid high-tech
and service sector jobs. It is proven that high-tech and service
is the fastest way to local capital formation...

-- Hello:

My name is John Hellermann and I am a grad student in Applied English
Linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am researching the
spread of English in Hungary and the effect the spread of English language
teaching and use is having on the attitudes of Hungarians towards English
and on the policy of the Hungarian government towards language policy in
Hungary.

Unfortunately, very little has been published in this area. I have written
up a short questionairre which asks native Hungarians their experiences
learning English and their opinions regarding the increased use of the
English language in the country.

If you could possibly help me out by filling out the questionairre, please
send a message to me at the address below and I will send a questionairre
back to you. Your help would be most appreciated by me and others
interested in howthe spread of the English language is/will affect the
country of Hungary.


(I taught English in Budapest (Dozsa Gyo:rgy Gimna'zium) from 1990-93 and
look forward to returning to Budapest for the summer)


John K. Hellermann
Grad Student in Applied English Linguistics
University of Wisconsin-Madison

I suppose this was posted in the HUNGARY list to balance the undue amount
of traffic on US domestic politics earlier with some gringo-lackey bashing.
Not that the charter of HUNGARY would make either type appropriate here,
but such minor matters do not bother some people.

If only the Hungarian villages in Eastern Slavonia had been attacked by
an ally of the US in 1991, perhaps the sensitive people protesting over
events in Chiapas now might have raised their voice over the cleansing out
of the Hungarian villagers and the subsequent genocide in x-Yugoslavia.

George Antony

I believe that more foreign investment can only be a
good idea for Hungary.  Hungary has alot of advantages over
a more developed country.  I also think that most investers
think in global terms rather than in national terms.  With the
rise of technology, national borders are going to become less
important to everybody.  A country cannot live in a fish bowl
anymore.  Things are changing.  And I don't see this change as
having an adverse affect upon Hungary.

        While it is true that certain high tech industries have
an extreme startup cost as compared with more developed
nations, it is also true that the cost of living in Hungary is
considerably less than in a country such as the United States.
This can be very attractive to foreign investers.  Let us take
the example of software development.

        I may get disagreement on this, but the highest cost in
software development tends to be the cost of the personnel who
develop the software.  The trend is towards PC's and PC
software.  Essentially a programmer and his PC.  While Hungary
may not be able to compete in manufacturing the PC's, Hungary
can definitely compete in software development.  This is just
one example.

        I think that instead of Hungary concentrating and
concerning themselves with industries which have these high
startup costs, they should instead concentrate on those areas
which serve the needs of high technology -- the thinking side
of technology as opposed to the producing side.  I see a trend
where the thinking part of manufacturing an item is becoming
more and more divorced from actually making the item.  The
technology exists now which would allow a part to be designed
in a country such as Hungary with the manufacturing of that
part to take place in another country such as Mexico.  I think
Hungary would do well to make itself the country where those
designers reside.  The rise of technology will only make this
more and more true.  On top of that, the cost of technology is
falling very fast.  Where the thinkers are, there also will be
where the power is.