Western Europe in Decline

Europe:

Unemployment 6.6%
GDP growth 2.7%
Inflation 8.6%

I think it's not so bad.

 

Does it make it any better or worse if he was left?

 

He represents Hungary, and they have a LONG way to go to catch up with Western Europe, but it seems they'd rather whine about the West and hope that will somehow fix their own issues.

 

As I said, I have not been to Europe, but my experiences include a retired Black Irishman who was a former member of the Irish Guards of her Majesty's Service. Interesting guy when we met in China, on a boat, going to see the sites.

You are generalizing again. Rapping has been used in Asian culture as well as in other people such as Vanilla Ice, for instance. For drug use, meth is the white man's drug and is very prominent in Suburbia, produced locally by other white people who live in suburbia. Athletes have done good and some have not. You have Tiger Woods whose only crime was infidelity, and his punishment, a dviorce. But he has done good. So have the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, who have won multiple grand slam titles in their careers. And finally, Simone Biles, whose performance in gymnastics in 2016 and 2021 Olympics inspire plenty of people, and the list goes on. And then you have Rae Carruth who was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder or AAron Hernandez who was accused of committing multiple homicides but committed suicide instead of facing justice.

the point is that there is good and bad in every group, usually more good than bad. But if you focus on the high profile, sensationalistic headlines about who did what to whom, then you get a warped sense of reality when dealing with groups.

I would suggest a psychologist to talk about these issues honestly. It appears that whatever experiences you have had, it has affected you mentally. And that needs correction.

 

Europeans' living standards have not gone down. at all. Western European countries have some of the highest cost of living standards of the world as a country, namely Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, and Sweeden. UK, Netherlands, and Belgium are close, followed by the rest of Western Europe. Compared to US medium income levels, their middle class is smaller than the US, but depending on the country, some western European countries, like Denmark, have higher take-home pay compared to the USA.

 

The wikipedia article makes Hungary sound OK.

Some excerpts:

Hungary is a middle power in international affairs, owing mostly to its cultural and economic influence.[26] It is a high-income economy with a very high human development index, where citizens enjoy universal health care and tuition-free secondary education.[27][28] Hungary has a long history of significant contributions to arts, music, literature, sports, science and technology.[29][30][31][32] It is a popular tourist destination in Europe, drawing 24.5 million international tourists in 2019.[33] It is a member of numerous international organisations, including the Council of Europe, NATO, United Nations, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, World Bank, International Investment Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the Visegrád Group.[34]

Hungary continues to be one of the leading nations for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in Central and Eastern Europe, the inward FDI in the country was $119.8 billion in 2015, while investing more than $50 billion abroad.[167] As of 2015, the key trading partners were Germany, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, France, Italy, Poland and Czech Republic.[168] Major industries include food processing, pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, information technology, chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical goods, and tourism (with 12.1 million international tourists in 2014).[169] Hungary is the largest electronics producer in Central and Eastern Europe. Electronics manufacturing and research are among the main drivers of innovation and economic growth in the country. In the past 20 years Hungary has also grown into a major centre for mobile technology, information security, and related hardware research.[170] The employment rate was 68.3% in 2017;[171] the employment structure shows the characteristics of post-industrial economies, 63.2% of employed workforce work in service sector, the industry contributed by 29.7%, while agriculture with 7.1%. Unemployment rate was 4.1% in 2017,[172] down from 11% during the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Hungary is part of the European single market which represents more than 508 million consumers. Several domestic commercial policies are determined by agreements among European Union members and by EU legislation.

Hungary's achievements in science and technology have been significant, and research and development efforts form an integral part of the country's economy. Hungary spent 1.61% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on civil research and development in 2020, which is the 25th highest ratio in the world.[181] Hungary ranks 32nd among the most innovative countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index, standing before Hong Kong, Iceland or Malta.[182] Hungary was ranked 34th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 33rd in 2019.[183][184][185][186][187] In 2014, Hungary counted 2,651 full-time equivalent researchers per million inhabitants, steadily increasing from 2,131 in 2010 and compares with 3,984 in the US or 4,380 in Germany.[188] Hungary's high technology industry has benefited from both the country's skilled workforce and the strong presence of foreign high-tech firms and research centres. Hungary also has one of the highest rates of filed patents, the sixth highest ratio of high-tech and medium high-tech output in the total industrial output, the 12th highest research FDI inflow, placed 14th in research talent in business enterprise and has the 17th best overall innovation efficiency ratio in the world.[189]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary#Economy

What exactly is your beef with Hungary aside from Hungary's reluctance to multiculture?

According to the World Happiness Report, the US and Germany are virtually tied.

https://worldhappiness.report/

 

Orban is right. He was well stated in his fine comments on culture and policies.

 

Compared to five years ago.

 

8.6% ... LOL. Is that the figure they're told?

 

CHANGE: Euro falls below parity with the dollar. What’s the impact? “A currency’s exchange rate can be a verdict on economic prospects, and Europe’s have been fading. Expectations that the economy would see a rebound after turning the corner from the COVID-19 pandemic have been replaced by recession predictions. More than anything, high energy prices and record inflation are to blame.”

'Green energy policies are wrecking their economy. Who could have seen it coming, besides anybody with half a brain?'



“German manufacturing lost access to cheap Russian energy & thus its competitive edge."