Why Hungary's Ballooning Deficit is Bad News for Orban 

CORRECTIONS: At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="150">2:30</a>, we used the Bulgarian flag instead of the Hungarian flag. At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="192">3:12</a>, the map showing which EU countries have exceeded the deficit isn't quite right: Bulgaria and Romania should be switched At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="200">3:20</a>, the labels showing the deficit of each Visegrad country are incorrectly applied These are sloppy errors, and we can only apologise (we've also edited the vid to remove the Visegrad bit) - we hope you nonetheless enjoyed the video. PS to regular viewers, we're aware that our error rate has ticked up a bit over the past few weeks, which is obviously disappointing given (we feel) we made pretty good progress reducing errors over the previous six months or so. We think this is down to a combination of magazine deadlines, moving office and summer holidays, which has made everything a bit chaotic, but hopefully this effect will be only temporary. This is of course an explanation, not an excuse, and we'll still try to make sure all future videos are error-free - thanks for your patience/understanding.

Corruption is a very expensive national project indeed.

2023 in Hungary: - In January, bread inflation was almost 82%, food inflation was over 48%, general inflation was 26.2%, three times the EU average! - In the first quarter, real wages fell the most in Hungary with a 15.6%, which is 4 times of OECD average - In July our money lost 36% of its value in 2 years due to inflation !!! - In January, Lőrinc Mészáros, Orban's main strawman increased the monthly tolls by 72% after he bought the 35-year motorway concession - Lőrinc Mészáros bought a yacht for 27 billion forints, which is almost 11,000 years of average Hungarian pension. Mészáros's wealth increased by 50%, 330 billion forints in a single year - The Matolcsy, the head of central bank (MNB), bought an apartment in New York for 14 billion forints, which is equivalent to 5608 years of average Hungarian pensions. Meanwhile, the MNB has accumulated losses of HUF 2400 billion - The Orbán family's visible! wealth reaches HUF 100 billion, Orbán's father built a mansion in Hatvanpuszta for 10 billion forints - The cows on János Lázár minister's stud farm got waterbeds for HUF 3 billion from the state! - In 2023, Romania overtook Hungary in GDP per capita, - In 2023, Bulgaria overtook Hungary in per capita consumption, making Hungary the poorest member of EU. - Hungary has the 2nd lowest average wage and minimum wage in the EU ! - The Dear Leader has finally found the magic weapon against inflation: he just had to fire the leading statisticians of the Hungarian Statistical Office, put them under the Rogán-led propaganda ministry and the single-digit inflation was achieved...! In 2023, the consumer price index was still 17.6% and food inflation 25.9%. - In 2023, growth (-0.9%) was the 3rd worst in the EU - 700 billion forints spent by the government to buy the Vodafone Hungary and give it away to Orban's stooge (equivalent to about 280,000 years of average Hungarian pensions) - 2021 foreign human traffickers were released from Hungarian prisons in 2023 (official explaination: keeping them in prison is too expensive) - There are already 100,000 Asian migrant workers in Hungary, who are undercutting the wages of Hungarian workers, with their numbers increasing by about 1,000 a month - 40% of the Hungarian population run out of money by the end of the month, with no savings - The Hungarian birth rate has fallen to an all-time low - OTP survey shows that 94 out of 100 young people do not want to work in Hungary ! - 125,000 Hungarians already work in Austria - Half a million Hungarians have disappeared in 10 years, the country's population is below 9.6 million, at 1953 levels and falling - In 2023 the budget deficit was 4593 billion forints , about 6.5 percent of GDP, more than double the 3 percent accepted by the EU, the Hungarian state paid the largest interest burden after the national debt in the EU to GDP (4.3%), the interest expenses amounted to HUF 3,500 billion, which is equivalent to 1.26 million years of Hungarian average pension, meanwile GDP growth rate was -0.9%. - In december, a new law was launched to silence critical media outlets and civil organizations! Just for those who look at Orban as a role model, you should know what to expect...

It's interesting to discuss Hungary's role as a significant beneficiary of EU funds over the years. The EU allocates funds to member states to support various development projects, infrastructure improvements, and economic growth initiatives. However, there have been concerns and criticisms regarding how these funds are utilized, particularly under the leadership of Viktor Orbán.

For a country so dependent on EU subsidy, Orban loves to talk about foreign money (amazing how quickly he went quiet when that money was withheld). The EU needs to stop putting up with his s**t

But Hungary is top beneficiary of EU fund for decades!. It sucked EU money like Dracula😂🕳. Where Orban used that money ? In his pocket?

Having a Mafia Boss as your head of government and not hanging them immediately is bad for the economy. Shocker.

In the Czech Republic, we already have more emigrants from Hungary than from any of the following countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia. This is remarkable if you take into account the huge language barrier between Czechs and Hungarians (as opposed to Slavic nations). And also because, historically, Hungarians never tended to settle anywhere in Czechia.

You can't talk about Hungary's economy and not talk about the widespread corruption by Orban and his circle of crooks

almost like Orban is a grifter who is taking the Magyars for a ride.

Hungarian “Income Tax” is around 50% from the employers point of view (33% from employees POV), then the VAT is 28%, the highest in the world.

idk how tldr wants to be taken as a lowkey yet professional channel when they're so consistently sloppy with their graphics

at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="150">2:30</a> you used the Bulgarian flag

Conservatives and pandering to old people, name a more common trend

On the topic of tax, would be interesting to understand why China delivers everything through Hungary, tax free somehow, usually undercutting Amazon prices, especially with free shipping

It is more of a cultural and political crisis than an economic one. As a Hungarian, I watched as the people were hit by the global financial crisis in 2008 and the country almost went bankrupt in a matter of months. In 2010 the Orbán regime came in and was so empowered that it completely entrenched its power. It has now almost completely abolished the rule of law, created a one-party system in Hungary, and abolished full parliamentary democracy. Today, laws are made by decree without any meaningful debate, the Hungarian government is not in an executive role but rules the entire state and there is no one to stop them. Corruption is intolerable, nothing in Hungary today has political or criminal consequences. Viktor Orbán and his family and best friend have become the richest people in the country. They control the construction industry, banks, hospitality, tourism, and all the major strategic sectors. They have recently bought Vodafone and Budapest Airport, they are gobbling up retail chains and servicing their interests with cheap credit. Despite the global economic crisis, in 2010 Hungary had a good chance of becoming the leading economy in Eastern Europe; today, our goal is not how to keep up with the Czech Republic or Poland, but how to avoid a total collapse. Orbán's chaos is unbearable, his foreign policy is unacceptable, and his populist policies, with total media control, are leading to more and more election victories for him. Most Hungarians do not hold political leaders responsible for the current situation, they believe that the EU and other external factors are to blame. Stay far away from this country.

You also forgot to mention how the Hungarian population is considered the poorest in the EU and families have almost no money to spend, thus boost the economy. The prices of commodities have reached the level of that in thee Western EU, but the average salary is around 1/4 or less than of the same countries. The "high salary" level, that the FIDESZ is often referring to is coming from a simple thing. They are talking about the average salary / citizen. However if we look at the median salary, it is clearly seen that a few multi millionaire salary pumps up the average salary with almost 1/3 of the average. This means the majority of Hungarian Citizens are living in desperate conditions (just look at Borsod county). The consumption of Hungarian households was 68% of the EU average last year, slightly lower than a year earlier (68.3%), according to Eurostat data. Since Bulgaria's index increased significantly (67.9%), it was only a tenth of a percentage point that Hungary did not sink to the last place in the EU.

>hungary runs the highest deficit among the visegrad four >shows slovakia and poland having a higher deficit

And now Ukraine has terminated the oil transfer from Russia

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="107">1:47</a> Correction: It's a low-tax place for corporations. Citizens suffer a 27% VAT combined with a 20% income tax, 7% health insurance "contribution" (meaning every working person pays for every medical bills, even if it's not their own) and a couple other taxes and fees. Roughly 40% of income never makes it to a worker and THEN there's a 27% VAT meaning most goods (those that aren't on the "special list" of lower VAT things) is 27% more expensive than MSRP would suggest (and that is before any import fees and so on)

So many issues with the maps and diagrams. Confusing Hungary with Slovakia and Bulgaria, even having wrong data in some countries' cases.

Ain't it a bit hypocritical that we always get an ad about the importance of data analytics, but the graph at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="197">3:17</a> either has wrong data or the commentary is wrong. Or maybe that's the whole point of the ad... xd

One more addition, which unfortunately is a factor, but foreigners can hardly know it. Viktor Orban rules Hungary with full power. He uses the tax revenues as he pleases, without anyone to hold him to account. The money is flowing dramatically to Orban, his relatives, friends, oligarchs and vassals who are committing themselves. We are talking billions. This process has become even more drastic since EU funds have been withheld by the EU. The oligarchs use this money to buy companies in all important economic areas.

You would never think it was in a bad place after visiting Budapest

at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="198">3:18</a> you mean that hungary got a -6,7 % and not Slovakia.

I guess silencing your opponents comes in expensive

Here come the Orban worshippers 😂

Wrong flag around <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="150">2:30</a>

If it was going to economic development, it might be justifiable, the thing is it´s all going to Orban´s mates or stupid pet projects. It´s laughable how anyone thinks Orban´s Hungary is any kind of model.

And for some reason, Orbán thinks that it is a good idea to buy oil from a pipe that literally crosses the frontline of an active warzone. What could ever go wrong, right?

And this is the guy the US right wing loves. I can see my future under Trump's 2nd term being bleak.

Orban is deeply afraid of becoming unpopular, his hold on power may be more fragile than we tend to think.

How is it that Orban & Hungary have such a huge influence over the EU when they are comparable in GDP & population and geographical size to Michigan?

The fact that Orban went against the grain by cozying up to Putin really has crippled the Hungarian economy. It is just deteriorating.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="400">6:40</a> Yes, a huge part of the spending is state bonds for Hungarian citizens which have a decent interest rate. It is a balancing act and Orbán managed to stay on top of it for a long time.

Bearing its long-term national and economic policy strategy objectives closely in mind, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) has raised Hungary’s gold reserves from 31.5 tons to 94.5 tons. Following the decision, the MNB continued the process it started by increasing gold reserves by a factor of ten in 2018. As a result, based on the size of gold reserves, Hungary moved up from the middle of the international list to the top third by March 2021.

You need more quality control. It's been pretty consistent with the errors. Sit back, reflect and start with less frequent but more accurate uploads and work from there

The EU still owes Hungary a whole bunch of money. You haven't said a word about that. Why is the money being withheld?

so thats why urban is so popuilar. lol. wasting tax money

The level of corruption in Hungary is suffocating. The corruption goes from top to bottom. A driving instructor will fail his student untill his parents pay extra. This kind of small stuff. Then it goes up to the local legal system. Lawyers work without invoice, i.e. black money they can distribute in the system (judges, police, prosecutor). People shut up instead of revealing these things. I live in Hungary but I don't understand, why people do not report corruption cases.

You missed an important part. Hungary debt in a big ratio is in state bonds owned by the locals. And those interest went aroun 20% during the last year inflation. I also bought, it was a good business but a huge burden for the government spending.

That's why Norway is outside the EU. EU's finances is not an standard EU should be proud of.

What I'd love to know is what they spent the money on during covid, because I sure as hell didn't see any stimulus checks like in the US. The only thing maybe is Árstop from stopping certain foods in super markets to increase above a price. And maybe some cap on utility bills after the evergycrisis, but only if eligible. But these weren't in 2020... Maybe build less stadiums and fund public services more. Including healthcare after all, thats a big part of taxes now isn't it.

Haven't Ukraine just cut off the cheap oil from Russia too?

Orban needs to go, right into a prison cell.

Kudos to Zac Michaelis. A very well written analysis on Hungary. I know because I'm Hungarian from Romania.

Ah the myth of conservative fiscal resposability.

Well, maybe he must end the flat tax (15%) on personnal income tax.

There is a mistake in income tax in Czechia. The maximum income tax here is 23%, which applies after your income is over 48 times the average salary.

Yeah the problem is orban

Can I just point out for any TLDR staff reading this, the income tax comparison isn’t really all that accurate. I’m Irish and the higher rate of tax is 40% but we also have 2 other taxes tied to income so in reality it’s near 52%

As a stundet living in Hungary since 2022 ( worst time for Hungary), I can see the only thing is hurting Hungary more than its politics is forint. There are so many regulations for switching to euro, but Hungary needs to do all very quick bc keeping forint is hurting itself and inflation will continue in the future if they do not find any long term solution. I love Hungary, it is very interesting live here, but living conditions are getting tough for everyone even Hungarians themself bc of stupid fiscal and monetary policy

Dr. Viktor Orban is a hero! He just.. doesn’t have any idea how can manage a country. He is a small monkey with big dreams

i love EU logic "you're running out of money, we're going to fine you for more money you don't have" flawless, i see no problems with this system at all.

I worry about the state of British economy, especialy since it claims to be 6th largest economy, but anyone who visited UK, only did get to see a developing country

If you include the private money of Orban and his oligarchs then you are already in plus!

Orban will just kick the can down to road as long as he is in office. I feel bad for whoever replaces him, because he/she will have to deal with the mess that Orban created.

Corruption is insane in hungary. I am a hungarian and its brutal.

You overestimate the new Tisza party and its leader Péter Magyar. Although Orbán must deal with the problem it still looks very unlikely that Magyar can make a real problem by '26 when next elections come. All the votes of that party was just a protest vote, which is far from stable and this is an unorganized party by now. 2 years is not too much. So in theory Orbán has the opportunity to fix the budget, but I'd be surprised if he would do so. Without the EU moneys, he cannot really feed his minions...

not sure if the deficit map is correct , romania has been running at well above 3% deficit for a very long time , and on your map it shows as if it is under the 3% ... which i don't even remember the last time it was under the 3% margin ... same goes for germany , i think germany has been around the 4.9% deficit for some time now, while on your map you also show it to be under 3% which is not true

And just now Orban did take 1 billion EURO loan from china!!!!!!

Another "[insert country here] crisis explained" video. Yet no awareness at all of the TLDR News crisis. 😂😂😂

Hungary is simply missing like 13B EUR...+4 a loan they paying for but havent got a cent! Very Democratic! Is it?! Really?!

There’s a couple of other important points missed here. 1) Hungarian infrastructure costs are among the highest in the world. Post covid, Hungary built an incredibly expensive motorway, the most expensive railway bridge, and the most expensive stretch of high speed rail. Along with very expensive football and sport projects. All of these were built by companies owned by friends and family of Orban for higher than market rates. Hungary also pays the second most on energy of any country in Europe, mainly because of paying incredible fees to Putin for Russian gas. And, thirdly, businesses are failing, as people do not have the disposable income to spend, thanks to high income tax and low corporation tax. So the only way Hungary can continue to provide services to 60%+ of the population is through government support.

EU deficit target is for Euro countries, not for countries still having their own currency such as Hungary. And might have been worth mentioning that Hungary has the highest VAT with 27%

Wow, didn't know Hungary had an economy.

Jack, Hungarian debt has been increasing over many decades since the 1990s when Swiss and Italians aggressively pushed Hungarians to BORROW HEAVILY FOR MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE RENOVATIONS. We Americans visited first for a week in 1998 and then returned in 2009 to find a completely vast rebuilt metro area cleared of old 19th/20th Century buildings (Communist era) and an EMERALD CITY THAT WENT ON FOR MILES IN EVERY DIRECTION. I had read cautious remarks from Hungarians conservative concept of borrowing. Ofcourse there is also widely dislike of Orban government from EU/US income coming in making repayment in soft currency Hungarian Forints which must be repaid in strong EUROS/SWISS FRANCS. SO OPPOSITION TO GOVERNMENT HAS SHOT THEM IN THE FOOT. DOUBT THE RUSSIA WILL BE A SAVIOR!

Orban’s family became one of the richest in europe in 15 years. Circa 50% of the EU funds were stolen since the distribution of the funds is managed by Orban’s men. He has a “bio-wallet” called Lawrence Meszaros (a former plumber whose wealth grew faster than Zuckerberg’s) now they own a big chunk of the european hotel industry (they own hundreds of hotels in spain, croatia, austria etc etc), they own harbours in different countries, energy companies, transport companies, etc etc. This enormous wealth was finances by eu tax payers, but I blame the german government who allowed this just to ensure some german car factory’s cheap labour in Hungary (mercedes/audi/bmw). So he was allowed to act like a muggler in the heart of europe, stealing tax payer money as a policy and get away with it. If there is anyone to blame its the absolutely impotent eu leadership who let him use this money to build a pro russian autocracy (had 15 years in power to do that) and the reaction was nothing. Oh sorry, sorry he received some request to behave nicer lol. So thanks to the weak leadership and political deals the EU has a russian troll as its president for the next 6 months. Cheers!

Orban should be ditched

I've spent all my adult life living in Orbán's Hungary and it's been a wild ride, and we are far from it being over. Now I earn 30% more than I used to two and a half years ago, but thanks to the crazy inflation levels, it's worth basically the same. And I'm a lucky one, because many people earn the same wage as they used to. I work in construction, and our company works on some projects ordered by the government (we are a small, specialist company, not one of those big construction companies owned by friends and relatives of Fidesz members), however, lately most of these projects have been halted, which signs that we are only now heading into the really bad economy where even Orbán's regime feels like they have to stop spending.

If you want information about your friend, why listen to a stranger, instead of himself?

Eu has the debt problem, not Hungary

Orban himself is the worst news for Hungary. Economy will survive.

The taxes in the EU are digustingly high.

Coming from an outsider looking in, can Europeans explain to me why you put up with Hungary’s nonsense anyway 😂how difficult would it be to just kick them out of the EU

A small correction that energy prices did also spike up insanely about a year ago, in many cases to 5-6x what they were. Hungarian energy prices are heavily subsidised, and the system couldn't take the pressure from inflation and spike in oil and gas prices. Also didn't help that the govt re-negotiated the gas deal they had since decades ago with the Russians and the new contract turned out to be good for the Russian side. The problem is that the system they run seems completely immune to pressure. There were several protests going on for weeks, but they just ignore that, just like they mostly ignore the EU when they can.

This is amateurish reporting. So many mistakes.

Notice how all these autocratic and their lackies have terrible haircuts? Orban, Dump, Johnson, etc. Telltale sign of incompetence and corruption.

Just like his friend Putin is losing money lol

Lowest corporation tax yeah, people pay those missing taxes instead of corporations 27% VAT and 36% income+insurance taxes....😪😪

Well, only Poland has the support of the USA, EU and China as well as large reserves of gold and other currencies. Hungary only has Russia

It's baffling why Hungary seems to be running low on money. And after all the helpful fines and sanctions the EU has been giving us since 2015 too! Why does constant ostracization and mean spirited political meddling cause economic problems for a member nation in the EU? Someone should look into that...

Reading the title, I was left wondering what impact hot-air ballooning has on a nations' economy. 🤔

awesome, in Hungary we don't know anything about it

I love how everyone claims Orban is authoritative yet show 0 evidence for it. This video is once again completely bias, they forget how Hungarians are highly educational and many seek to work in the tech industry hence why Germany and china set up car manufacturing and battery manufacturing factories right beside each other and this provides a lot of Jobs for Hungarians. Also it puts Hungary as leading producer of car batteries etc. Hungary is also the only EU nation with common sense to seek peace between Russia and Ukraine unlike the EU members. Plus once again everyone here claims Orban is authoritative despite never providing any evidence to back up their lies.

Magyarország előre megy, nem hátra! (That's a joke only Hungarians will get)

Hungary and Rusdia is rocking. This channel running by Soros.

There deficit is minor . U.S is massive

Propaganda channel..

It’s just keeping pace with his waistline

And thats with all the EU Money Orban gets, what an economic genius.

Some aditional note: Tha maximum and avarage taxrate is the same 43%. IN hungary you can get tax reduction in a very few cases, but not based on you sallary, if you earn 500€ and 1500€ you still pai 43% The 13% levy is aplying to any kind of interest that you get. Howeveer it has a top what cannot exceed, but with well above avarage sallary you can't reach it simply from investing.

I despise Orban with every fibre of my being, and I do see much of his spending as frivolous (funneling money to foreign Hungarians, home renovations, etc.)... but even I have to admit that this isn't a crisis of Hungarian economic mismanagement but instead a prime example of how neoliberal capitalism is at odds with human prosperity. Even though Orban's policies are primarily motivated by his rabid bigotry and ethnic nationalism, it's still incredibly telling that his spending meant to ease economic strain felt by families and pensioners is viewed as being fundamentally at odds with the EU's economic framework. By no means am I trying to paint Orban as a victim of 'woke Brussels bureaucrats' or whatever boogeyman he's using these days. Altruism and compassion are the last things on Orban's rotten mind, and many of his welfare schemes are meant to exclude and eventually economically disenfranchise various minority groups within Hungary. However, since TLDR and most of us who tune in regularly are all acutely aware of the many economic hurdles facing young people all over the world, I think it's important to point out how established economic powers such as the EU respond when countries implement policies meant to ease economic hardship (even if those policies aren't rooted in genuine compassion).

obviously videos are scripted, but this guy is literally reading a script, his voice is so monotonous, you cant listen for long

Orban looks well fed.....💰💰💰💰

Nem baj még mindig sok a birka 😂

Why to be surprised? Hungary has to be the fastest in spending the money before EU claims those back and does not pays out the promised value. How Hungary solves that issue?: pre-financing the projects. EU holds back pre-promised milliards based on ideological concerns such as gender issues, and "corruption" which has not been proved yet. Seems to be Hungary is not liberal enough for EP standards.

I'd love if you could complete a course on proper pronunciation.

It is very sad that Orban became the "little Putin" (although he's physically bigger than him 🙂), the heroes of 1956 are turning in their graves...

We get it you don’t like anyone who isn’t left-wing ,stop crying about it