The Budget – A Labyrinth of Question Marks

I have never envied those who had to prepare a budget, and even less those who were expected to stick to it.

Early in my career, I also worked on preparing budgets for construction projects. Although detailed plans were available, construction is inherently difficult to predict. When it comes to uncertainty, perhaps only agriculture faces even greater challenges.

Renovation projects were the most difficult to budget for. Clients generally regarded the agreed price as fixed, but we knew that unforeseen and unavoidable problems could arise at any time. These could have significant consequences in terms of both cost and time. Yet without addressing them, the entire project might become impossible to complete.

Although we do not normally deal with day-to-day political issues, this time we are making an exception to discuss the budget submitted to the Hungarian Parliament.

We have grown accustomed to the fact that, for years, Hungary’s national budget has failed to serve even as a reliable guideline. Previous parliamentary compositions regularly approved budgets that were vague, often detached from economic reality and designed more for political marketing than for sound financial planning.

The actual figures repeatedly differed significantly from the projections. The visible consequences were usually limited to reallocating budget items or simply entering a new figure in the spreadsheet.

We have yet to see anyone held meaningfully accountable for the professional preparation of what is arguably one of the country’s most important documents.

Looking back, previous budgets often resembled a leaky sack, from which our collectively contributed tax money disappeared through various channels invisible to the public.

Our society has paid a considerable price for poor budgetary policy. It has contributed to the accumulation of problems in essential public services and in the systems that determine our future: education, healthcare and many other areas.

The newly presented budget has already attracted both praise and criticism, but I feel that we have overlooked a few important considerations.

This budget is, in a sense, a renovation budget. In technical terms, we do not know exactly what foundations our building rests on, where the pipes and cables run, or how much of the plaster might collapse when we start opening up a section of the wall. The inspection may reveal unforeseen problems that generate additional costs. The money to cover them will have to come from somewhere, and we may end up creating another gap elsewhere.

Patience is therefore essential. Of course, we citizens are not particularly patient. We elected our representatives to solve problems. We, meanwhile, sit back and wait for a miracle.

Yet over the past two years, we have learned that social solidarity is possible. There are situations in which citizens are defined by what they do. They collect school supplies, put together Christmas gift packages for children, and the main concern is no longer political debate but getting the task done. At such moments, age and political views simply do not matter.

The focus is on the child or family in need. On the sick child who cannot get to a hospital fifty kilometres away. On the person who needs help now.

I find the budget presented acceptable because it attempts to show social sensitivity and seeks to partially correct the unacceptably low levels of family allowance and minimum pensions.

Could we name countless other areas that also need funding? Of course. But we must also understand that the Hungarian economy’s capacity to create value and its overall efficiency remain low. The revenue available for distribution is simply insufficient to provide everything that every sector needs.

That is why I would ask all critics to make their objections at least this specific:

“I disagree with the proposed increase in family allowance. Instead, I would prefer to organise a conference on budget planning on a luxury island.”

By: Viktor Szentkiralyi

English translation: Galatea – an LLM-based digital assistant.