Last week Friday, economist Ákos Péter Bod gave a lecture at the 1st Economic Kecsup-Evening in Hotel Három Gúnar, which attracted huge interest - we even had to bring in extra chairs for our guests. The former president of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank gave a lecture on our country's economy, and then invited the participants of the event to a discussion.

The presentation of Ákos Péter Bod was full of good mood despite the fact that, according to the expert, the country's economic situation does not give cause for unclouded cheerfulness. The evening began with a discussion of the importance of GDP - in which Hungary was officially overtaken by Romania - which, although important, the economist emphasized that the real wage, consumption, standard of living and health are much more relevant than this figure. He added that the Hungarian growth trend is below the regional average: from the European Union, only Croatia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Greece and Bulgaria are behind us. As far as the data is concerned, Hungary is only a speck of dust in the EU machine - we account for only 1.1 percent of the organization's GDP.

ÁKOS PÉTER BOD ALSO TALKED ABOUT HOW THE HUNGARIAN ECONOMY IS MORE INFLATIONARY THAN THE UNION AVERAGE, MORE ENERGY DEMANDING AND MORE DEPENDENT ON IMPORTS, THEREFORE THE HUGE INVESTMENT IN BATTERY FACTORIES, FOR EXAMPLE, IS incomprehensible TO HIM.

In addition to these, we are also weak in consumer consumption and in the credit ratings of state finances - the economist believes that they always play political games with the Hungarian budget, even though it is the country's money.

After the performance, he invited the audience to a discussion and question-and-answer session, where he tried to give everyone a concrete answer. Many people were curious about the future of the country, most of them were looking for hope, to which the former president of the MNB responded: "you can always hope". In his opinion, economic development requires decisive changes in the country, and Márton Nagy, Hungary's Minister of National Economy, makes false and unfulfillable promises.

Thank you to everyone who came, see you at the next Kecsup-Evening!

Would you like to think together about public, social, economic and other topics? Do you like to have a say in what affects you? Would you like to share your opinion? Would you listen to others? Then come to kecsup.hu's second debate theater evening, where we will clash arguments and counter-arguments on topics of current, public interest, that have not been discussed!

What is debate theater?

The discussion theater is an interactive theater board game. Its aim is to create an opportunity for the participants to discuss the most serious social issues with each other and with the invited experts in a cultured and moderated manner.

How is it going, what are you preparing for?

So, you will see a short theater scene based on the given themes. The participants can discuss the important social issues raised by the theater scenes (e.g. human rights, migration, addiction, otherness, sexuality, education, etc.) in the framework of a debate provoked by the moderator(s) - mostly with questions to be decided. In other words, we will make one statement to be decided in relation to the topics (you can read them below), and you should start by deciding whether it is yes or you take a position on the no side. After that, the debate led by the moderator starts, where everyone (with voluntary application) can express their point of view, argue and try to convince the "other camp". You can change your position at any time during the debate and join the opposing team.

Watch the video of our first debate theater evening!

Let's see what the current topics will be!

School fight

In the Lánchíd utca Elementary School in Kecskemét, the case that also made national press was that two upper-class female students first verbally and then physically insulted a third. What can be the solution to such situations?

Statement: Preventing school violence is the responsibility of the educational institution.

Kecskemét is developing rapidly

Between 2014 and 2021, Kecskemét developed the third fastest among the county seats in Hungary, according to the Settlement Index study of the Equilibrium Institute. Do the locals think so too?

Statement: The development of the city can be felt at the population level.

Foreign workers in Kecskemét

The employment of workers from third countries – Philippines, India, Vietnam, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan – in Hungary has been a central topic for a long time and will continue to be for a long time. How many workers from Asia are there in the city, why do companies employ them, and how true is the often-voiced claim that they work cheaper and thus take away the job opportunities of the people living here?

Claim: The Hungarian economy needs Asian guest workers.

We look forward to seeing you all on March 22, at Bistro Mokambo in Kecskemét (6000 Kecskemét, Bocskai utca 5.) Entry is free, opinions are free, discussion is mandatory!