Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1992. január-június (46. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1992-03-19 / 12. szám
6. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZÓ Thursday, March 19. 1992. In a signal that the recession continues to grip the nation, a key index of consumer confi- dense dropped sharply in February to its lowest level since December, 1974. The news from the Conference Board, a New York-based economic business research organization, took the stock and bond markets by surprise and challenged the hopeful tone that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was presenting yesterday in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. The index, based on monthly surveys, fell nearly four points to 46.3 from January; many economists had been expecting it to rise about a half point. February's survey was conducted in the first three weeks of the month. "I find it quite disturbing"' Greenspan acknowledged during questioning about the news by committee Chairman Don Riegle (D-Mich.). But Greenspan asserted that "the basic level of the economic activity is, in historical terms, not as negative as the state of confidence." A JEWISH RENAISSANCE IN HUNGARY “THIS RICHLY ENDOWED NATION WILL MAKE IT BIG” By Robert Hunter, vice-president for regional programs and director of European studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. BUDAPEST. The world is trying to organize aid to the former Soviet Union. Given the stakes, this is a necessary effort. But it risks being done at the expense of a better bet: helping the states of Central and Eastern Europe make their entry into the modern world. Two years after the Berlin Wall opened and Communist regimes fell like tenpins, it is convenient to believe that their conversion to pluralistic politics and market economics is complete. Convenient but wrong. In fact, the hope is rapidly eroding. Few of the region's countries have any historical experience with democracy, and none has yet developed a political culture of compromise, accomodation and deferred expectations. The revolutions of 1989 took place in part because of the allure of freedom; equally important was the allure of prosperity, the magnetism of the European Community. But as the standard of living falls and unemployment rises, faith in the democratic method is taking a beating. Except for the eastern part of united Germany, Hungary is best placed to make the leap from state economy to a Western system. Ten years ago, Hungary exploited its position as a strategic backwater to begin experimenting with Western economics. Today, it has more management experience in the Western style then any of its neighbors, plus a reasonably well-trained work force that has one of the world's highest scientific aptitudes. And Hungary has no disaffected minority populations to dissipate its energies. Success is elusive, however. Like other states in the region, Hungary is critically dependent on foreign investment to convert an economy loaded with factories that can't compete. Last year one billion dollars did flow in, a transfusion still too slow and insufficient for the pace of political demands. Hungary's first crop of post-Commu- nist leaders is long on courage but short on experience. Legislation needed to provide a legal framework for local entrepreneurs and confidence for investors is only gradually emerging. The conservative government tends to neglect essentials in favor of debating the past. And rudimentary opinion polls show that a majority of Hungarians oppose new elections because they have no confidence that another exercise in democracy will make a difference. Reputedly, to be Hungarian is to talk as a pessimist and act as an optimist. At some point this richly endowed nation will make it, and make it big. At some point it will provide a major market for Western goods while contributing more than its share to the global economy. But helping Hungary and its neighbors to get from here to there while avoiding authoritarian politics needs to be put back on the U.S. agenda. Dr. OLAF FELDMANN, Chairman of the tourism committee of the German Bundestag: Hungary is a popular family holiday destination for the Germans. And of course we shall never forget the positive role they played in our reunification. BUDAPEST. Hungary's once prominent Jewish community is enjoying a rebirth in which thousands of Jews who had shunned their background are reclaiming their heritage. Two Jewish schools have opened in Budapest and are attracting students so quickly that they must turn away applicants for lack of classroom space. Jewish publications, cultural associations and youth groups are expanding and Budapest's 4.000-seat synagogue, the largest in Europe, is being renovated after generations of neglect. "There is a Jewish renaissance," said Jehoshua Landeszman, who last year became the city's chief rabbi. Landeszman, 47, is a leader in the effort to reinvigorate the Jewish community by replacing its old-era leaders. A few blocks away from his renovated office building in Klauzal Square, the heart of the old Jewish neighborhood, which features a new kosher restaurant called "Shalom", and a food shop decorated in the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag and named: "Made in Tel Aviv." Hungary's vigorous Jewish community, estimated at 80.000 people, is bucking the trend elsewhere in Eastern Europe, where the post-Holocaust and post-Com- munist Jewish communities are far smaller, weaker, quieter and more vulnerable to intimidation. But in Hungary, "the mood has changed", said László Korányi, president of the Hungarian chapter of B'nai B'rith. "More and more people are not afraid to say they are Jewish." "It was quite dangerous to send your child to the Jewish school before"- said George Lippner, principal of the burgeoning Lauder Javne Jewish community school, started two> years ago with funding from the Estee Lauder family. "You could not know what would happen. It was dangerous to say you were Jewish." The amount of Western investment in Eastern Europe since the fall of Communism has fallen short of what is considered necessary to rebuild industry. General Electric invested $200 million in Hungary's largest light bulb maker, Tungsram, whose Budapest manufacturing operation is shown above. [4! How would you rate the general xesent business conditions in your area: jood, normal or bad? [(■ Six months from now do you think hey will be better, the same or worse? [)l What would you say about available obs in your area right now: plentiful, not so many, or hard to get? Qü Six months from now do you think here will be more jobs, the same or :ewer jobs? Ql What would you guess your total family income to be six months from now: higher, the same, or lower? NOTE: Survey conducted Feb. 1-20,
