Internet tax

Funny title, isn’t it. The thing is that it is dead serious. As of the current standing of affairs in Hungary the newly elected government plans to impose a tax on every gigabyte of data people begin to download. The rate is set at 150 HUF (roughly £0.50) which might not seem a lot but one has to know that in Hungary even the minimum wage is taxed (well, pretty much everything is) and there is a vast layer of society who lives close to that level and now it seems that even the occasional joy of Papa Pear Saga will be somewhat restricted.

We who live in an economy where internet is pretty much unlimited don’t even think of how much data we are using but if you think of the fact that just by watching YouTube or Skypeing regularly might put the figure in the tens of gigabytes we quickly realize that in many cases the amount of the internet tax will outweigh the price of the internet subscription itself.

First of all I want to ask by what right (apart from them being the government capable of doing anything) and on what basis would any government put a tax on people’s internet usage. The broadband and the data allowance is provided by the ISP that also maintain servers and infrastructure and pay taxes to the government already. So by what right would anyone sane enough tax data traffic? I can understand road tax since roads need to be maintained. But internet cables? Do we seriously need to pay for that? Do we seriously need to pay for that? The ISPs provide a service that you buy. It is in their interest to have a good infrastructure so I assume whatever income they generate some of that will be used for maintenance. The government so far has nothing to do with this. And now it is said that there will be an internet tax that theoretically the ISP will have to pay but nothing will stop them to charge the end users instead. So no matter if you have unlimited internet at home it will practically function as a pay as you go system, the subscription fee being only a base fee plus what you use.

On the 26th of October there was a demonstration against internet tax on the streets of Budapest, tens of thousands were reported to participate, the more radical even assaulted the HQ of the leading political party.
What will this achieve? In Hungary at the moment anything can happen unpunished from the government’s side. This is the second term they’ve been voted to lead the country with a overwhelming majority of the mandates (for reasons that are beyond my understanding) so in effect they feel they have the right and the public support to do as they please, even making such steps that upset a lot of people which is not even risking to lose their popularity (reasons for that are also beyond me).
I think it is a good time for the Hungarian public to show their power and turn around the plans for this new tax and finally have a real say in the creation of a better and more livable society.
I had the chance to see from close up how it works in France for example. During my five months in Paris I have seen two huge strikes/demonstrations that worked out well. The public transport workers for example have managed to protect their pension with great success and did not let the government to cut down on them as they please.
Many of us forget the meaning of minister (servant of the people) and tend to behave as if we were serving the government.

(Photo: Reuters)

One topic two opinions, Round 1 – Names, names, names

This is the first installment of a series we have agreed to do with my fellow author on this blog. The idea is that we throw in a random topic and we both write down our views and opinions about it post them here.

Well this week’s topic is names. More accurately why are some cultures putting first name first and last name last and why others do the opposite. Well what I’m gonna write here is off the top of my head so if you could bow down before my infinite wisdom please do so, would you join the the queue, the end is right over there, thank you.

So as far as I know there are three ways to deal with the problem. The majority of the cultures went with putting first names first when the Almighty Krishna asked them how they wanted to do it. These cultures are called the western cultures nowadays, like Russia for example. Now some cultures that I know of have done the complete opposite just to make things complicated, for what reason only Allah knows. These countries (in alphabetical order) are the following: Japan, China, Vietnam, Korea and Hungary. And there are countries (one at least according to my aforementioned infinite wisdom) who said screw this, we will only use one unique name for everyone. And this place is Myanmar (or Burma if you’re still living in the Empire).

Now that the facts are out of the way let’s theorize upon what is behind all this. In Europe the answer seems obvious since the Latin language had a huge effect on all the other languages and cultures across the continent. I think in the very beginning when people started to use family names, these names were mostly adjectives that were put after the noun in accordance with the rules of grammar so it must have stuck.

I am sure everyone know the history of Hungary inside out so you must all know that it’s always been an odd one out in Europe. While all other languages belong to larger families (Latin languages, Slavonic languages, Germanic languages) Hungarian stands alone (that’s why they never do well at the Eurovision). In Hungarian adjectives always precede nouns so it feels natural to put family names first and “first” name last. So… I guess that’s it. Where do I pick up my Nobel Prize?

You want me to write more? Okay. Since I know how much you adore me I will write some more for your enjoyment.

I am going to share with you the emotional side of having one’s names reversed as opposed to the rest of the people’s around you. Boy it feels awesome. It makes you realize how unique you are and although it has no consequences whatsoever on your life and it’s all just a matter of coincidence that you were born on a certain peace of land that happens to be inhabited with one of those rare cultures, still you can stand up and beat your chest in ecstasy celebrating the fact that you are 1% more unique than some other people that you know. It’s really amazing.
I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be proud of one’s culture and all but at the end of the day we are all people first and foremost. The color of your skin and what language was your mother speaking should really come last when you compare yourself to others. Whoa that was very serious at the end there.
Watch this space, there’s more coming.