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MAGA Republicans admire Victor Orban’s Hungary, but their lofty vision of Hungary is mostly mirage. What President Donald Trump and the MAGA crowd really want, it seems to me, is the hold on power that Orban has, and the same opportunity to hoard wealth that he enjoys.
Hungary is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with industrial production declining and productivity near the bottom in the region. Orban enriches himself and his cronies with wealth while unemployment edges upward. Many consider the education system bad, and hospital departments close due to the exodus of healthcare professionals to other countries.
Orban declared that inflation would be under control by the end of 2023. It stood instead at 17 percent. His government predicted 4 percent growth in 2024. It was at 0.5 percent. It’s like Trump saying he’ll end a war on “day one,” and the price of eggs will fall.
Even the conservative Heritage Foundation, authors of Trump’s Project 2025 that outlined the decimation of our federal government, ranks Hungary last in the EU in terms of government integrity.
The reconciliation bill Trump and MAGA just pushed through Congress will help entrench their power and enable them to collect more wealth for themselves, the ultra rich and historically wealthy corporations, furthering their Hungary-like vision for America.
If MAGA Republicans succeed, I fear America’s best days will be in our rearview mirror, and your children and grandchildren will be living in an entirely different country.
Mary Ann Larson
Bangor
