[andorjakab]

Dear Antal,

I am well aware of this type of criticsm, because I've already got it with the original, Hungarian post. I could have rephrased it to avoid some of the misunderstanding. But I didn't change a word, only translated to English what has already provoked a lot of thought.

In fact during my long life as an entrepreneur I employed more people than most of my harshest critics. Most of my employees were actually women. I treated them with great respect and I'd like to believe they're thinking about me as a good boss.

In fact, this post isn't really about me. It's about something much bigger than me. I know it's provocative, over simplifies many things, even populist if you will. It's not an academic lecture. It's how many smallbusiness owners feel about an environment that is leathaly poisoned by corruption. In which being honest makes you very uncompetitive.

I get a lot of advice about how to survive under these circumstances, how to trick the system, how to avoid employees stealing my (intellectual) property, how to do business. In fact, that wasn't my point. I know all that. I'm fine, in fact I'm one of the last persons who will not be fine in Hungary.

In fact I don't mind high taxes and strong social security. What I'm worried about is that it's ok for others not paying these duties, and they make honest smallbusinesses uncompetitive. Among many other things that make this society really, badly, deeply screwed up.

So badly, that Hungary is now marching towards national socialism. Something, that every intellectual should fight tough against. And that's what I'll try to do with my blog.

[antalbud]

Yes, I get advice on how to cheat the system, too. But it does not mean it's the only way to succeed. Maybe I'm an odd case, but I have managed to build a business where I can still respect and pay my employees properly, where I could be happy if someone was having a baby, and where I pay my taxes properly. And I still make a profit. Yes, maybe I would earn more otherwise. But I have always seen it as a choice, and my integrity and the well-being of others was more important.

My point was only that the system is not _that_ bad that you wouldn't have a choice. Of course, that choice is yours to make.

[andorjakab]

I'm not saying, that it's _that_ bad, that it's actually _impossible_ for everybody, in every case. It it _was_ that bad, it would be too bad. :) It would mean, there would not be any companies left. My point is, goverments should not promote the idea, that employers and employees are enemies. Because they're not. Or as somebody here has put it, "business are people". I am, for one.