Slovakia

Jan Kollar and Ľudovít Štúr share their perception of nationalism. Štúr draws a parallel between the cycle of nature and the life of humanity. He lauds sacrifice in the pursuit of what is beautiful, noble, and maps the road to happiness. Ľudovít Ódor explains why a balanced budget is no walk in the park. For Lydia Šimková, the public debt keeps rising at the hands of the politicians because it is repaid by the citizens. Štefan Luby considers that: “The invisible hand of the market can create jobs, but the invisible foot of the market can kick us out of them”. Ján Fekete Apolkin takes a humorous look at the transition from a planned economy with food shortages, but guaranteed work, to a market economy with unemployment. Zdena Kalčíková ironizes about the inefficiency of the employment agency. Štefan Luby and Peter Gossányi share their thoughts about money. According to Štefan Luby: “Taxpayer is the current expression for the historical misera contribuens plebs”. Ľubica Rusnáková quips about the war on poverty, Milan Kenda about high inflation, and Josef Bily about spending. Ján Marsálek points out that culture comes first, only when it’s about cutting costs. Regarding the lessons to be drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic, Zuzana Brnoliaková writes: “Even a microscopic enemy can have macroeconomic consequences”. Milan Kupecky and Josef Bily discourse about inequalities, Peter Gossányi about wages and Imrich Kupec about integrity.