Before my grandmother, who lived in Budapest (I'm half Hungarian, though I don't speak any, other than "köszönöm" and "szia"), passed away a decade or so ago, my family used to visit quite frequently. What always struck me were the homeless people and beggars you'd always see when you ventured outside. I don't know how things have developed in the past decade, but I can't help but thinking that cutbacks won't do much for them.

"The basis of optimism is sheer terror" - Oscar Wilde