Sunday, January 1, 2012

Spain shoots self in head


Austerity package set to save $11.5bn, with 2011 deficit estimated to equal eight per cent of GDP, well above target. 
Read it at Al Jazeera (with video)
Spain unveils spending cuts to tackle deficit
"Today's meeting really is designed to send a message which is that the cuts start now," Dr Nigel Townson, a professor of political science in Madrid, told Al Jazeera.
"There's no question that they're going to carry out [more] very severe cuts over the next few months."
Cristobal Montoro, the new treasury minister, announced tax increases on Friday that will focus on the wealthy, raising around 6bn euros.
Cut spending and raise taxes is a one-two punch. A knock-out is sure thing.
Worries over Spain's public finances and a banking sector heavily exposed to a property bubble that burst in 2008, have caused the country's borrowing costs to rise sharply.
They must have missed the class on debt-deflation, if there even was one.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that they already have massive youth unemployment, and the Los Indignados movement is spearheading global protests.
New conservative government looks to unveil belt-tightening programme amid massive unemployment and fears of recession.
Spain set to approve new austerity package



2 comments:

googleheim said...

It's amazing what the Spanish will do in order to bend over backwards to make the German re-unification finalized and complete.

All this Euro stuff from the beginning was a way for Germany to deal with re-unification in order to get an even greater command and access to European market share for the glory of puritan export mentality.

Ryan Harris said...

Hungary might be the first European victim to lose their democracy and gain a dictator under Merkel's austere European vision. Spain could go back there again. The millions of unemployed youth are a powder keg of revolution. It only takes one or two velvet tongues like Obama but with bad intentions to convince people they have the perfect reasonable solution to give up their liberties under the guise of helping the economy or helping the troops or some pressing matter. These are dangerous times to be a European.