Classic big government mistakes...

• Guest 655

  • Registered: 13 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 10,247
  11 July 2012     14:44182358
  #1       report
  ...being made by the Spanish government that are guaranteed to deepen their crisis.
  
  The Spanish economy is uncompetitive and their property market has been in great difficulty since before 2007. They now have massive unemployment and there is no sign of any kind of recovery with their banks just have had to be bailed out.
  
  Yes they do need to take measures to get to grips with their out of control deficit and that does mean some serious cuts to public spending.
  
  But they are imposing higher taxes that will specifically damage their main export earner, tourism. The costs of Spanish holidays will go up when they are already not really competitive.
  
  It is utter madness when they need to do more to bring money into the country and to tackle their unemployment. The 'big government' mentality is sending them off completely in the wrong direction combined with their desperation to remain in the Euro they will be heading for another crisis very soon.
  
  Their only hope is to decouple from the Euro and to devalue and in so doing make their exports, including tourism, more competitive.
  
  Right now they will damage their main export industry and any extra revenue gained from higher taxes will result in more people losing their jobs costing them more in social security. Increase taxes will further reduce spending power having a knock on to other Spanish businesses and will damage them.
  
  They are doing exactly what they should not do. Utterly mad.
  
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2172030/Cost-Spanish-holidays-soars-austerity-measures-force-government-bring-hefty-sales-taxes.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
• Guest 698

  • Registered: 28 May 2010
  • Posts: 8,664
  11 July 2012     15:20182359
  #2       report
  Bring back the Generalissimo.
  I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
• Guest 710

  • Registered: 28 Feb 2011
  • Posts: 6,950
  11 July 2012     16:13182374
  #3       report
  Viva Espania! following on from Vive la Republique! Alas, by some queer twist of fate we reside beneath Cruel Britannia!
  
  So holidays in sunny Spain are to become more expensive, this is because of what their terrible Government is doing...we are led to believe. Not in the least because our own printing of money by the shed-load that has devalued the Pound has anything to do with it?
  
  I wonder what would happen if all the Governments of the EU took similar steps to the Frog and the Dago?
  Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
• howard mcsweeney1

  • Location: Dover
  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 62,352
  11 July 2012     17:33182397
  #4       report
  after having a brief look at their austerity measures which will make further demonstrations and street battles inevitable, maybe a new generalissimo will seize power.
  
  spain, greece and portugal have fairly recent experiences of military governments so not as unlikely as we may think.
• Guest 725

  • Registered: 7 Oct 2011
  • Posts: 1,418
  11 July 2012     17:49182402
  #5       report
  I'm sorry but this is ridiculous. The same thing will happen here in the not too distant future. Don't believe me? Check out our GDP/debt ratio. It's enormous!
  The title of this thread is Classic big government mistakes.
  Does that include passing the most expensive piece of legislation in UK history, the climate change act?
  Add to that the shambles that will be the 2012 Olympics and that's just two for starters.
  The danger of complacency in the UK is past - we are complacent and sneering at the misfortunes of others is ridiculous.
  You should read what others are saying about the UK in , say, America. It's an education and an eye opener.
  I agree that the last labour government, as well as previous labour administrations, have really messed things up here be it education, the welfare culture and rampant environmentalism which is polluting our minds but this government are in danger of repeating the same mistakes.
• Guest 653

  • Registered: 13 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 10,540
  12 July 2012     07:40182473
  #6       report
  I believe Barry is dead right in his analysis. Jean's daughter lives and works in Palma Majorca and has done for a number of years.
  She has seen quite clearly the waste of very large sums of money the Socialist Government there have made over fairly recent years; sadly the new Conservative Government are making very similar, blind, stupid decisions that will not help their tourism trade to recover, in fact, in many ways it will make it much, much worse.
  
  Most if not all Southern European economies are based on Tourism, but nothing is being done to help those economies grow. Even restaurants and hotels are not reducing the cost of meals, drinks or rooms, to attract people to go to them.
  
  The Spanish Government, as Barry says, should be doing the exact opposite of what they are doing. It's not just the British who go to Spain, most of Northern Europe go there (or used to) as well.
  
  
  
  Roger