BarkellWH -> RE: Spanish Revolution (May 23 2011 17:54:11)
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Spain, like Greece, is discovering that a country, just as an individual, cannot continue living beyond its means. In both cases, the national government has to reign in spending in order to maintain a reasonable credit rating. If they don't, their bonds will be junk, they will be unable to pay interest on their debt (much less the principal) and they will be unable to raise financing on the international markets. When Prime Minister Zapatero assumed power seven years ago, he was true to his Socialist principles and implemented programs that, over the long haul, were bound to fail. Some programs were legitimate and some were beyond the pale. He raised the minimum wage and extended health insurance to cover virtually everything, including sex-change operations! He made scholarships available to everyone, and he granted rent subsidies (called "emancipation" money) to young adults. (When I was 20 I would have liked the U.S. Government to subsidize my apartment, too, instead of having to earn the money to pay my monthly rent.) Mothers received the equivalent of US$3,500 for the birth of each child, and children attended free nurseries. Proudhon and Saint Simon could not have imagined a more inclusive Socialist paradise of goodies. Problem is, it all had to be paid for, and the crunch has come. Just a word about Germany as the engine of so much of the bailout for Greece. The German Government recently raised the age of full retirement to 67. Greece, whose full retirement age is now 61, recently suggested raising the age of full retirement to 63, and the greeks had violent demonstrations. Guess which one is the fiscally responsible adult and which one is the whining child throwing a tantrum? I think this is the situation that Spain, with good reason, is trying to avoid. Cheers, Bill
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