MORE EUROPE

  • We need a strong EU Commission capable of acquiring more competencies from all EU member states.
  • We need a a fiscal union, with a treasury and a finance minister enable to control national ministries of economy, hence controlling national budgets.
  • We need a truly European welfare state model to guarantee social protection across Europe.
  • We need to strengthen the EU parliament, making it more democratic.

…and we need to set up a union that resembles a federation… The answer to this global crisis is more a Federal Europe, rather than more sovereignty for member states.

2011
11/18
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bxp25430h

bxp25430h

2011
11/18
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Spain’s welfare state is at stake.

Funding for public education is being cut. Elections for local governments were held in May. Background: one of the conservative parties, the Popular Party, won almost all the municipal, provincial and regional governments in the 17 autonomous communities. After a few months in office, they presented the financial program for their respective geographical areas. Their financial programs aim to cut spending in one of the main sectors for a country’s prosperity=education.  

Social welfare is being cut. The central government of the country, forced by the European Central Bank, reformed the Constitutions, which was conceived as an untouchable piece of legislation. They reformed the Constitution to set a debt ceiling for the regions. It is necessary to highlight that Spain is one of the most decentralized countries in Europe. This means that many political competencies are controlled and paid for, by the regions. Some people argue that limiting the debt ceiling will have consequences on the social welfare of the regions, such as health care. For example, the paramedic center in my dad’s town was already closed and the people who used to benefit from it were relocated to areas further away. That might sound simplistic but the people who depended on it are old, do not have a car to travel to places and need to see their doctors frequently.

Public pensions have already been cut, the retirement age has increased to 67 and Civil Servants’ salaries have been frozen. The central government, forced again by the EU, cut the pension sector. Those who have paid into the system for a long time will not receive what they deserve. They have contributed to the sustainability of our welfare system, but the system (aka the market) won’t pay them back.  

When going through a period of instability, governments are thought to protect their individuals through a strong public sector. But this is an attack to the Spanish public sector.

2011
09/10
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IT IS TIME FOR THOSE BASTARDS TO PASS THE BUDGET

The words “Bankruptcy” and the “United States” do not go well together. And both of the words flew out of Obama’s mouth when giving a speech calling on Congress to pass the budget. In the hypothetical situation in which the US went in bankruptcy, there would be clear consequences: the stock market would collapse, the dollar would crash and the US would be less influential. The two formers are somewhat predictable, but why less influential?

This is my humble understanding of the situation. China and Japan, leading foreign creditors of the US debt, would see how their long-term contract with the US through bonds is not as rentable as it should be. And they would stop the tricky game of “lending” money to a country whose fall is an easy one to see. Those countries might or might not turn to other world powers,  but they would not look after the US, guaranteed. How would the US would pay for its debt without the so needed international borrowing? If the US becomes risky for inversors, would the US debt be classified as junk debt then? Rating agencies have been making conspiracies about other countries, scoring them poorly and playing the easy but shitty game of “I am part of the rich, you are part of the poor.”  And we will see, hopefully, how they score their own- loving America.

Standard & Poor´s already downgraded the outlook for the US to negative, directly impacting the stock market. I wonder if God is still in America helping out or if He is planning on moving out to a richer area when possible. 

2011
07/28
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Austerity, our daily bread!

Greece is not the problem, let it go bankrupt. Why not? Who is going to suffer? Spain? the whole EU? the markets? and who are they? Austerity has changed the way we understand politics. It is interesting to see how people or politicians talk about a market society rather than a market economy. If the understanding of our society is changing towards a more liberal definition of the concept, we then should start rethinking the bases which our political societies were built upon. The question of austerity brings debate about  the legitimacy of Europe and the European Union. It has certain pejorative connotations that deserve special attention. Austerity always brings privatization with it, it brings cuts in spending and it causes the weakening of the middle class. In fact, I dare say that Austerity destroys the middle class… It targets all its policies towards the middle class.  And who proposes austerity in Europe? The European Central Bank, the Commission and our dear Angela Merkel. The Commission likes increasing VAT taxes, freezing public salaries and pensions and privatizing key sectors. One of the pieces of advice that mama Europe a.k.a the Commission told Spain was “you guys should reduce pay-roll taxes” and what the minister of economy answered was, How do you think we pay for our pensions? Through pay-roll taxes. They always propose brutal and liberal solutions. And liberalism is already the motive of the problem. Why don’t we let Greece go in bankrupt? Otherwise, they are going to be attached to a bailout debt for decades that will put the country in a humiliating position of decadence. 

2011
07/03
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Privatizing what and how? A Spanish nightmare

Spain held elections a few weeks ago and the biggest conservative party got overwhelming results winning almost all the municipalities. Spanish voters expected a change in local governments but they were not expecting a victory of almost 90% of all city councils and regional parliaments. Spain is blue now and it will remain blue for a long time. This fact has some direct consequences that affect citizens’ everyday life. The first one is the privatization of public services. The Conservative Party’s hunger for privatizing public services has been a trendy topic within the political agendas of the Party’s leaders. But privatizing what and how? my reflection on the topic has something to do with what is ours as spaniards.

When someone attempts to make the public sector more efficient, the proposition always scares me. The public sector is ours, we pay -through whatever form of tax-for its existence. Making it more efficient brings debate about the question of efficiency and the question of  public. Is the public sector meant to be efficient or effective? My understanding of things tell me that public never goes well with efficiency. When politicians try to make the public health sector more efficient, for example, they desire to make it more marketable, open it up to the account of private companies, and start the dirty game of competition while putting aside the risks of such a game (leaving the unprotected alone). That’s what privatization means for conservatives; attacking key sectors in a society such as health and/or education. In Spain, conservatives like it hardcore and Roman Catholic (the picture talks by itself).

2011
06/25
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Keeping up with just a few expectations

Obama announced the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Americans were surprised! This country will never stop surprising me. Thank God (following American standards) that the longest war in the US is coming to its end. I am just wondering if the US has actually finished its project in the Middle East! God Bless you all!

2011
06/23
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GOP DEBATE: The Republicans I like

(But I do not support all his political ideas)

2011
06/13
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AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOH

This is how things work in THE “great democracy” on earth. Many people believe, myself included, that Bin Laden shouldn’t have been killed but tried and put in prison for the rest of his life. I still believe in justice when it comes to try a terrorist.

2011
05/02
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Where is multiculturalism?

In the aftermath of 9/11 a new media culture spread out over America and changed the concept of citizenship. United States had been attacked by a terrorist movement that came from a particular area of ​​the world. The US, us, became the attacked and the terrorists, they, became the attacking force. The problem arose when the term “they” included all persons who came from the same part of the world and not only the terrorists who attacked the U.S.. This interrelationship between the two concepts (terrorism and citizenship) was created by harsh political campaigns against “them” as well as a media reality that did not know how to objectively analyze what had happened.

The game of them vs. us was politically used by one concrete political party and used by many journalists and media. The result was the existence of two types of citizenship: Americans versus barbarians. Instead of having talked about the terrorist movement, we all started talking about Pakistanis and Afghans as a whole. They had different religions, they ate different food, they wore different clothes, they spoke different languages and their culture was considered inferior for many Americans. We, as a society, avoided the true analysis and relied on prejudices based on ignorance, fear, and misunderstanding about their culture.

This discrimination in relation to the “different” was regulated when the U.S. government introduced new interview processes and  new economic and medical requirements to come legally to the US to prove that even if you have dark brown skin and dark hair you are like us and not different, like “them.”

2011
04/18
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