This article in the NYT, says that Spain has reported unemployment of 25%! An astonishingly high number to be sure. The troubling part for me is that the "positive" part of all this that the article mentions is that this means the other Eurozone countries are less likely to impose further austerity measures.
Is this really a positive? Or do reports like this make a smooth resolution to Europe's issues seemingly unattainable at this point?
It is hard to look at anything as a positive with a 25% unemployment rate like Spain has at the current time. Even though countries like Germany will most likely not impose further austerity measures, Spain cannot possibly be looking at this record high unemployment with any positive spins. I feel as if the higher unemployment in Spain will continue to lead to more strikes and riots within their borders. Hopefully the rest of the EuroZone can help implement a plan to help what seems like a downward fall for Spain.
ReplyDeleteNo this isn't a positive at all. If anything, I suppose we could describe it as making the best out of a absolutely horrible situation. Part of the country is looking to separate themselves and become independent because there has been such a "loss of hope," as the article puts it, and this little loophole of sorts is hardly something positive that Spainards can use to feel good about the future.
ReplyDeleteClearly Spain is not doing well at the moment, any time a country has an unemployment rate above 20% they should be worried about the potential for revolution. If the countries of the Euro-zone are truly worried about their collective future, they need to make sure that they take care of Spain and Greece before the domestic troubles become continental. However, the EU must also be careful not to treat their troubled neighbors too nicely, there is already a dangerous amount of debt in the EU, and the western economy is probably still in need of another correction. Rather than worrying about the 25% unemployment rate in Spain currently, the EU should be worried about the proportion of Spanish children who graduate from high school. Economies take significant time to correct themselves, and often the more that governments try to stave off the discomfort of corrections, the more they invite stagnation a-la Japan in the 1990s. If Europe is serious about the Euro-zone (and they are basically totally committed at this point), they must find a way to equitably distribute wealth and social services and thus create a unified fiscal plan for the region in order to coordinate their monetary strategy.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is any way to spin a 25% unemployment rate in a positive light. If you look at the under-25 unemployment rate as well, its even higher than this in Spain. Coming from a recent study-abroad experience there as well, I can attest, things there are almost at third-world levels. Children and adults live with their parents still, and no-one goes to the major bars/restaurants but tourists. It is a sad situation, but more austerity is the only thing that can help their current situation. Spanish society simply does not have the revenue/income to handle more taxes of any kind.
ReplyDeleteAs was said, there is no positive way to spin this little tidbit. It is providing a hefty amount of motivation to member nations to come to a conclusion on a general consensus about economic planning however. As this continue to spiral out of control in the statistics end, the policy end that ordinarily would have taken a long time to agree on has been moving forward. Today I saw an article where the head of the Eurozone bank was moving forward with an Idea for a super commissioner with veto power over national budgets of Euro-zone countries. That is an immense power and if fully enacted could create a move towards further unification.
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