Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba – the current Spanish Socialist Party candidate for PM – requested the country’s banks make greater contributions and its rich individuals to provide assistance in an effort to “help end the country’s deep economic crisis,” as reported in a recent Nasdaq article. He also said that “it’s time for those who’ve suffered less in the crisis to help those who’ve suffered more.” It’s probably been time for a long while. But now at least it’s being recognized and someone is making a bit of a noise about it.
Rubalcaba’s Reasons
If he became Prime Minister, Rubalcaba said he would encourage banks to provide the finance to a new fund to stimulate the creation of jobs. Currently, the unemployment rate in Spain stands at 21 percent; that’s about 1 out of every 5 people who are not employed who should be working. Meanwhile, since banks have been given finances to aid them in their restructuring, it is believed by Rubalcaba that it is now time for them to put some of their monies into job creation schemes.
In addition, Rubalcaba suggested a “wealth tax on high earners be reinstated after being eliminated by the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.” Many of his proposals are based on a way of trying to get a disillusioned left-wing electorate to support him. The left wing has not been happy about the Zapatero government’s tough austerity measures which have been used to try to “close one of Europe’s largest budget deficits.”
Other Spanish Problems
There are plenty of other reasons the Spanish voters want a change. Rubalcaba has been using this sense in the country. According to an article in Reuters, it seems that he believes the country’s health care system was “sacred and untouchable” and that the opposition is likely to try and privatize it. But in terms of financing vis-à-vis the health system, he said they could find money from improved hospital management. He also proposed developing smaller voting districts “to bring lawmakers more in touch with citizens’ needs and demands.”
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