It seems like a new problem, but it isn’t. It is actually an issue
that has never been properly resolved between Catalonia and
the Spanish State: the fi scal defi cit. The enormous difference
between what Catalonia pays the central government and what
Catalonia receives in return has been a common thread throughout
history. There are many incidents that offer convincing proof of this
imbalance all the way up to the present.
For example, in 1843 Lo Verdader Català (‘The True Catalan’) was
launched: a magazine dedicated to denouncing Catalonia’s economic
problems. The cover of the fi rst issue shows a disheartened Catalan
and the following caption: “On the ground the Catalan observes his
industry, commerce, and agriculture with sadness.” The magazine
went bankrupt almost immediately due to a lack of funding and
because the founders came under signifi cant pressure. It wasn’t
until the beginning of the 20th century that the economist Guillem
Graell became the fi rst person to carry out a careful study of the uneven fi scal balances and… he felt a chill when he saw how much
discrimination Catalonia suffered from. The arrival of the Second Republic didn’t solve anything either. And paradoxically, in the middle
of Franco’s dictatorship in 1961, a young economist, Ernest Lluch (future Minister of the Socialist Government of Felipe González) asked
himself: “does Catalonia exploit Spain?” The answer he found was that although 25% of Spain’s tax revenues came from Catalonia, only
45% of the Catalans’ contributions were returned to Catalonia, thus making it impossible for the Catalans to fund adequate economic and
social services. In 1967, the fi rst exact fi gure of the fi scal defi cit is supplied by Ramon Trias Fargas (future Finance Minister of the fi rst
democratic Generalitat of Catalan President Jordi Pujol): 15 billion pesetas.
The Spain that sails into democracy disembarks with the economic and social formula ‘café para todos’ (‘coffee for all’). It is an unequal,
imbalanced, model that waters down autonomies like Catalonia. The result is that today Catalans suffer a fi scal defi cit that has reached
18 billion euros, some 2,400 euros per person each year. What does this mean?
YOU WANT TO READ MORE? CLICK ON THE BELOW LINK AND READ THE FULL ARTICLE
http://www.it-intransit.eu/sites/default/files/ALLpdfs_intransit4.indd_.pdf
(InTransit Newsletters; Issue 4, summer 2010)
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Catalonia Direct
Col·lectiu Emma
July 27th, 2011 at 12:42 am
Have you ever thought who is controlling the catalan government or why it really wishes to wish independence? Maybe why when voting for parties there appears to be no system of verification
Or how about freedom of speech? Like sending in the police, of the regions own freewill, to injure according to The Guardian 99 people protected by the constitution?
Do the Catalans hear of a constitution? Do they really hear of a reform to independence and a democracy to be the envy of the western world? No. Catalonia is well reported to having the worst regional corruption in Spain. What we hear is the same talk of liberation from interested parties behind a three horse race that is not listening to the majority of apathetic individuals
Indeed, when it decides to make rash decisions like closure of hospitals to vote in favour of pension reform? Maybe trial the idea of the government is pulling heart strings and not a reform for something that the catalans could be proud of in Europe! With all the goodness of immigration in Vic, which puts its neighbour France to shame.. it could indeed be something great. However, until we understand who are the real stake holders in the political regime.. Your ranting is unfounded on how independence and the individual is at risk. Unless you understand that democracy is both representative and direct, you my friend are shouting words and concepts you do not understand from the most basic level.
October 21st, 2011 at 10:01 am
Hi,
I read your comment in my bloc independentcatalonia.blogspot.com
Are you still living in Holland?
Please, find me at Facebook by my name Miquel Marzabal Galano
There is a group called Catalans a Holanda 2.0 (I made).
Don’t join the group “Catalans a Holanda”, they censure pro-catalan political posts, they are unionists and do not respect freedom of speech.
Best regards,
Miquel