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Coronel Von Rohaut
Spain and the Blame Game
As
Yet, while it may be true that some Spanish regions have overspent their means, in the case of
In the past few years,
The imbalance has grown so large as to imperil
Not only is the funding too little, it is erratically paid; for example, so far Spain has refused to hand over 759 million euros -- ($1 billion USD) -- that had already been approved and included in the central budget.
Since
Despite the fact that it provides more funds to
Meanwhile, there is no high-speed rail service at all from major port cities
Add that to the palpable scorn expressed by too many Spanish politicians (and Spanish Twitter users!) for Catalonia , and you will realize why Catalan independence is now polling higher than ever before: around 44% would vote in favor of an independent Catalan state, in contrast with around 28% who would vote against. A week ago, the heretofore extremely cautious Catalan president alerted, in an interview with the Financial Times, about the growing emotional divorce between Catalonia and Spain and announced plans to achieve full fiscal sovereignty.
Indeed, with the 21 billion dollars that an independentCatalonia would save in a single year, it could wipe out its entire public debt in two years and still build a new airport in Barcelona , a much needed high-speed rail line to the French border, as well as several hospitals, schools and top-rate research centers.
The Spanish government must be concerned about losing its cash cow -- and is responding by doing its best to tamp down any independence Catalonia enjoys and convince the world that the Spanish deficit is Catalonia's fault. Don't believe a word of it. Indeed, with the 21 billion dollars that an independent
This post is co-authored by:
Germà Bel, professor of Economics, Universitat de Barcelona
Carles Boix, Robert Garrett Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
Elizabeth Castro, Publisher, Catalonia Press
Elisenda Paluzie, Dean of the School of Economics and Business, Universitat de Barcelona