Protesters Take to Street in Madrid

[chantalzola]

Comments

[teacoat]

Huh, I didn't realize Catalonia was the richest region in Spain.

[rebness]

Yeah. It brings in a lot of money through tourism and there are a lot of American businesses in Barcelona (GM, Agilent, etc.) The 11 September marches (for the independence of Catalunya) seem to get bigger every year. I wonder where it'll all end.

[nebulous_mirage]

i heard riots are occurring in Greece as well

[awfulbliss]

What exactly do the protesters think should be done to combat an absolutely unsustainable debt load and skyrocketing borrowing costs?

[the_physicist]

the issue is that the banks are being bailed out at the cost of everyone else. the deep cuts mean that people aren't spending, so the rest of the economy is collapsing. so, if you ask protestors whether they would rather see the banking system collapse or the entire rest of the economy, i think they will be very quick to tell you how they think this all should have been handled.

but the real reasons why spain had so much toxic debt are really due to the corruption and huge, white elephant projects that resulted. banks were corrupt enough to grant loans on massive scale unsustainable projects, there were clear from the outset that they were unsustainable and the debt would be highly radioactive.

the responsible government minister should be put in jail. but also, banks that are so corrupt should not be propped up at the expense of everyone in the entire country as far as the protestors are concerned.

[jugglingeggs]

Thank you, like the original poster of the question I was genuinely curious.

[thevelvetsun]

if you ask protestors whether they would rather see the banking system collapse or the entire rest of the economy

This is pretty much it!