Let´s start with the economy.
As I´m sure everyone is aware, Spain`s economy is not doing well. Unemployed is very high (some sources claim over 30%) and is due to rise if, as seems likely, the new budget proposed by the current national government goes into effect. Taxes are very high, and are expected to rise. Prices for essential such as gas and electricity are releasable but will soon increase.
The current national government was put into power some six months ago primarily with a mandate to increase employment, and ease the final strain on the middle class and people of more modest means. So far, it has been unable to do so.
It is estimated that 95% of Spain's economy is made up small businesses, their employees, and the self-employed. Although this percentage is almost certainly too high, it is undeniable that small businesses make up a substantial portion of the economy. It costs each self-employed person in minimum of 270€ (about $320) each month just to maintain him/herself on the rolls of the self-employed. This is separate from and in addition to income taxes.
For self-employed person who earns 5,000€ a month, this is not such a big problem. but the self-employed person who earns 1,000€ to 1,500€ a month (and many earn considerably less) only has expendable income of 730€ - 1,200€ a month. This is a equivalent to $1,000 - $1,600.
If our imaginary person is paying rent or mortgage of 300€-600€ a month (reasonable figures for a 3-bedrooms flat), and utilities including in telephone round 100€ a month (again, a very reasonable figure), this person has a very little left over for food and clothes. Forget about anything so ridiculous as entertainment.
Now, imagine that person is responsible for supporting a family.
This explains why so many people scraping by working as carpenters, graphic designers, house painters, small shop owner with no employees, and the like, fail to register with the government as "sell-employed". They can´t afford to.
The government, of course, considers their failure to register to be fraud. And an important aim of the newly-introduced national budget is to get rid of that for and get all this people to pay their 270€ a month.
It is very possible that if the government is successful, in the long run (in perhaps also in the short run), this will not help the economy. It will certainly be devastating to a significant proportion at the population.
TO BE CONTINUED....
A NEXT BLOG will be about filming in El Puerto
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