http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/26/12370209-spains-economic-cri sis-turns-middle-class-families-into-illegal-squatters?lite
While sophisticated and fun-loving Barcelona serves as the country's showcase to the world, Terrassa is among the many towns hiding Spain's shame: Despite boasting Europe's fourth-largest economy, hundreds of thousands have been forced into destitution by the country's housing crash. Many Spaniards now exist on the margins of a society that just a few years ago promised them easy access to cars, holiday homes, trips abroad and regular tickets to professional soccer games. .. About one out of every four people in Spain is without a job, according to government statistics <http://www.ine.es/daco/daco42/daco4211/epa0411.pdf> . However, the large so-called "gray economy" mitigates the effects of unemployment, the IMF says <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2012/cr12140.pdf> . .. Paul De Grauwe, a prominent economist and professor at the London School of Economics, said that not only would the bailout announced in early June probably be inadequate, it was unlikely that European Union's response would help ease the suffering of millions of Spaniards. He also said the European Union's decision-making process, which is propelled by economic powerhouse Germany, is deeply undemocratic. "Today it is a German politician who decides about Spain," he said. "They couldn't care less about the Spanish unemployed. They will only care about unemployment if it is German unemployment. They will only care about youth unemployment if it is German youth unemployment." More ....
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