“Una década perdida en España…” Solbes -que me parece un hombre honrado, seducido por un Flautista- corre el riesgo de pasar a la historia como el ministro de finanzas de un presidente que se gastó el dinero de la prosperidad preparando el desastre y el retroceso de España.

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Hay un consenso global en ese terreno, capital, sobre los orígenes, alegrías y catástrofes de una larga década de irresponsabilidad y sonambulismo.

a). Años de bonanza, con dinero barato y ayudas pagadas por la Europa rica.
b). Endeudamiento masivo de las familias, seducidas por el Flautista irresponsable.
c). Especulación inmobiliaria con ribetes mafioso/filantrópicos: créditos masivos concedidos por unas Cajas víctimas de la irresponsabilidad cívica.
d). Advertencias muy anteriores al estallido de la crisis internacional: Un tsunami amenaza a España.
e). Estallido de la  burbuja inmobiliaria.
f). Crisis generalizada: más paro, más Deuda pública, más impuestos.
g). Como colofón provisional, años de recortes salariales, impuestos, paro de masas, más y más sufrimiento y dolor de los más frágiles…

Wall Street Journal lo cuenta de este modo:

Even as France and Germany begin to show signs of economic recovery, weaker members of the European common-currency union remain mired in recession. Without painful overhauls, euro-zone countries such as Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal seem set for years of meager growth, making their debts harder to pay.
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To understand why, it is worth taking a look at Spain. Perhaps no other country better illustrates the outsize advantages — and potential drawbacks — of the common European currency. Adopting the euro a decade ago meant Spain suddenly enjoyed interest rates far lower than before, because the European Central Bank in Frankfurt sets a single interest rate for the whole currency zone.
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In fact, the ECB’s lending rates were below Spain’s rate of inflation for many years, so Spanish households and businesses had a huge incentive to borrow. And they did so with gusto. Spanish household debt peaked above 130% of disposable income in 2007, while consumption boomed.
With a debt-fueled construction sector in overdrive, Spain was briefly propelled into being the world’s ninth-largest economy. Income per head surpassed Italy’s. Wages rose at almost twice the rate as those in the rest of the euro zone, making Spaniards feel flush.
But the downside was rising costs for Spanish businesses, making them lose competitiveness against other countries in the euro zone such as Germany. Now the high value of the euro is also making it hard for Spain to raise its exports to the wider world.
The result is an economy that is still contracting while many other countries return gingerly to growth. Spain’s economy is expected to shrink by as much as 4.2% this year, and its 18.5% unemployment rate is double the rate in the rest of the European Union.
Normally, countries can restore their competitiveness by devaluing their currency. Before the introduction of the euro, Spain — like Italy — did so repeatedly to help escape recessions. But it no longer has its own currency to devalue, or its own interest rate to cut.
As a result, the country must regain competitiveness the hard way: by lowering wages and prices relative to other euro-zone members. That means years of wage stagnation in a country where people had gotten used to sharply improved living standards. Some economists now predict a Japan-style «lost decade» in Spain. [ .. ] [Wall Street Journal, 14 septiembre 2009. Thomas Catan, Spain’s Struggles Illustrate Pitfalls of Europe’s Common Currency].

Las negritas son mías.

“Una década perdida en España”, dice WSJ. Zapatero está destruyendo una generación y Generación Zapatero, Generación Desencanto, había escrito yo.

• España y Economía en este Infierno.

Salarios y pérdida de la competitividad española, Wall Street Journal.