Spanish issues

[Spanish Guy]

Hi everybody. I used to read this forums two or three years ago, but I stopped doing it.

This week I've been reading you, simply I was curious about how Ron Paul supporters would consider Donald Trump agenda and first days of presidency (which IMHO has positive and negative issues), but, BTW, I've realised that there is not any post related to my country.

So, I'd like to open a post to talk about Spain, and of course, answering your questions about my country, about our politics (thanks God it seems we avoided a government with the commies), how the new American political scenario is seen here, an of course, pro-Liberty issues in Spain.

[Tywysog Cymru]

How do the Spanish people view the EU?

[opal]

Hi ya!

So.. questions about Spain.. What's your medical system like? Are you folks allowed to own fire arms? Do you have rabid social justice warriors over there?
Is the term Trumptard catching on?

[Spanish Guy]

How do the Spanish people view the EU?

How do the Spanish people view the EU?

Is a good question. In a general sense, Spain is a very Europhile country, specially before the Great Recession which hit us specially hard.

Since the Spanish-American War in 1898, IMHO we've had a very acute complex of inferiority towards Europe. Basically, if you ask "Juan Español" (our term for Average Joe) he'd say we're a country with Romanian salaries, Italian corruption, Scandinavian taxes and Latin American crime, whilst he'd idealize everything which is far away the Pyrinees. So basically, when Spain entered in the EU, the attitude of the people (AFAIK, as I was not born yet), was, "Ey!, finally we're with the top guys. They'd do us a better country".

Now things have evolved, and people are not so Europhile. But the main issue is not the Brussels-based bureaucracy or any questions related to the national sovereignty but to a vision of a European Union which is always looking for Germany profit.

Personally I'm not for a European Superstate, and although I'm not specially Europhile, I think the EU, and specially the Eurozone have had good things for us. Basically before the EU we used to have lots of state-owned companies heavily subsidied by the State and whose workers had much better conditions than the average worker. Moreover, our loose monetary policy caused that, each time Spain had difficulties to export or financing the debt, the Government used to devalue our currency (the last devaluation was in 1992). Since the 90s the monetary policy is much tighter and is not controled directly by our Government, so most of these companies have been privatised in order to sustain public finances, most monopolies* have dissapeared, and IMHO, markets are freeer, although lots of people doesn't seem to like this.

*For example, until 1990 there were not private nation-wide TV-networks in Spain, whilst the telecommunications market was a state-owned monopoly until 1995.

[presence]

Whats your take on Catalonia independence?

[jllundqu]

Hi everybody. I used to read this forums two or three years ago, but I stopped doing it.

This week I've been reading you, simply I was curious about how Ron Paul supporters would consider Donald Trump agenda and first days of presidency (which IMHO has positive and negative issues), but, BTW, I've realised that there is not any post related to my country.

So, I'd like to open a post to talk about Spain, and of course, answering your questions about my country, about our politics (thanks God it seems we avoided a government with the commies), how the new American political scenario is seen here, an of course, pro-Liberty issues in Spain.

FREE CATALONIA! I'm all for their secession! lol... BTW You have excellent wine and figs.... I once had a Tempranillo in Spain that was arguable the best red I've ever tasted.

[Spanish Guy]

@opal:

-Is a single-payer system financed through taxes. Each comunidad (States), has their own medical system which is financed through their own taxes. I must recognise it has positive aspects (our medical spending is low, compared for example with USA), although there are too very negative issues, as for example, is required to wait for weeks for non-urgent surgery.
As in Spain is very common for the doctors to attend the patients in the public system in the morning, and in their own private-owned bureau in the afternoon (where their performance is obviously much higher), in some regions there are hospitals which are ruled in a similar way than the charter schools in US, although obviously the left-winged media continuosly tries to discredit that system with accusations of corruption or lower performance.

Since 1985 the public health system is required to cover every person living in Spain. AFAIK before 1985 the Catholic charities had a very important role in our health system.

-No. I don't know very the conditions, but AFAIK for owning a firearm you need to have an special justification (being a cop, militar, living under threat, etc.). BTW getting a hunting license is relatively easy.

-Yeah, we've plenty of them, specially in media, culture (Spanish cinema is a great example, almost nobody but leftist pseudo-intelectuals like Almodóvar here ) and education. Moreover they feel themselves as morally superiors, as everyone who disagrees with them is constatly blamed as a fascist or Francoist. As an example, I remember a few months ago than one of the most important TV-stations in Spain, a left-winged one very close to the commies, broadcasted a documentary about ilegal immigrants who drowned in the Mediterraean Seas. Prior the broadcasting, it received lots of publicity, not only in that channel, but in every channel owned by the same company (near 30% of the audience).
That night the documentary was not the most-watched TV show in Spain, as a concert of former contestants of the Spanish versión of American Idol doubled the documentary audience. So then, the reaction of some journalists linked to the left was insulting Spanish people, sugesting that as we're a dumb and lack of social conscience people, we prefer cheap entertainment and "Trash TV" than thinking about our world.

To the third question, the vision suggested by the media about the Trump average-voter is a obese, racist and incult guy who has the inteligence of Cletus from the Simpsons. Well, really is the image portrayed of every American who dont support the Dems, so in Spain people uses to align themselves with the Dems. However, now in the Internet era, people have more contact with America independently from Spanish media (which HATES Trump), so for example I begin to see in my FB people supporting some policies of Trump.


@presence/jllundqu : About Catalonia, a few years ago, I'd say we're better together. We've been the same country for centuries, we have a common history, most of Catalans have families in other Spanish regions and viceversa.
Nowadays? Each day I'm more keen to say I dont give a $#@!, as there have been too much insults and hard feelings from both sides, so each day it seems harder to approach positions. Moreover, Catalonia, and specially BCN, is a very leftist place*, and a SJW and political correctness paradise so, I think Spain w/o Catalonia would be more pro-liberty. And, as I am a Real Madrid fan, winning La Liga would be easier.

*The real comparison would be NY, CA or MA secedding from the US.

[opal]

"To the third question, the vision suggested by the media about the Trump average-voter is a obese, racist and incult guy who has the inteligence of Cletus from the Simpsons. Well, really is the image portrayed of every American who dont support the Dems, so in Spain people uses to align themselves with the Dems. However, now in the Internet era, people have more contact with America independently from Spanish media (which HATES Trump), so for example I begin to see in my FB people supporting some policies of Trump."

So.. generally speaking, the Spanish population thinks all the women here voted for the Hildabeast? eeek!

Is the libertarian party even on the radar?

At least you get the Simpsons...

[Spanish Guy]

Sorry, it has been a busy week in the office

"To the third question, the vision suggested by the media about the Trump average-voter is a obese, racist and incult guy who has the inteligence of Cletus from the Simpsons. Well, really is the image portrayed of every American who dont support the Dems, so in Spain people uses to align themselves with the Dems. However, now in the Internet era, people have more contact with America independently from Spanish media (which HATES Trump), so for example I begin to see in my FB people supporting some policies of Trump."

So.. generally speaking, the Spanish population thinks all the women here voted for the Hildabeast? eeek!

Is the libertarian party even on the radar?

At least you get the Simpsons...

IMHO media is more effective manipulating things we don't know. So trying to create a bad image of Trump-voters or the reasons why people voted him and not the Dems is relatively easy, as most people of Spain (or elsewhere in the world) knows USA only through Hollywood, the media, or by tourism in the major cities of your country. So obviously the image we have about USA is very biased.

If they were able, the media in Spain, would do the same with our country. In fact they try to do it but as we, Spanish people, are those who really know how is our quotidian life, and our major problems and things our country should improve, media manipulation is not so effective.

For example in June elections were held in Spain and were won by the ruling party the conservative PP (RINO, in your terms, in fact they supported Hillary ), which has lot of people under investigation because of corruption. As the leftist media did everything they were able to do in order to make the commies to win the elections, when the PP won, the reaction of the leftist media was simply saying Spanish people were masochistic people who love corrupt politicians because we prefer to see football than thinking. In fact, and talking again about Catalonia, the core of the independentist speech is related to that issue, the contrast between the smart, European, progressive and culturally advanced Catalonia and the Catholic, backwards, anti-intelectual, and non-European Spain.

About the Libertarian Party, there's a small party, although as I have a pragmatic vission of Libertarianism and I think we should take small and constant steps towards it, not trying to change things drastically and immediately I don't support them. Most people who defends this kind of ideas vote for PP or C's, which would be the equivalents to GOP and a party between GOP and Dems.

PS: BTW, I don't like Trump.

[presence]

50% of dudes in spain shave their legs?

https://www.ft.com/content/825e520c-...9-9445cac8966f