Yes the Spanish economy is in a bad way because of their rediculous construction policies, but what has that got to do with marketing and the consumerist way of life?

Are you saying Spanish people should buy more stuff to support the economy?

Absolutely , a stagnant economy eventually collapses , it`s the governments job to give people,Spanish and foreign confidence to spend/invest ,but it aint happening.

Consumerism is good for all, it boosts the economy and creates wealth and jobs
You dont have to buy into it if you dont like it.

Unemployment now at 20% so the media are saying, is it really that bad?

yes

2 in 10 out of work, yes I think thats very bad

27.4% in Andalucia.

Given that the East of England, my previous stomping ground & similar in nature with tourist spots but mainly rural & a few towns/cities, is currently at 6.8%, OMG

what amazes me is that if you try to tell people in the UK they just don't believe you

it's almost like the myth that every day in Spain is hot & sunny, and that if it rains it falls mainly on the plain!

I had to drive from one end of the country to the other over Xmas at the time when Spain was covered two thirds in snow. I was discussing this with some British colleagues over sykpe. They were like "omg, I never knew it snowed in Spain"

Spain must just be a beach to so many people in the UK, but then I guess why should they care?

Did you know in the UK that if you add up those who qualify for job -seekers to the "ineconomically-inactive" figures (eg those who claim disability or sickness benefit instead of jobseekers) you get nearly 10 million ? Ok, so that figure includes some house wives and people who are so rich they don't need to work, but it's still frightening. Just shows how figures can be manipulated. Even in so-called boom time 2007 the UK figures were bad - the following link shows 1 in 4 Britons out of work in 2007.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...t-of-work.html

I don't see this changing much in many western countries. All the labour intensive factory stuff is now long gone.

And in the case of East Anglia, the agricultural labour (lost to machines and gangs) and fishing (lost to losing sight of the fact fishes are a finite resource)

The social security payment actually went UP in January! And VAT is going UP to 18% soon!