CEPR logo

Fact-based, data-driven research and analysis to advance democratic debate on vital issues shaping people’s lives.

Center for Economic and Policy Research
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009

Tel: 202-293-5380
Fax: 202-588-1356
https://cepr.net

Close

On This Page

In an article on plans by the Spanish government to pass a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, the Post told readers that:

“annual deficits spiked during the recession.”

This statement implies that the country was already running deficits before the recession. In fact, Spain had budget surpluses in the three years prior to the downturn.

Spain’s problems have nothing to do with excessive government spending or budget deficits, they stem from the collapse of a huge housing bubble that the European Central Bank (ECB) was too incompetent to notice and/or take steps to rein in. The same ECB officials responsible for this disaster are now dictating terms to the countries that face deficit problems as a result of the collapse of speculative bubbles across Europe and the rest of the world.