The cheek of the Government, which, faced with the several ills of war in the Ukraine, the threat of Russian gas shortfalls, global warming, price hikes, shortages and the possibility of losing the next election (late in 2023), has put a tax on the earnings of the wealthiest companies and banks.
Not that they are happy, Bless ’em. We need to be lowering taxes say the PP, not raising them (and especially not on the wealthy). ‘If Ana Botín (Banco Santander) and Ignacio Sánchez Galán (Iberdrola) don’t like it, we must be doing the right thing’, says Pedro Sánchez with an eye on the less well-off voter.
After all, the five largest Spanish banks made a profit in the first half of 2022 of 10,295 million euros. So there’s some wriggle-room here.
It’s understandable that the CEOs concerned are indignant, including the fellow from the power company who is reported to earn each day what Pedro Sánchez is paid in a year.
It will never do.
When not portraying a modest impersonation of Robin Hood, the economies imposed by the Government to keep us from all going bust this coming winter include adjusting the air-con in public buildings, shops and bars to 27ºC and the heating to 19ºC, switching off the shop-window displays and the lighting of public monuments at 10.00pm and all doors to have an automatic closing system to stop waste: all this to run until November next year.
There will be fines of up to 100 million euros for those businesses who leave the window open with the air-con running (first-time offenders will probably get a discount).
Better still, says Pedro Sánchez, if and where possible, we should ditch our jackets and ties.
On this last point, I’m way ahead of him – having not worn a tie since my school-days – except for that one occasion in the Gibraltar registry office in the summer of 1986.
I imagine the next ‘economy’ will be the lowering of the top speed on the motorway, perhaps to 100kph (which will, mathematically speaking, lower the amount of fuel we use by 0.0000001%).
They may also want to control the temperatures of the fridges in the shops, and each iced-lolly will need to be sold with a cup and a small wooden spoon while the frozen peas will have a ‘best eaten today’ sticker.
I almost feel guilty about the small fan I bought in Brico Dépôt yesterday for 18€. But, you see, it’s very hot in our place.
Still, it’ll be better here than in Germany come the winter, where, thanks to the reduction of the Russian gas, they will all be having to take cold showers, poor dears…
Perhaps an energy shortage is a good thing, as it will give this poor Earth a small respite –enough to bring us safely through to the summer of 2023.
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