Posted on 10/27/2017 2:00:45 AM PDT by Nextrush
The Spanish senate is discussing a plan by the Madrid government to take over some of Catalonia's autonomous powers, amid an escalating crisis over the region's push for independence.
Earlier this month Catalonia held a disputed referendum on the issue.
The Senate is expected to pass the emergency measures, which include sacking the Catalan leader.
Meanwhile the regional parliament has been debating a possible declaration of independence.
The debate began on Thursday, after Catalan leader Carlos Puigdemont failed to reveal a favored course of action, and called on MP's to decide on a response.
Mr. Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence following the 1 October vote but immediately halted implementation and called for negotiations between Catalonia and the Spanish government......
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
I think it was deliberately designed that way because the matters on the table are serious.
Unrest, violence are possible in this situation.
Seizure of control of the local police which is part of the package of measures Madrid has on the table, would probably result in a split down the middle of the local police into two factions.
The modern nation-state is like Hotel California
If governments took your tax dollars and then spent them with wisdom and discretion, the difference between the high tax revenue areas, like Catalonia, and the low tax revenue areas, would be there, but tolerable. But Spain’s socialist politicians have turned into the hogs they all act like when they have a pot of money. There is no need so small the state shouldn’t pay for it. (Birth control pills come to mind. Oh, and “free” condoms.) Each year the freebies keep going up, because the attitude of the takers is, “what have you done for me lately?” Finally, it has reached a boiling point. As my mother used to say, “Pigs get fat. Hogs get slaughtered.”
To quote Margaret Thatcher, “Socialism works fine, until you run out of other people’s money.” To that I’d add, “...or, until the other people take their money and leave.” (We see this happening here in areas like Detroit, Chicago and New York.)
We were in Barcelona last weekend. When we were walking down from the art museum to plaza Espana there was a large demonstration marching down the street but it was peaceful. Other than that it looked like any other day in Barcelona, loads of tourists totally oblivious to what's going on in the background. There were also a few dozen tv cameras and reporters outside of the main government offices like they were expecting something to happen but nothing did.
If I were in charge of Catalonia I would have a plan ready that would wipe out every record of every citizen if I even thought Madrid was stepping in to take over. Store a copy of the records somewhere safe in case they let you back in but leave nothing to the new leaders. Every tax record, every traffic ticket, every government transaction with the citizens. If they want to take over let them start from scratch and deal with the resulting chaos.
Coming to a state near you...
This is interesting...
Catalonia in numbers
16% of Spain’s population live in Catalonia, and it produces:
25.6% of Spain’s exports
19% of Spain’s GDP
20.7% of foreign investment
(Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Eurostat, Bank of Spain)
I don’t know much about the issue but this suggests Catalonia has some clout.
Spain needs to thread the needle. If Madrid removes the Catalan leader, bombs will start going off in Madrid.
Wife and kids have bugged out.
They would just walk into every home and demand to see all financial records.
Perhaps the government of Catalonia should consider giving guns to everyone in Catalonia. “Don’t let the government push you around.”
There are 1.6 million people in Barcelona alone. Even the Spanish government doesn't have that many bureaucrats to do the checking and verifying.
If only the Spanish government put the same effort into resisting the Islamic invasion.
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