Portugal's public debt has risen an astounding €7 billion to 132.9% of GDP.
Despite punitive austerity measures, allegedly booming tourism receipts and, the public are told, a growing business sector, the government is presiding over a financial fiasco due primarily to its inability to tackle public sector expenditure and taking on over €70 billion in loans from the Troika.
For the deficit to go up at this stage of the game is a resigning issue and a reflection that policy is not working.
With further taxation measures being rigidly applied and a bureaucracy designed to stifle and bully entrepreneurs the public are running out of patience and of funds.
Record numbers of citizens are having their goods and houses seized by an increasingly uncaring regime that surely enough is dividing the haves and have nots. The population continues to shrink as younger workers move away to countries where skills are encouraged and nurtured and not seen as taxation opportunities.
The shocking figures were released today by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, and indicate that the number one country for fiscal incompetence was Slovenia, then Hungary - Portugal sits in third place with the Belgians.
In one year of government spin and economic hardship the headline figure for Portugal’s debt rose a further 5.5% from 2013's €209 billion, or from 127.4% of GDP to 132.9%.
Compared to Greece with a public deficit of 174% of GDP, Portugal is doing well, the difference in Greece is that the government is not expending energy in telling its population how swimmingly everything is going.
Comments
government policy and banking are the catalysts for business.
British living 'out of town' in RAN, REN or the Forestry Reserve should be following discussions like this :
Does your house exist with the Ministry ?
http://www.expatfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=40063/
You will note that the resident expert (a MAI native ??) is stumped – but it does not do to alarm the British away as happened in southern Spain. Many British there having their houses demolished or serious fines often after years of habitation – yet their local Spanish equivalent to the Municipal having issued them with completely legal papers for their property.
There, no British buys any more without insisting on proof that their property officially exists from the Spanish Regional Ministry.
So - if living out of town here in Portugal - What proof do you have that the relevant Portuguese Ministry know you are there … legally ?
"they" of course are the bureaucrats with their jobs for life and no idea that "their" existence depends on taxes created by business
what amazes me here how the population never gets angry with them
The Eu should for its own sake investigate to see whether it is based on corruption or incompetence.
I have to feel sorry for the Portuguese , really , I love the people , and most of my friends here are nationals.But I am seeing first hand that the younger generation are leaving in droves , not just the high sckilled and degree holders , and with that goes the taxpayers to fund the pensions for the generations above them.
What will happen next is akin to the uk , they will find a blame hound , totally unrelated to the problem , and misdirect the voting public along their closeted hatred for that or them , the immigrants , benefit takers and so on.
Its happening already , people blaming the estrangero for high house prices , all to eager to sell them though ,for the NHS being diabolical and blamed on immigrant pensioners and tourists.
I