The government wants motorists to reduce their speed to cut Spain’s fuel bill amid rising oil prices. But will forcing drivers to go 10 kph slower save anyone any money and, more to the point, cushion the impact of the North African uprisings on the Spanish economy, as the government evidently hopes? Though physics dictates that drivers would indeed see some savings, economics, unlike physics, is not an exact science and chances are that the lower speed limit on Spain’s highways, effective from today, will do little to protect the economy from rising energy costs. Instead, the rush to impose a new law reducing the highway speed limit from 120 kph to 110 kph smacks of desperation. Not … [Read more...] about A new slowdown in Spain
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Governing for unruly Spaniards
The other night I was listening to a journalist speak during a television panel debate about the government’s proposal that goes into effect on Monday to reduce the speed limit on highways from 120 kph to 110 kph. She complained that she had grown tired with Prime Minister Zapatero’s paternalistic government telling her what she can or cannot do. It reminded me of former Prime Minister José María Aznar’s similar gripe a few years back when the Health Ministry decided to order a popular US fast food chain to pull a calorie-filled, multi-layer burger for nutritional reasons. Aznar said that if he wanted to eat a burger high in fat and carbohydrates he should be able to do so without anyone … [Read more...] about Governing for unruly Spaniards