In recent days we have witnessed the brutal offensive by the Basque and Spanish employers: they have made it clear that capitalism is insatiable. They take advantage of the economic and financial crisis to make greater profits at the expense of those they always have, workers and the grass-roots sectors. Basque employers, Confesbask, have put forward a proposal for tax reform with the aim of achieving greater wealth for public coffers. It aims to lower social security contributions, cut back on already very low corporate tax, get more tax incentives and deductions, and go deeper into the privileged treatment that capital incomes already have in income tax, etc. They say that to be competitive you have to match up with Germany; but they have “forgotten” to match the wages! For its part, the Spanish Business Confederation (CEOE) has proposed to the parties that will be presented in the A-20 to reduce the layoffs -20 days per year worked, with a maximum of twelve months - and eliminate the bridges that are public holidays. They do tourism when they want.

It is time to say “enough now”. They take advantage of the crisis to reduce costs at the expense of the public purse and put its consequences in the hands of the workers, both through indirect taxes and through the reduction of the social and labour rights they acquired. The politicians of our institutions, with the support of the social partners, have in their hands the possibility of dealing with the offensive of capitalism that is bewildering every day: a rigorous fiscal reform. This offensive, however, is protected and financed by governments and administrations. As a draftsman of a Madrid newspaper recently said: “Capitalism gives it everything… but with public money.” They're insatiable.