Grok proposes 10 ultra-liberal measures for Spain, sparking debate

Grok proposes 10 ultra-liberal measures for Spain: flat tax, privatisations and the shadow of immigration

The xAI artificial intelligence, known as Grok, has published a ten-point list of ultra-liberal measures for Spain designed to shrink the state to a minimum, eliminate distortions and tackle corruption. The document, circulating for three days, has reignited the old dispute between minimal state and redistribution. Among the most concrete proposals to have emerged, a flat income tax stands out, but the real focus of the controversy has been what it does not say: immigration.

Flat tax and privatisations: the core of the proposal

Although only the first measure is explicitly known – a radical tax reform with a single rate – the ten-point list would include unrestricted freedom of contract and the privatisation of strategic state-owned companies. Supporters of the model argue that a flat tax simplifies the system, reduces fraud and attracts investment. Critics reply that in ageing societies like Spain's, cutting tax revenue without touching pension and healthcare spending is a recipe for disaster. It has been pointed out that experiences such as Meloni's and Salvini's in Italy, who cut the top income tax rate from 43% to 42%, show the political limits of these reforms when boomers demand public services.

The elephant in the room: immigration and sovereignty

Even though the ten-point list does not mention immigration, it has become the hottest point of the analysis. One camp holds that any liberal reform must be accompanied by strict border control and, in some cases, mass expulsions, arguing that the Spanish state has brought in migrants with expenses covered while breaking its own laws. Against them, another current defends that genuine liberalism is incompatible with closed borders, and that restrictive migration policies are the stuff of collectivism. The debate has grown so heated that some participants have demanded measures such as "banning the PSOE" (Spain's socialist party) or drastically cutting the civil service, proposals that go beyond the original ten-point list.

The mirrors of Ireland, Estonia and Singapore

To illustrate the success of the liberal model, several international cases have been cited. On one hand, it has been suggested that Ireland's per capita income, excluding multinationals, reaches €70,000 a year, more than double Spain's. However, critics recall that Dublin's rental market was already prohibitive in 2001 and that Ireland lacks public housing, unlike the UK or Spain. Estonia, for its part, went from $2,600 to $38,000 in per capita income in three decades, but its dependence on Finnish investment and the loss of 10% of its population since 2000 qualify the story. Singapore, often the banner of liberalism, has 85% of its population living in state-owned housing, a fact that dismantles the caricature of an ultra-liberal paradise.

The unexpected consensus: nothing is enough

Curiously, both supporters and detractors agree that Grok's ten-point list, if implemented, would not be enough to reverse Spain's decline. The former add that pensions, education and monetary policy would also need tackling; the latter, that some privatisations were already attempted without success. The fact that hangs over the discussion is that, even with all these measures, today's Spain would still be dragging along a demographic and structural imbalance that no flat tax can solve on its own.