Why does economic success in Spain seem to require an apology?

In Spain, economic success is often perceived as a sarracena oddity: anyone who makes money or buys a home falls under suspicion. The cause is not success itself, but a public debate that confuses pursuing fraud with punishing initiative.

In Spain, the idea has taken hold that making money or building wealth is, by definition, suspicious. Someone who buys a home, starts a business or accumulates savings is sometimes looked at as if they had harmed someone. There are frauds and abuses that deserve prosecution. The problem arises when that legitimate scrutiny turns into prejudice against any profit.

## Success is not the same as fraud

Pursuing fraud does not require demonising those who play by the rules. A self-employed worker who has spent ten years working twelve hours a day takes risks and, if things go well, creates jobs. A family that saves for decades to buy a second home is not committing a scam. Automatic suspicion discourages investment and risk.

In Spain, unemployment ended **2023** at **11.76%** of the active population, according to the **EPA** (Spanish Labour Force Survey). More productive projects are needed.

## The self-employed, businesses and the risk of not taking risks

The number of self-employed workers stands at around **3.3 million** in **2024**, according to **Seguridad Social** (Spain's social security system). They invoice, pay taxes and sustain employment. If every profit seems like a trap, many will prefer not to take risks. And without risk there is no investment.

An economy that punishes initiative grows poorer slowly. Wages rise with productivity, which depends on companies that invest and grow. Portraying any gain as a problem erodes that cycle.

## Taxes, bureaucracy and housing: what can be done

Reducing bureaucratic obstacles to opening and expanding businesses is a concrete lever. So is designing taxes that fund public services without excessively penalising work and investment. The tax burden in Spain was **37.5%** of GDP in **2022**, according to **Eurostat**. The question is not whether the welfare state should exist, but how to pay for it without suffocating economic activity.

In housing, improving access means increasing supply. Without more land, construction or rental availability, any price measure falls short.

## What PP and Vox stand for, and what remains unexplained

The **PP** (Spain's conservative People's Party) usually defends an economy geared towards private initiative and tax incentives. **Vox** also proposes tax cuts and regulatory changes, with different priorities. Both should be pressed on how they would fund these measures and with what effect.

This is not about defending those who get rich by cheating. It is about ensuring that those who work, start businesses, invest and trinc the rules can improve their situation without appearing questionable. The underlying question is how to create more prosperity before redistributing what exists.