Edit to above
They are just not spending, everything is frozen.
should read:
They are just not spending on big ticket stuff, everything like that is frozen. The personal savings rate rose a lot in the last quarter.

And I would add that that is the main thing that we are passing a stimulus bill for, to try to stop a deflationary cycle, where the loss of jobs from people's fear of buying big ticket items, because they fear being laid off. The most popular financial advisors on the tube are telling everyone to act like they are going to be laid off. So many are putting off all big purchases and saving money instead (or paying down debt.)

Sorry, I just don't see "blood in the streets" in this culture even with 20% unemployment, as long as it doesn't stretch over 10 years like the last time. I really do think you have a very inaccurate view of the U.S. culture there, I can't disagree with you on that enough.

Schadenfreude meets Cassandra, hopes Obama will break hearts as Kennedy broke his.

Hah! Yano, one can take that further. At one time in the 20th century, I believe Spain was a popular destination for a small contingent of American lefties seeking some "blood on the streets" action when they were frustrated with the lack of same in their own country. :-)

I'd like to add to TheraP's news stories links below and see if we can make the current Spain look like it's getting close to hell on earth. It's easy, wanna see?

Spain's downward spiral spooks bond investors Spain lost almost 200,000 jobs in January in the worst one-month rise since records began, lifting the unemployment rate to 14.4pc and inflicting further damage on the credibility of the Spanish government. By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Last Updated: 6:08PM GMT 03 Feb 2009

The ferocity of the downturn has led to a sharp jump in borrowing costs for the Spanish state, which lost its AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's last month.....

"This is a national emergency. The government is being overwhelmed by events," said Mariano Rajoy, the opposition leader. The mood has changed dramatically in recent weeks as debtors launch hunger strikes and one builder threatened to set himself on fire to protest the credit crunch.

Maravillas Rojo, the labour secretary, said four million people may be out of work by end of the year – up from 3.3m now. "We're suffering from a grave international financial crisis, lack of liquidity, and falling consumption," she said.

Spain is losing jobs at three times the rate of the US, in proportionate terms. Over one million Spanish men under thirty are unemployed, leading to a surge in applications to join the armed forces. Three quarters of the army candidates are being turned away.

Industry minister Miguel Sebastian has launched a "Made in Spain" drive, exhorting the nation to buy Spanish clothes and to take ski holidays in the Sierra Nevada instead of the Alps. He claimed that 120,000 jobs can be saved if every citizen spends €150 less this year on imports.

The campaign amounts to a partial boycott of foreign products and may breach EU law. It is the sort of protectionist reflex becoming visible daily in much of the world....

Now Mr. Seaton will protest that that's not an accurate picture of daily life. Well guess what, Mr. Seaton, same for the U.S.

Meanwhile, I haven't seen any comment from Mr. Seaton about whether there is protectionist sentiment against well-off Yankee and Brit expat types (who helped drive up real property values.)

That's what I see in his cartoon, looks to me that it's not about the U.S. politicians or diplomats, it's about well-off foreign interlopers in Spain. So is Mr. Seaton still receiving free-lance payments from Spanish publications that could be going to some English-speaking Spanish citizens? Is he feeling any discomfort about that when he looks at the cartoon? When he sees immigrant olive pickers being urged to go home? To me, that cartoon is clearly anti-well-off foreigner.