Everyone knew they were a bit nuts on the hard left, but now they've gone full-on bonkers. Pedro Sánchez, the leader who once claimed to have solved the Mediterranean migrant crisis by hosting the Aquarius ship, has now struck a deal with the Iran-backed neo-Communist party Podemos on the General State Budget for 2019—still pending approval in Brussels and Madrid.
Under this agreement, they've decided to artificially raise the Spanish minimum wage to €900 per month. The one bit of good news is that anyone on a payroll will earn more, almost as if they'd moved to Switzerland or Luxembourg. The downside, though, is that we're still in post-recession Spain—and it's worth remembering that only big corporations can afford to uphold such a policy.
I have my doubts about the newsagent on the corner, though.
Moreover, since the minimum wage is linked to social security contributions for the self-employed—which had already increased during the Rajoy era—these contributions will also skyrocket. Most of us freelancers currently pay a monthly social security fee of €278 that is unthinkable in any other European country. However, starting in January 2019, we'll be required to pay the ridiculous amount of €314 per month if we earn an income above €900.
Furthermore, little is known about what will happen to those that cannot earn as much as the new minimum wage threshold. There are two options: either be exempt from paying, which means forfeiting pension benefits upon retirement, or pay a reduced amount, which results in contributing toward a lower pension. The latter is, of course, the lesser of the two evils for those of us who prefer not to waste time and want to continue contributing while seeking for better sources of income.
In my case, as a struggling freelance linguist, if I teach foreign languages privately, I will likely be exempt from contributing but will simultaneously bear the consequences of that exemption. However, if I translate something or teach a course, I am required to pay €314 per month for my work instead of using that money to pay rent or invest in myself and my property.
It feels like being fined for... working!
Image by Peter Olexa from Pixabay
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