Darrell Castle talks about revolution in Spain as the region of Catalonia seeks independence. Transciption / Notes CATALONIA REALLY WANTS TO BE FREE Hello this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report.  Today is Friday, October 6, 2017, and on today’s Report I will be talking about the nation of Spain and the struggle of one of its regions, or provinces, to become an independent nation.   We start with a little background. Prior to the start of World War Two, the Spanish Region of Catalonia sought to establish a Republic in Spain, which was  was allied in its struggle with the Soviet Union.  The opposing force was Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco who was allied with Nazi Germany.  Adolph Hitler had begun rearming Germany from its defeat in World War l, and the Spanish Civil War gave him a chance to test his new weapons, especially the Luftwaffe or German Air Force.  The new airplanes used in Spain caused Great Britain to take notice and start its own re-armament.  The Spanish Civil War became a cause for celebrity attention around the world.  Ernest Hemingway went there and wrote “For Whom The Bell Tolls” about it. Franco continued as Spanish head of state until his death in 1975.  After his death a Constitutional Monarchy was established with 17 autonomous regions, one of which was Catalonia.  The autonomy of these regions was spelled out in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, but the Constitution did not allow for complete independence from Spain.  Since that time the region of Catalonia has been in a struggle with the Spanish Government in Madrid.  The two sides can never agree on how much autonomy each region has or even what is meant by the term autonomy.  The Catalan people have voted in non binding referendums many times and each vote is overwhelmingly for independence. Each time the Spanish Government goes to the Constitutional Court for a ruling that the referendum is illegal and unconstitutional, and each time they get it.  Spain will not voluntarily let go of Catalonia, the nation’s most valuable and richest region.  Catalonia is not the only Spanish Region to consider independence.  The Basque region is watching these events very closely. Catalonia is located on the northeast corner of Spain.  It borders France and the Mediterranean Coast, and includes the city of Barcelona.  It is Spain’s number one tourist region, from which comes its highest tax revenue.  The tax system is Catalonia’s reason for wanting independence, and has been since the Constitution of 1978.  The Catalans are upset because more than a majority of their taxes are collected from them but used in other regions.  Catalonia is being used as a tax farm by the Spanish Government to fund its welfare and vote-buying schemes in other regions. In a nutshell, the real problem with Catalonia, and Spain in general, is one of demographics.  Spain has the lowest fertility rate in Europe and its population is rapidly aging.  While Spain struggles to deal with an unproductive and aging population the European Union requires the immigration of a few million immigrants supposedly to replace Spanish low wage workers, but who in reality, fill the welfare rolls.  Scotland could not afford to vote for independence from Great Britain because of all the subsidies it receives but in Spain the relationship is reversed and Catalonia subsidizes the Spanish Government. The Catalan people have come to the conclusion that they would be better of without the rest of Spain so they are pushing independence as far as it will go.  Other regions such as the Basque region watch and wait for their own opportunity.  Spain is in a very difficult spot because if Catalan is allowed to be free, other regions will follow suit and the Spanish Government will have no way to pay the debt service on the billions it has borrowed from the European Central Bank and the German Banks. In its desperation to keep Catalonia peaceably, Spain has offered to pay billions to the region.