Money in January
Ah, the beginning of a new year. And new rates. After a month of people spending mostly what they don't have, January appears with higher rates in everything from electricity to bus rides. Except this year. Since general elections were last month, and there still looms the danger of a second election round if a government is not formed, rates have actually gone down this January 1st. Of course, most of that downward movement is so slight as to be almost negligible. But it does make for happy headlines. The electricity bill is going down 0.7% and the butane distributed in rural areas 0.6%. The turnpikes are also mostly going down around 0.6%. Buses, subways, and trains are not changing. They're expensive enough already. One trip on the subway in Madrid already costs €1.50 for up to five stations, with a maximum of €2.00 for nine stations or more. Some more good news is for those who work in the public sector. Their salaries are going up 1%! Wow! And those who earn minimum wa...