This is an important story reported in the Huffington Post. It’s well worth a read. Check it out!

Spain’s S-81 Isaac Peral Submarine Cost $680 Million To Build… And Can’t Float.

This week the austerity story has moved-on. We have now seen in this article and in the UK, huge wastage in the public sector, at the same time as draconian austerity measures; this means that citizens of both Spain and the UK are facing a double crisis, first the cuts and then the loss of value-added.

This crisis in value-for-money, is especially worrying as many economists like Paul Krugman and the IMF are calling for increased short-term borrowing and immediate investment in infrastructure for a good dose of Keynesian medicine. Sadly, the austerians will argue that the public sectors in both Spain and the UK are incapable of spending money prudently; of course, they have powerful point.

Personally, I think that part of the answer is to overhaul procurement in the public sector which compares very poorly to the private sector; many of the weaknesses come from EU bureaucracy. Also labour markets are far too rigid and there is an urgent need to open them up to competition from independent professionals.

Any thoughts?

Photograph of Peral submarine, Cartagena, from right front. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• Spain’s New S-80 Class Submarines Sink, But Won’t Float
• Cost $680 Million To Build… And Can’t Float
• Spain spent $680 million on submarine that ‘can’t resurface’
• £2 billion Spanish navy submarine will sink to bottom of sea
• New Spanish submarine has serious weight problem