CREATIVE ACCOUNTING: Oil prices will remain high "for quite a long time", says Spain's Industry Jose Montilla. How come then Pedro Solbes, the Finance minister and Montilla's colleague in Zapatero's cabinet, has just presented the budget proposal for 2005 in which the macro-economic picture relies on a 3% growth of GDP, a 6,2% increase in spending, provided the price of oil is a maximum of 33,5 USD a barrel, which is more than 15 dollars off its current price? (this last link in Spanish).

According to Time magazine only a few days ago,

Spain's business community is waiting to see Zapatero's first budget, to be presented later this week. In a speech to high-carat investors in Madrid last Friday, he said the 2005 budget would yield a slight surplus. He vowed to spend 34% more on housing, 7.4% more on education, 6.9% more on health and 6.2% more on police and justice.

So the business community has already seen it, and it's clear what the budget is: pure snake oil, based on an unrealistic assumption that the government isn't even trying to hide.

Wasn't Solbes, the current Spanish Finance minister, who in is previous job as European Union's Commissioner for monetary affairs, not only oversaw the widely fraudulent Eurostat, but also gave his blessing to Greece's blatantly false figures in order to meet the requirements for joining the Euro-zone?

Why am I complaining then? He's only doing the usual thing!