When I saw construction work going on across the street from my apartment building, I was surprised to say the least. With everyone fleeing Portugal to search for work elsewhere, the population seems to be diminishing, leaving a country full of ghost towns. To add to my surprise, I found out that what they are constructing is a large elementary school. The projected plans are to close schools in surrounding areas, and combine them into one large building. However, the student population actually seems to be decreasing, which begs the question- why larger schools? According to a U.S. Census Bureau chart created in 2003, the elementary school population will gradually decrease as shown in the Portugal Population Pyramid between the years 1995 and 2050. With the current economic crisis, you don’t have to look at a chart or read statistics to know that everyone in Portugal has a relative or friend heading abroad for work.
Super-Size-Me Schools
In the 1920’s the United States, like other countries, saw one room school houses giving way to multiple classroom buildings, and eventually consolidated districts leading to the monster schools now present. Debates continue as to how effective these large schools are, and whether or not they’re to blame for all the disciplinary problems experienced today. According to The Independent, “The Conservatives, who obtained the details from government records, warned that larger schools faced the worst problems with discipline.” And although the noble plan of consolidating schools may have thrifty motives behind it, is this the right time to do that? Memories of abandoned school buildings in the States come to mind as I gaze on my daughter’s 4 room school house in perfectly good condition. Homeless people abound, the crisis grinds on, growing worse every day, and yet the progress of questionable and unnecessary construction continues.
Wasteful Spending
An IMF staff report urged Portugal to "strengthen spending control and reduce wasteful expenditure." "South Korea and Portugal built a number of stadiums for major international football tournaments that now sit underused and half-empty on match days......" Many feel this was a complete waste of taxpayers’money, and one example of wasteful spending. Similar to the criticized South African spending on luxurious infrastructures for the 2010 world cup, the country of Portugal was keen to impress for the 2004 European soccer championships and have been under pressure to demolish the underused stadiums they constructed.
Portugal’s 2009 deficit overshot a government forecast of 5.9 percent of gross domestic product, according to Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos.
While travelling on the new toll highway, A-8, from Lisbon to Aveiro, one feels as if one is in a deserted country as virtually nobody uses it.
Plans to build a multi-million dollar airport in the Algarve have been thwarted with the current crisis underway. Along with nebulous information provided to the EU regarding allocation of funding and construction plans, more than one billion dollars had already been provided for “European linked infrastructure projects” according to the National Strategic Reference Framework (QUREN) in 2010. Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira promised to delay infrastructure projects, along with a gamut of other belt tightening sacrifices to reach budget targets. "Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos spelled out a raft of measures including spending cuts on health services, social welfare and delaying infrastructure projects, which he said would guarantee the government will reach its target of a 4.6% fiscal gap this year."
Reform Underway
Economic consultant Teresa Ter-Minassian seems confident in Portugal’s efforts toward reform. "Portugal's chances of differentiating itself from Greece are growing day by day, the government has shown commitment and adequate policies of strong adjustment ... The government is showing a lot of determination in implementing the programme, which minimises the risks," she said.
Serious steps in spending cuts are being taken by the new government, although the recent setback with the unreported spendings (over 1 billion Euros) of the island of Madeira came as an embarrassment to Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, and a disappointment to EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn.
