CAPITALISM ITSELF IS A MORAL HAZARD

Pretty much like Ireland, Spain went down the economic tubes because of greed in the Spanish housing market.

Spain goes from boom to bailout in a decade
By HAROLD HECKLE | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago

PROPERTY GOLDRUSH

—Cheap money triggered a real estate boom as property developers and families borrowed heavily. This fueled an unprecedented economic expansion known as the "Spanish fiesta". The country's then-muscular economy, the fourth-largest in the eurozone, rode out the 2008 financial crisis as its main lenders — and savings banks called cajas — were widely viewed by investors as sound.

FROM BOOM TO BUST

—Unemployment started rising. The jobless rate, which stood at 8.3 percent in 2007, jumped to 18 percent in 2009. It is now almost 25 percent. The huge numbers of unsold properties in Spain caused prices to plummet.

BTW, austerity failed in Ireland and it also failed in Spain:

ZAPATERO ACTS

—In 2010, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero introduced controversial hikes in the retirement age, from 65 to 67, and in sales taxes to get a handle on the size of government debt and appease markets. Zapatero's measures failed to halt the country's slide into recession and he was forced to call early elections in 2011.

But even a conservative was forced into socialism:

CHANGE AT THE TOP

—The conservative Popular Party, led by Mariano Rajoy, took office in December 2011. Rajoy moved quickly on reforms and austerity measures, triggering massive demonstrations by people worried about their future. Many protesters were young — the jobless rate for those between 16 and 24 has reached 52 percent.

DRAGGED ALONG BY THE TIDE

—Rajoy has had to nationalize eight lenders facing bankruptcy as Spain fell into a double-dip recession.