The Institute of Strategic Studies, the Foment del Treball think tank, presented this Tuesday a decalogue of proposals to alleviate the crisis facing the economy as a result of inflation.
"A threatening autumn is approaching that requires taking joint and imminent measures," said Jordi Alberich, coordinator of the study center, whose report warns of the end of an era of economic openness and the necessary adaptation of the economy to a complex world and heterogeneous.
To address this situation, the IEE calls for an income pact, along the same lines that the president of Foment, Josep Sánchez Llibre, did last week. This income pact – which is also defended by the Generalitat and which the Government intends to reactivate – would imply an agreement of solidarity and responsibility between unions, employers, the body of civil servants and the group of pensioners. The think tank considers that it would be favorable to agree on aid and flexibility mechanisms assuming that all groups should make concessions on their aspirations and the conditions that they have already agreed upon.
In the decalogue, the IEE also asks the public and private sectors to take advantage of the great opportunity that the arrival of European Next Generation funds represents. “They will make it possible to apply a modern and ambitious industrial policy that the territory has needed for decades,” said the person in charge at a press conference.
In addition, the study center considers it relevant to continue reinforcing professional training with the aim of promoting job creation (especially in industry) as well as promoting collaboration between universities and the business world.
In the tax field, the think tank considers that "now is not the time to address a major tax reform" since the "harsh global circumstances do not allow us to address a debate of this scope and depth". Instead, the think tank asks that the small fiscal adjustments that are approved soon not impact the competitiveness of companies "despite the fact that some think that companies can still withstand more pressure." Given this situation, the IEE also proposes to seriously address the fight against the underground economy, which in Spain is ten points above the European average.
In the decalogue, there is also a demand in relation to the reform of the public administration and the reinforcement of the health system in the face of the possibility of future pandemics.
The study center, aware that on many occasions the course of the global economy escapes the margin of action of regional or state governments, considers that the measures it proposed are actions that do "depend on ourselves".
