The Pain in Spain Is Mainly in the...

In what way do you suggest they do that?

Good question for which i do not have an answer but i always think it is good to know that a place, like Michigan, where i come from, is on hard times - but you are right i guess whether a tourist knows times are hard or not is irrelevant as you have so aptly pointed out.

OTOH tipping low-level service folk more than normal, etc could play a part.

Spain does not do tipping, for the most part, so far as I know. Probably there are better ways to help out Spaniards.

So low-level service folks in Spain will refuse a gratuity?

Or maybe a better way would be to chose Spain as your vacation destination over say Holland, where just 4% of the working folks are unemployed?

Make Spain a destination for what Spain has to offer- a lot but chose it now for economic impact reasons? Now this is really pie in the sky thinking, but...

Why should the Dutch be made to suffer for Spanish mismanagement?

Spain gets plenty of tourist Euros every year. You needn't feel sorry for them.

I do not necessarily feel sorry for the Spanish gov't,banks, etc but for the average Spaniard.

Spain has a "black economy", so the official stats may not indicate everything, although I'm sure things are not great. Still, I don't get why you would tip an employed person, if that's not the custom, if you are worried about the unemployed people?

If the average Spaniard/Greek/whatever paid their taxes instead of making it a national pastime to not pay them their economies would be better and there would be more employment.

The way they are going they are going to bring down the entire Eurozone.

Unemployed in Spain get benefits for up to two years if they become unemployed. They also get an excellent state pension, though who pays for that is any bodies guess. They are even allowed to do some part time paid work whilst receiving unemployment benefit.

hetismij may have just explained why the unemployment rate in Spain and Greece is so high?

I suppose Dutch workers laid out or made redundant do not get similar benefits?

I once read that 1 in 10 Dutch were officially unfit for work - getting benefits - even those injured in skiing accidents? This was a while back and i do believe the Dutch have tightened the ship but i would think an unemployed Dutch person may have similar benefits to those in Spain and Greece?

I'm not sure i'm buying the assumption here that Spanish and Greek folk are cheats, milking the system but that could be the case i guess.

i can't see why posters are critical of a suggestion that visitors to spain do what they can to help locals. it's a generous thought and one which can only benefit people. service staff are notoriously badly paid, and work very long hours. the ludicrous suggestion that 'spain does not do tipping' is just that: ludicrous. it's not the norm and it's not 'expected' but is nevertheless gratefully received and if you go back somewhere that you've left a tip you'll get good service. one point - the spanish are not the best at expressing gratitude, so don't expect big thanks. but they will be grateful.

Just keep coming

Portuense, waiters in Spain get good wages (but yes, they work long hours...)

Spain has turned the economic miracle (based on nothing but thousands of useless new houses) into a economic drama.

My god there are so many of you here expressing what you think you know about Spain and have very little clues as to what is what.
Now stop it all of you and plan your vacations or simply help other posters.

Since when did having the facts have anything to do with posting opinions on Fodor's?