Now we're getting somewhere

subsidizing marginal producers is not a viable long-term strategy. It won't be effective

I did some research in 2004 about the failure of Spain's subsidies to coal mining and ship building. I should dig them up. That research convinced me that any money spent on direct subsidies is best spent on helping people switch to other areas of economic activity.

and may even violate EU policies.

I have posted in another comment a translation of a summary of the Spanish government's policy proposal. The truckers' demand for a "true professional diesel" (with different taxation) has been met by a promise to "push it at the EU", presumably (my best guess here) because it violates EU rules on State aid. If I remember correctly, there was some proposal by Sarkozy recently to eliminate VAT from fuel or something like that and it had to be done at EU level

If the real cause of price constraint is monopoly power then that's where the focus should be.

When the British hauliers protested last week it was pointed out that the reason they couldn't charge more was that supermarkets were using their monopsony power to squeeze the truckers' margins. In Spain it does appear as if a few companies representing 80% of the drivers are using their oligopoly position to squeeze the independent drivers. Definitely in both cases there's a case for the competition authorities to look into the matter. The Spanish government has promised to do that (see the same comment I referred to above).

Of course when the cost of fish and transported food go up the riots will just shift to the supermarkets! (wink.)

Nobody's disputing that things are going to get more expensive. Now the question is how to help people on low incomes who may get squeezed out of buying food.

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes