If anything characterizes Spain, it is our capacity for bureaucracy. No matter what you need to do—renew your national identity card, apply for social assistance, or simply change your primary care doctor—the process will always be long, confusing, and probably involve more forms than you imagine. In fact, in Spain the neighbor advising you on how to fill out the paperwork is probably faster and more efficient than any official behind a counter. And best of all, we have grown used to it, almost resignedly. We accept it as part of daily life. But behind the mockery of our administrative inefficiency lies a reality: social policies in Spain, although well intentioned, are slow and, in many cases, insufficient.
In this chapter, we are going to be particularly tough on the current state of social policy in Spain. We will explore the actual data, observing how the system seems designed to move slowly, with the efficiency of a paralyzed tortoise. And to round things off, we will make the inevitable comparison with the Nordic countries, which seem to have discovered the secret to efficient social policy. As always, we will do it with plenty of biting humor, because if we cannot laugh at our own problems, what else can we laugh at?