Rubén's famous

Well, my good friend Rubén from Madrid has made his debut on television.  So that I don't lose the link and so I can boast about what a good guy he is, I'm going to post it here: http://video.google.es/videoplay?docid=-6845666481861159979&hl=es

If you're curious about seeing my awesome motorcyclist friend, he appears 1:40 into the video.  

In case you don't speak Spanish, or don't happen to know the particulars of the housing situation in Spain... I will share with you my extremely vague and faulty knowledge.  (If he comes to visit in December I will get him to explain it better to me... the poor sod.)  Basic problem: housing is expensive in Madrid.  Lots of apartment buildings have been made, by people who were trying to make a lot of money, but they're too expensive for most people to live in; these buildings then stay empty while it remains difficult for lower-income individuals to find a decent place to live.

Rubén has been working for a while now with a group that aims to create affordable housing all over Spain. Their website is at www.viviendadigna.org .  What they want to do is use tax dollars to create housing at a lower price, so that it would ultimately not cost more than 30% of someone's income.  The prices he quoted for me were 30m2 for 200€, 60m2 for 400€/month.  Now to see how that compares to Toronto...