da Administração Central do Estado, and SIMPLEX – Programa de Simplificação Administrativa e Legislativa), among others. Since the XVII Governo Constitucional government (with José Sócrates as prime minister and Teixeira dos Santos as minister of finance) Portugal's fiscal policy improved with a steady increase of the number of taxpayers and the growth of the receipt amount from State taxation. However these policies had little effect, and the country's public debt and deficit were both out of control by 2010, along with a record high unemployment rate. João Bilhim directed in 2005 the committee responsible for the Programme for Restructuring the State's Central Administration (PRACE) but was said to be disappointed with the results. Several reforms and measures implemented in 2006/2007 by the government (XVII Governo Constitucional – headed by Prime Minister José Sócrates), resulted in improved welfare system financial sustainability but reduced income expectations of future pensioners up to 40%. In addition, economically active people must work for more years before retirement than formerly. A sustainability factor was also introduced, giving employees the option of working longer or receiving slightly lower pensions, as life expectancy forecasts increase. After the Portuguese regionalization referendum of 1998 where the "No" to regionalization of the mainland into eight administrative regions was victorious, the XVII Governo Constitucional government announced in January 2009 its firm intention of starting again a regionalization process for Portugal. According to this governmental project, mainland Portugal was to be regionalized into five regions with a wide range of administrative autonomy, using the already established NUTS II system: Alentejo, Algarve, Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Central Portugal and Northern Portugal. The transformation of the Portuguese public administration from a traditional one to an information technology-based multiplatform service, was praised by the European Commission through its European Union benchmark for the sector, that consecutively placed Portugal in the first position of the ranking in 2009 and 2010. Technological plan One of the government's main policies was the Plano Tecnológico (Technological Plan), aimed at increasing Portugal's competitivity through the modernization of its economy. The plan consisted of three key areas: knowledge, technology and innovation. A low-cost Intel-based netbook for use by children announced by Sócrates's government cabinet, named Magalhães (after Fernão de Magalhães) and packaged and assembled for the Portuguese school-age children and the low-to-middle income economy export market by the Portuguese company J.P. Sá Couto, headquartered in Matosinhos, Norte region, was among the government's