The Real Italy......
Our lecturer today touches on the dichotomy that is Italy. Is it a period of decline or rebirth? A member of G8 and all the other G's, Italy is still a rich country. In the areas of food, fashion, cars, architecture and music, the first name that comes to mind is usually Italian. Think of Gucci, Fendi, Ferrari, Renzo Piano, the architect, and the rich history of opera with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Maria Callas. Yet the current economy is stagnant. Of all the EU countries, Italy is the only one without economic growth.
Unemployment is at 11.7% and the number for those under age 25 is 36.7%. There are two million jobless families and 2.3 million families where no one works or studies. So only 56.7% of Italians are employed.
The government did pass a jobs act designed to incentivize employers to create more jobs. But the ever-present corruption nullified any benefit. The employers created only temporary jobs, took the tax savings and then laid off the workers.
So many Italians leave Italy in search of work, and it is not just the young. People in their forties and fifties are also leaving and generally find work easily because of the high level of their education. For those left behind, there is a trend to return to agriculture and farming, or to abandon a search for a position in their profession and learn a trade. The disappointed attorney may be applying for welding school.
Regarding healthcare, The Servizio Sanitario Nazionale provides cradle to grave healthcare for everyone including foreigners. Said to be the second best in the world after France, there was no private health care here until ten years ago. Now, because of budgetary concerns the wait times have greatly increased. Physicians are supposed to choose between the national service or private practice but many get around this by naming their clinics with a name different from their own.
Educational reforms gave principals more managerial responsibility but they still cannot fire underperforming teachers due to union pressures. Strikes are common. Third level education post high school is based on the Renaissance idea of a well rounded person. Students take many different courses in addition to their specialities. Consequently, it takes five years to earn a degree, after which time they may be called Dottore.
The relaxed Italian pace of life often means that students take seven years to graduate. By this time they enter the work force rather late in life. There is little practical experience for them. Internships are uncommon. The cost of higher education is relatively inexpensive in the public universities. Two or three thousand Euro per year and it is based on family income.
The Italian family has changed. Until the 1980's, Italians had large families with many children. When divorce and abortion became legal the complexion of family life morphed into blended families withs step children over time. People cannot afford to get married and buy a home. Most live with their parents. By the year 2000, Italians were only having one child because of the high cost of living with both partners needing to work. This has underscored the importance of the grandparents who generally provide child care for the working parents.
The birth rate in 2014 of 0.8 means that soon the population will be diluted with immigrants, currently mostly Romanian. 22% of Italians are over sixty-five with just 13.7% under 15 years of age.
Italy is most exposed geographically to immigration. The Dublin Treaty, passed by the EU, mandates that the first country the immigrant enters must provide social services. These funds are pre-paid into the EU. Social conflict between low income Italians and the newcomers who receive 40 Euro per day and housing is pronounced. There is much jealousy.
There is a movement to return to the Lira as currency. When the Euro became the currency in 2002 the cost of everything doubled. This is because the country negotiated a very poor exchange rate. Italians make the same mistake over and over again when choosing their leaders. It is in their nature to choose Caesar-like figures, strong, autocratic premiers.
The governments change frequently with elected members often changing party affiliations and positions with corruption rampant. In the aggregate, taxation of the Italian people is at 68.3%.
So, is this the end of Italy or the beginning?
Our lecturer today touches on the dichotomy that is Italy. Is it a period of decline or rebirth? A member of G8 and all the other G's, Italy is still a rich country. In the areas of food, fashion, cars, architecture and music, the first name that comes to mind is usually Italian. Think of Gucci, Fendi, Ferrari, Renzo Piano, the architect, and the rich history of opera with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Maria Callas. Yet the current economy is stagnant. Of all the EU countries, Italy is the only one without economic growth.
Unemployment is at 11.7% and the number for those under age 25 is 36.7%. There are two million jobless families and 2.3 million families where no one works or studies. So only 56.7% of Italians are employed.
The government did pass a jobs act designed to incentivize employers to create more jobs. But the ever-present corruption nullified any benefit. The employers created only temporary jobs, took the tax savings and then laid off the workers.
So many Italians leave Italy in search of work, and it is not just the young. People in their forties and fifties are also leaving and generally find work easily because of the high level of their education. For those left behind, there is a trend to return to agriculture and farming, or to abandon a search for a position in their profession and learn a trade. The disappointed attorney may be applying for welding school.
Regarding healthcare, The Servizio Sanitario Nazionale provides cradle to grave healthcare for everyone including foreigners. Said to be the second best in the world after France, there was no private health care here until ten years ago. Now, because of budgetary concerns the wait times have greatly increased. Physicians are supposed to choose between the national service or private practice but many get around this by naming their clinics with a name different from their own.
Educational reforms gave principals more managerial responsibility but they still cannot fire underperforming teachers due to union pressures. Strikes are common. Third level education post high school is based on the Renaissance idea of a well rounded person. Students take many different courses in addition to their specialities. Consequently, it takes five years to earn a degree, after which time they may be called Dottore.
The relaxed Italian pace of life often means that students take seven years to graduate. By this time they enter the work force rather late in life. There is little practical experience for them. Internships are uncommon. The cost of higher education is relatively inexpensive in the public universities. Two or three thousand Euro per year and it is based on family income.
The Italian family has changed. Until the 1980's, Italians had large families with many children. When divorce and abortion became legal the complexion of family life morphed into blended families withs step children over time. People cannot afford to get married and buy a home. Most live with their parents. By the year 2000, Italians were only having one child because of the high cost of living with both partners needing to work. This has underscored the importance of the grandparents who generally provide child care for the working parents.
The birth rate in 2014 of 0.8 means that soon the population will be diluted with immigrants, currently mostly Romanian. 22% of Italians are over sixty-five with just 13.7% under 15 years of age.
Italy is most exposed geographically to immigration. The Dublin Treaty, passed by the EU, mandates that the first country the immigrant enters must provide social services. These funds are pre-paid into the EU. Social conflict between low income Italians and the newcomers who receive 40 Euro per day and housing is pronounced. There is much jealousy.
There is a movement to return to the Lira as currency. When the Euro became the currency in 2002 the cost of everything doubled. This is because the country negotiated a very poor exchange rate. Italians make the same mistake over and over again when choosing their leaders. It is in their nature to choose Caesar-like figures, strong, autocratic premiers.
The governments change frequently with elected members often changing party affiliations and positions with corruption rampant. In the aggregate, taxation of the Italian people is at 68.3%.
So, is this the end of Italy or the beginning?
Bring back Burlesconi. At least he knew how to party bunga sytle
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