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Italy: economic decline of a nation

Pubblicato da lorenzobianchi1983 il

The question is not whether the collapse of Italy will happen but when it will come.

The country did not make any economic reform. Matthew Renzi (Prime Minister) after two years has made very weak economic reforms. He left under the carpet the most important things, to be done. He initially promised to reform a week, then a month, then once every 100 days, now no more talk of reforms. Matteo Renzi is lying shamelessly to all Europe, with positive growth for the first year, after many of crisis, the Italian government is enhanced by the poor results of +0.7 to +0.8%, but the economic reality of each day is different;  If in Italy you want to buy a house or create a company you must have to contact the Obligatory Notaries (a hybrid figure between public and private) that you pay several thousands euro to register a title. Your business will be closely checked by chambers of commerce, by  office of hygiene, by the financial police, tax office , also You must pay the public pension institution (that will take your money to pay current pensions and not your future retirement), you must to pay obligatory national insurance.  The taxation on companies is the highest in Europe, bureaucracy is terrible.

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typical office of the Italian public administration.

Italian businessmen have transferred whole companies in Austria or Germany (many of them say: “I do not mind paying higher wages to our employees, the important thing is to have an efficient bureaucracy that helps us. In Italy they (the bureaucrats) destroy us”.

Salaries in Italy would be high but the Italian state requires employers to withhold the 35% salary of the employee, every month this money end up in the pockets of the state.

stabilimienti_vuoti_italy
Italy: Small company in phase of final closure

the country has a tendency to regulate everything. In particular, any new technology or innovations on the market, for example, need a certificate approved by two different offices for driving (or should say play) a flying drone.

The country is mired in a jungle of regulations, offices, economic groups that create their own true and corporations, closed castes.

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Tax office in Italy

Taxi drivers do not want additional licenses, they are few but do not want to open up the market. (do 5 km by taxi in Italy in a provincial town it will cost € 25-30). Graduates pharmacists would like to open new pharmacies (particularly young people fresh from university). The old pharmacists have closed the market but the government has made a scam law to confuse the European union, so if you have a degree in pharmacy can open a “pharmacy subordinate” (in Italy ParaFarmacia) but it is impossible to sell basic medicines like aspirin or paracetamol, other examples also applies to tobacco shops (that remains a state monopoly) ,and many other economic categories.

The timing of justice are impressive, if you are a company or a private citizen. Recently a judge decided to postpone a hearing between four years (in 2020) because he said he has too much work, he already has 1 hearing every 2 days.  The hearing was postponed due to a legal dispute between two companies for 200,000 euros.

if you buy a property and your tenant does not pay you rent, to get the house back, you will take a year in a small town and two years if you live in a big city.

If you have a debt and unpaid, you are quiet in Italy because justice is slow, very slow (5 years, sometimes 10 or 15 years). Magistrates have over 2 months of vacation, leisure and very high salaries, as well as the entire public administration. including the political class, an Italian parliamentary costs almost 20,000 Euros per month (the most expensive in Europe), and for the maintenance of the palace of the president of the Italian republic, the cost is 390 million euro per year (more than double buckingham palace in UK)

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growth rate of GDP (G7 and Euro Area)

 

The latest economic data from oecd (= Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), see Italy behind in all Europe. The higher taxation with the highest public debt in Europe. When the government sees entering more money does not bother to reduce taxation, but spends more. Italian politicians are very good at distracting the masses with propaganda by Radio and TV. At the time of the old currency (lira) said: “With the value of the currency too low, we can not buy raw materials such as oil Affordable “”  …a few months ago They said: our export and our products are not competitive with such high value of the euro “; Just excuses to hide the truth: they do not want to cut the privileges of caste of state, but now, They  have No excuses, we are in an exceptional market situation for a country like Italy a country that has always produced manufacturing goods for export (the famous: Made in Italy), and imported raw materials  in fact we have: lower value of the euro and in the same time, the price of oil continues to fall, but the performance of Italy are disastrous, despite all European countries have returned to pre-crisis values. this year there will be growth, a very low growth. Do not be fooled: Italian Politicians, Italian bureaucracy and part of society does not want reforms,  they want to maintain high salaries with low productivity and privileges. The problem is spending on pensions, public salaries, maintenance of a state apparatus which I define Fascist-Communist (excuse the oxymoron but both ideologies had the cult  for the state and an indifference to the human person). Italy invented fascism and after the 2nd world war had the largest and strongest communist party, throughout the West. The last spot on Italian public television paints a tax evader as a parasite on society. Part of this culture steeped Italian society, the entrepreneur or the free enterprise to be seen as something suspicious. Often tax evasion is the only way to survive and resist against the state that is similar to the movie “Brazil” by Terry Gilliam.

italian_lunch_by_ouishare_flickr
young italians at lunch

Meanwhile, over 30,000 young Italians every year, leaving the country (often the best part of society). Guys and girls, often graduates in economics, Experienced musicians and artisans with golden hands (tailors, shoemakers, experienced in hospitality), computer, scientists, mathematicians, chemists, excellent chef who bring the Italian culinary tradition in the world.

Italy is a nation gone mad. Markets are afraid to punish it for the backlash that would suffer the whole Europe and financial world.

The country seems to be incapable of self-reform, I think in this situation can not go on. Very soon we will see a collapse of Italy then ensure their savings abroad (outside of Italy and Europe) is something to be recommended to many.

Lorenzo Bianchi  ( society: “Italians in Cambodia”)

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