Italy is in recession (The Wonders of Socialism!)

Corriere della Sera ^ | Mario Sensini

[ScaniaBoy]

True, sooner or later (definitely sooner) the EU will try its powers to see how easy it will be for them to affect the outcome of national elections.

Maybe Italy will be the test case...

[a freedom-loving italian]

is there any wonderful place you want to tell me to be sure and not miss seeing?

Here I am being very patriotic but I must say that Italy is simply the most beautiful country in the world. There is so many things to see that it is very difficult to reply.
But sure you cannot miss Rome, the eternal city, Florence, the capitol of Renaissance arts, and Venice, the unique city without cars. In Tuscany you should also visit Pisa and Siena. Also pay a visit to Naples and Pompei, which is a wonderfully-preserved ancient roman city.

Use the railway to move as trains are cheap, fast and safe. See www.trenitalia.it for further info.
Pay much attention to prices: as I have already said, adoption of the Euro has caused a dramatic rise in the price of everything!

BTW, I m gonna plan a trip to the US to take advantage of the strong Euro: as I've never been there, can you tell me the absolutely "must-see" cities/locations??

[a freedom-loving italian]

How fast is Italy's population, or at least its labor force, declining?

Very fast, as the children-per-woman ratio is about 1.2 (replacement rate is 2.1).

[gogipper]

We were there last summer and had a wonderful visit to Rome, Salerno and Capri. I look forward to returning.

Don't miss Chicago! The city of Big Shoulders. Also Seattle.

[I still care]

There is tons to see in America.

Everyone from Europe goes to Orlando/Disney/Amusement Parks. Its got Sea World, Disney, Universal, Water Parks, etc. Yes, it's touristy and cliche, but it is a lot of fun, for adults and kids. Be prepared to spend money.

For a city experience, Manhattan (NYC)is the city never sleeps. Take in Broadway shows, the Empire State, museums, and just walk around. Guiliani cleaned it up and it's been gorgeous since. Ethnic food from all around the world. Bring money.

Washington DC if you are interested in history, especially American. The Smithsonian is not a one day experience, and not one museum. The first telephone, the first plane, the first computer, etc, are all there. The Capitol, the White House, the monuments. The archives with the Declaration and Constitution. Arlington Cemetary. The mint. Ford's theatre. So, so much to do there - you can spend weeks. Bring money.

I've been to Rome. Vatican City took my breath away. We don't have quite that kind of art, but NYC lit up, coming over the bridges at night - it can tear your heart out with its beauty.

Have fun.

[YOUGOTIT]

I am well aware!

Io visito Italia ogni anno e dei miei parentadi ancora vivono là.

Please excuse my grammar.

That is south not north.

[a freedom-loving italian]

Thank you very much for the info!

[a freedom-loving italian]

Io visito Italia ogni anno e dei miei parentadi ancora vivono là.

Wow, you must love Italy very much, that's fine!

[GOPGuide]

Mama Mia!

[Malesherbes]

This is indeed sad. I lived in Italy for a year and love the country and its people. If this brings Berlusconi down, the alternative will be Romano Prodi - which means more socialism and economic decline. The Italian people, when economically free, know better than anyone else how to combine quality production with civilized living.

[hermgem]

When will it finally dawn on these people that falling behind did not start just yesterday.
For the last three decades they lacked individual country and now total European economic growth.
While the U.S. grew at a 4.5 % average clip, Europeans even during the so called good times snailed along at a <1.5% annual GDP growth.
They never had appetite for cutting back on generous welfare hand outs, for restructuring of obsolete businesses and facing subsequent layoffs. On top of it they are dominated by Socialistic/Marxist unions with wild appetites for mass demonstrations to solve disputes.
Europeans have yet to reach bottom.
Based on public perception they will remain in hopeful expectation for some country again to pull them out by buying their locally produced goods.
If there's no wakeup, both China and India are on course to overtake Europeans economically with subsequent falloff into utter unimportance.
Look at Italians and Germans.
They need to go to the EU headquarters in Brussels and speak French, for exports they need to speak English, to lower interest rates or change spending, they get a no from an appointed European Parliamentarian.
Both China and India do not slow down growing to allow Europeans to hold pace.

[a freedom-loving italian]

If this brings Berlusconi down, the alternative will be Romano Prodi - which means more socialism and economic decline

AGREED. See my tagline for further details LOL

[a freedom-loving italian]

I agree with everything you wrote.

You know what is really unbelievable about Europe? Here even the smartest guys believe in socialism. That's utter nonsense.
My best friend is a most smart and educated guy. He is a computer technician, won a 36k € prize to attend a master course in computer networking, he also hold a second job as a waiter in a expensive restaurant. You'd say that he cannot be a socialist. Indeed, it is a hardliner communist. I ofetn argue with him but he is still convinced that socialism works.
My parents are also communist or socialist voter, and I have lost any to hope to change their mind.
You know what I am sayin'? I really cannot figure out how here in Europe socialism is still a "sexy" political idea!!

[PzGr43]

As well as containing many members of the proletarian left, like any Industrial European country, Italy produced more than its fair share of the intellectual left (liberals), and to a large extent in the south, where over-supply of offspring from upper-middle class families (more frequently in the south) would qualify in the professions, but be unable to obtain positions in those professions. The result being that they would be heading for unemployment and painful back-sliding, coupled with declining fortunes in landed families. Marxism is a handy straw to clutch at.

Times have changed in the last sixty years, but this structural factor could be residual. Italy was always the 'weak link' internally during the Cold War.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Where's a good Italian nationalist when you need one ?

The Italians should not have ceded financial control of the nations affairs to the financial predators and Eurocrats.

Come on Italy !

Get your act together.

[A CA Guy]

What will this eventually do to the Euro?

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Hopefully the French will vote the Euro Constitution down. The rest of the Continent if they know what's good for them, including Italy, will follow suit hopefully.

The carefully laid plans of the satanic elites on the world stage are about to come unstuck big time. The lies are piling up to a point of critical mass. This was prophesied to happen. The waves of deceit will part to allow truth to pass through.

[A CA Guy]

In ANY case I think the Euro always only had a future of crashing.
It was to some a big deal like the stock market once was.
All a big con.

[stefan10]

1. The EU has no control over the fiscal policy of Italy or any other EU nation. If you don´t agree blame your government.

2. It is more than true that the common interest rates in the Euro-zone fixed by the ECB has its problems and i am no friend of that. But that an Italian has problems with the Euro is interesting because you could never finance your dept to such low costs in the past. You remember the time of the Lira and the interests that your country has to pay to the investors. If there is any country in Europe that benefits from the Euro than it is Italy (OK Greece also)

3. A part of the problem of the Italian economy is that you protect your companies in the past with the devaluation of your currency and that is not possible anymore.

[a freedom-loving italian]

1. The EU has no control over the fiscal policy of Italy or any other EU nation. If you don´t agree blame your government.

Really? What about the stability pact which impose a maximun 3% gov't deficit? What about not being able to substantially cut taxes in accordance to the teachings of the so-called supply-side economics? What about big country like France and Germany ignoring this limitation?

2. If there is any country in Europe that benefits from the Euro than it is Italy (OK Greece also)

You got to be kidding me! True, we have a very high public debt, but you must consider that 1. creditors are for the most part italian taxpayers, not foreign operators, so basically payment of interests is a transfer of gov't funds to our taxpayers 2. we used to have a current account surplus, so our financial position was not so bad 3. high inflation, with related high interest rates, has always being good news for debtors, anytime anywhere. That's because when you pay back the money is substantially devalued. Now the indebted Italian state must pay back his creditors with high-valued Euros

3. A part of the problem of the Italian economy is that you protect your companies in the past with the devaluation of your currency and that is not possible anymore.

Agreed. But that's because frankly Italy's industrial structure is not as productive as France's or Germany's ones. We don't have any natural resourses nor we have a competitive capital market so we cannot compete with UK as well. Hence you see that the devaluation of our currency was more the justified by the so-called "fundamentals" of Italian economy.

Believe me, the introduction of the Euro has been an utter disaster for the Italian economy: the middle class here is getting poorer and poorer, and EVEN AMERICAN expats are coming back to the US as they cannot afford the high cost of living.
See
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-05-09-italy-expats_x.htm
for more details