Posted on 10/05/2007 7:07:54 PM PDT by blam
Italy's mamma's boys given cash to fly nest
By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Last Updated: 7:44pm BST 05/10/2007
The hordes of Italians devoted to their mammas are to be offered money to leave home, the government has stated.
The average age for flying the nest in Italy is 36
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, the finance minister, said it was vital to get reluctant Italians to fly the nest and become more independent.
Currently, eight out of 10 Italians aged under 30 still live at home, and the average age for moving out is 36.
"Let's get these big babies out of the house," said Mr Padoa-Schioppa, who left home himself at the age of 19 to work in Germany.
"If young people stay with their parents, they do not get married or have any independence," he added.
Italian men make up the bulk of those staying at home, at around 67 per cent, and a mocking phrase has even been coined to describe them: "Mammoni" or "Big Mummy's boys".
Next year's budget will offer almost £700 in tax relief to Italians under 30 earning less than £10,500 a year, and half that to those earning more.
In addition, the government will pay 19 per cent towards the cost of renting accommodation for university students if they study at least 65 miles away from their home.
Alessandro Rosino, an economist at Milan's Bocconi University, said young Italians are forced to live at home by the country's rising cost of living and lack of work.
"The average wage for Italians aged between 25 to 30 is only half of what their peers in England earn," he said.
"And almost 40 per cent who do manage to leave home have to return."
Other commentators said the phenomenon is costing Italy in terms of lost growth and innovation.
Renato Brunetta, a Right-wing politician, said there is "little movement either geographically, socially or professionally and little propensity to risk".
But Flavio Insinna, a television quiz show host who is Italy's version of Chris Tarrant, said he was still living with his mother and father at the age of 42, despite having a girlfriend.
"I have never felt the need to move. The reason is not because of money, it is because I love them," he told La Stampa newspaper.
Many other Italians happily send their laundry home to their mothers, and 43 per cent, when they do finally move out, rent or buy homes less than a mile from their parents.
However, recent research by two Italian academics has shown that the blame may lie with "clingy parents" rather than lazy children.
Marco Manacorda and Enrico Moretti said the vast majority of Italian parents enjoyed the company of their adult children, and used their extra income to "bribe" them into staying at home.
BigMack
Let’s see: spend alot of time around their mamas, wear tons of cologne, don’t want to get married, and like to wear tight clothes and wife beaters. Let’s not forget about that who “kissing other men on the cheek” thing...
Did you ever allow another exchange student into your house?
I like the way the Amish do things. They turn the big house over to one of the married children and build a small granddaddy house on the same property. That way they’re close, but not too close. They’re available to take care of the grandchildren to give the parents some time to spend alone. A winning solution for all three generations.
I was an exchange student as was my daughter, so we were ready and pumped to have one. We had this joker while my kids were seniors, so that was basically our last hurrah.
Nah. Builds character.
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