The new Italian government will outline its policies this afternoon. At the moment we are all fired-up with patriotic support and determination to deal with public debt. Angels proposes requiring the Church to pay rates and taxes and the South to be denied any special subsidies, together with a determined assault upon tax evasion (a southern speciality, although widely practised throughout the country.)
Should there be any attempt to raise property taxes before forcing the Church to pay property taxes at all, or should there be an attempt to cut pensions in general rather than concentrating on southern vitalizio abuse first, then the patriotic support will vanish at once. We are not going to put up with gross inequalities of treatment inflicted or enforced by Church or Mafia. Nor are we putting up with higher taxation after Berlusconi raised the tax burden from 43% of GDP to almost 50%. We need tax cuts, we need deregulation, we need the liberalisation of professions.
It is nonsense to say that this government of professors, lawyers and bankers is not political. Professors are the most exquisitely political of all breeds; closely followed by lawyers and bankers. But they are political dilettanti and like all dilettanti, they fancy themselves no end. Let's hope they are aware that they answer to us, still, and that the fattest should be the first to be sacrificed.
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4 comments:
This may be of interest, HG
http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/eu-crisis-exclusive-mario-draghi-concerned-about-eurobank-frauds-sources/
Recently (re)discovered blog; he seems to know his onions.
"We need tax cuts, we need deregulation, we need the liberalisation of professions."
Well so do we.
So does everyone else in Europe.
But I'm not holding my breath.
I think you must admit, Hats, that your splendid - but rather idealistic - prescriptions are very likely to founder on the rocks of practical politics. This in Italy of all places.
What's the view there of the fact that the entire Italian government now contains not one elected member? Are you all still in "Well at least it's not Berlusconi" mode?
WY
(Sorry for anon posting, Blogger is having one its periodic fits)
I'm in Rome, Elby, struggling with connections and things; back to gardening and proper computer on Sunday so I'll look then if that's ok.
'Idealistic' 'splendid', preens wings.
Well, Berlusconi is crying 'foul' but then he would be wouldn't he. For the rest there is a HUGE 'thank God he's gone' party and a residual 'we have arrangements for this kind of political paralysis and every now and then we have to use them; very Italian style'.
The Northern Leagues are pretty desperate to get rid of Bossi and might split if policies favourable to their federal ambitions are promulgated. The PDL would probably welcome a more reasonable leader, other than Berlusconi. The Democrats need to get rid of the awful Bersani (not to mention the assorted d'Alemas and other aging survivors of communism nad socialism. The centre centre right needs time to re-establish itself and cohere more closely with its constituent parts.
All in all they should be just about ready by 2013 and are very pleased for Monti to do all the nasty, unpopular stuff first.
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