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Mario Monti's government approves a €30B austerity package of tax hikes, and...
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Sunday, December 4, 2011, 7:56 PM ETMario Monti's government approves a €30B austerity package of tax hikes, and benefit/spending cuts for Italy. Also included are steps to fight tax evasion - including a ban on cash transactions above €1K euros. The hope is this will create a balanced budget in 2013 despite a 2011-2012 recession, with zero growth projected after that.
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This news story has 24 comments:
Good for Italy to take solid steps towards fiscal responsibility. I wonder why Monti didn't go all the way. Raising the retirement age to 70 would create surpluses and that would then lower borrowing costs and further relieve the fiscal pressure.
The only answer to the mess is to live within one's means.
Note in the Globe and Mail report that Berlusconi is threatening that his Party may oppose the budget and try to force an election. Such a disastrous course of action, if successful, is difficult to take seriously but it is disconcerting that the former Premier should be playing games at this point in time.
http://bbc.in/uNmbIA
http://bit.ly/umQIVW
http://bit.ly/vPFHKN
Berlusconi is waiting in the weeds to sabotage this thing and get back into power.
In my estimation the italian political system is less likely than even greece to be able to make the tough cuts
Good points. On the other hand Berlusconi and his Norther League allies really have nothing to offer the Italian people other than the breakup of Italy and collapse of the Euro zone and Euro (also, Berlusconi is spending a lot of his time in court now that his immunity from prosecution has ended). Arguably Monti will get sufficient support for the foreseeable future.
Monti's program is, in the circumstances, quite moderate and will attract the support of centre and centre-left Parties that were outside the Berlusconi coalition along with many former Berlusconi allies. The following is quite interesting.
Details on proposed Italian budget proposals
http://bit.ly/uG7LBq
http://bit.ly/vC5vjZ
Possible way in which the IMF may be enabled to assist
http://bit.ly/vPyL8L
Italy is in far better shape than Greece. If they would just take the final step and raise the retirement age to 70 they could then turn their attention to structural reforms like tax simplification and collection and corruption. Lets hope that Monti is bold and seizes the opportunity in front of him - from this proposal it appears he's trying to do the least amount - that isn't going to solve the problem.
In relation to the total debt of E1.9 trillion,the E30 billion is pretty pathetic.
this has to be approved by the Parliament,so don't hold your breath.
just like the implementation of unlimited detention/arrest can negate the US constitution with the stroke of a pen, now all your social programs can be wiped out at the stroke of a pen.
Coming to America soon.
People are already up in arms over the much more benign "Obamacare".
Japanese. Oopsies.
"Never going to happen here" is ignorant. I'm sure people believed that dictatorships would never happen in Rome either. That didn't work out so well.
All over Southern Europe, the people elected criminals for more than 3 decades... and nowadays, even if some people complain, the majority keeps voting on the same parties over and over again.
So, to hell with the people. People are paying the crisis... and that's exactly what they should get, for their prolonged and blatant stupidity. After all, we all must live with our mistakes... right?
Why should conutries be any different? We can't possibly elect criminals and at the same time, expect that life will be good for everyone. That is just... impossible! :-P
This roadblock is important, that's why you can't pass!
Typical government thinking: people are getting away with tax evasion? Don't enforce existing tax laws, add a new law banning cash transactions! That's what happens when leaders scoff at the word "freedom" as if it was a meaningless word.
http://bit.ly/rrIoVv
http://econ.st/u5KFo1