lunedì 10 maggio 2010

Crisis and luxury expenses

In this days there is great concern about economy above all for the countries in southern Europe: Greece is living in an economic and social chaos, Spain and Portugal are close to a dramatic economic collapse.

With regards to Italy, many italian politicians and ministers are continously declaring that everything is under control, budget is OK and, above all, a good level in private savings is a sort of life insurance for Italy.

Nonetheless, there are many questions still open. First of all, now these politicians are appreciating private savings as a safety tool when for decades they have tried (and they are still trying) to erode them inviting people to spend as much as possible to support domestic economic demand thus supporting economic growth. TV messages (TV is for many italians the sole information source) supported by commercials are always directed towards this goal: let's imitate celebrities and Vips, if you don't have a SUV you are out! If you don't have the latest cell phone, you are out! And so on.

In addition, Italy still detains a huge public debt, a political class with enormous costs and privileges, a widespread fiscal evasion, organized crime infiltrated everywhere, a no-limit corruption, individualism, greed and cinisism as lifestyles: it is impossible to remain quiet. In Italy the key-problem has not an economic nature. Rather than state budgets and financial markets. in Italy the entire society is ethically weak .

Within this dramatic scenario, many strange issues appear a real luxury objects: one of this is the problem of military expenses above all those direted to finance italian military mission abroad. There are no funds for social needs in Italy, but economic resources for the military expenses are always found.

While education, culture, environment or scientific research receive scarce resources (and probably they will receive even scarcer investments in the near future), Italy spends about 23 billions € in soldiers and weapons. We have no money, but we are still financing nonsense military missions abroad. You can see this report to have more datails about this issue (in italian).

Military missions have become for Italy a luxury expense maybe we cannot afford. It should be important to explain it also at international level and adopt the necessary measures to reshape our military participation.

Yet nothing similar is near to come. I'm sure that, when the crisis will turn even harder, when it will be necessary to make sacrifices and reduce costs, the same people will pay the final bill as usual: politicians will never reduce their wages, fiscal evasors will continue to make their business as usual and Italy will spend a lot of money in expansive military missions abroad. In the meantime public schools (only public schools of course) will be reduced in ruins or scientific research will progressively disappear.

C'est la vie!

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