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This is an aspect of Italy that I have always been interested about. I am anything but an expert on it, but the impression I got is that what sustained Italy after the second world war (beyond the inventiveness of the ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs themselves who worked hard to revive the country) was a combination of very strong family ties that in a way substitute the practically non-existent help from govement and the notion of "one job for a life". Now both of these things are falling apart with short term contracts for younger people that offer no security and an increasing strain on family ties (as happens all over the world...).

So its no wonder that one of the debates raging during the Berlusconi goverment has been what should replace current job laws - which are not geared towards providing help when one looses their job. In fact one of the biggest demonstrations in Rome of recent years has been about protecting the "diritti dei lavoratori" and the "articolo 18".

That said things also very greatly from region to region. Emilia-Romagna is perhaps one of the most progressive with lots of help in place for single mothers, while in places like Campania in the outskirts of Napoli you encounter dramatic situations of real poverty.

In all the next few years could see some big changes in laws to deal with these issues...

[QUOTE=Susi]Is there one?

It's something I have wondered about for the last couple of years. Especially last year when one of our neighbours had her apartment sold by auction for having unpaid bills, she is still allowed to live there but she has to pay rent to the new owner.

What do people do if they don't have any money?

Italy seems to me to be a wonderful place to live if you have money but it would be almost impossible if you don’t'.

Susi[/QUOTE]
Hello dearest friend, in Italy there is no such things as money coming to people who can't find work or can't pay bills or rent. There is no child benefit either.

Susi,
I live in the USA, and I wished that the many dead beats, who are not paying their bills, or child support would face a similar faith. Here people get away with murder. For every individual who finds a, so called, legal way out of his/her debts, we the consumer in general pick up their tabs, as these costs are always passed on to the general public.

People that through no fault of their own run into short-term money problems (e.g., losing a job) always find a way to receive considerations from the sources they owe money to. But, many people do not take their debts very serious, and let things ride without communicating the root cause of their temporary problem. Needless to say, that is when the situation gets out of control.

Hum - what with this and comments about morrocans and albanians elsewhere perhaps we should rename this Forum "Sweeping generalisations R Us"

Anne, I totally agree.

I don't know much about the welfare state here myself but I recently read a newspaper article where a local man in his late 50s was pleading with someone to give him a job as he had a wife and 2 young children and was receiving approx 150 euro per month in benefits. It went on to say that he had to borrow money from his 80 year old mother (also surviving on a state pension) and that the previous month his children had been ill and their medication alone for the month had cost 100 euro. Due to his age and the fact that this is an area of quite high unemployment he was having severe problems finding a job. As far as I understand it here you only receive unemployment benefit for 6 months and then you're on your own. If you get fired from your job then you don't receive anything. Italy can also be a bit ageist with regards to employment - employers can save a fair bit in tax contributions etc if they employ an "apprentice" so I've found myself in the position of being already too old for a number of jobs at the age of 32!

It's fairly obvious that in a country with a decent welfare system there are are going to be some so called "dead beats" (?!) that will abuse it. However what is worse - that certain people should have to pay out a little more (but still manage to enjoy a nice lifestyle and move to Italy!) or cases like the above where families are struggling to provide basic medication for their children?

Nicola,
When costs are driven up by dead beats, they go up for all, including people on fixed income, who often have to choose between eating or buying their medication. This does not apply to me, but I feel for those individuals, who are in this position.

Need another example? Read the postings regarding Television permits, it seems most are trying not to pay the required fees. Therefore, the few individuals who do pay their share, will see their fees increase faster than they should if all would pay.

[QUOTE=annec]Hum - what with this and comments about morrocans and albanians elsewhere perhaps we should rename this Forum "Sweeping generalisations R Us"[/QUOTE]

The above of course was not a sweeping generalisation... oh hang on, it was.