Everything shall change for nothing to actually change. This motto from the famous The Leopard book should be set in stone as the actual Article 1 of the Italian Constitution. And then it would at least be upheld.
That’s what comes in the mind of everyone watching political events in Italy without being blinded by ideology or party interests. Governments in Italy have outdone each other in bailing Rome and its trappings out -and it was always taxpayers that footed the bill- be it the massive debts the management of public health in Latium incurred in or the several bailouts offered to Alitalia, the Italian national airlines- but the Municipality of Rome has always been the “cream of the crop”. Indeed, in 2009, following the law establishing “Roma Capitale”, i.e. a special administrative zone for the Italian capital city, the debts Rome was burdened with were considered as a bad bank and were covered by the citizens of Rome by two fifths and by the rest of Italy for the other three fifths. And now, the so-called “growth decree” intends to transfer the burden of the debts accrued by the Municipality of Rome (12 billion Euros) to the whole of the Italian State.
Therefore, within 2021, the extraordinary management of the debts of the city of Rome will end, while the incidence of the local surtax on the citizens of Rome will go down, in order to compensate, at least partially, for the payment of such debts. Therefore, the citizens of Rome will pay less taxes, to the disadvantage of every other citizen in Italy, who will be burdened by new taxes to pay for this new “super allowance” rewarding the inefficiency and irresponsibility of the Italian capital city.
12 billion Euros of debts are to be moved from Rome to the rest of Italy. To provide an idea of the significance of such a move, Milan could build three new subway lines, one of which may very well be a circle line. We could also bring our vehicle traffic underground through a series of street tunnels or implement a geothermal heating system for the whole of the city, cutting down the pollution created by boilers and furnaces. Furthermore, 12 billion euros would allow us to replace the cars of all citizens in Milan with electric or hybrid vehicles, or to build high-speed trains, who would allow us to get to the seaside in less than 30 minutes.
The bailout the Italian State decided in favour of Rome is not only an assent towards making new debts, given the fact that others will pay for them, but it is also the umpteenth example of politics where everything changes so that everything may stay the same: where dependency reigns and those producing debts, inefficiency and corruption always get bailed out at the expense of those who work and produce in full compliance with the rules.
12 billion Euros. During its glorious Five Days, Milan rebelled for much less.
ANDREA ZOPPOLATO
Translated by Antonio Enrico Buonocore
Qui l’articolo in Italiano: 12 miliardi (12 miliardi!) di debiti di ROMA passano allo Stato: li dovremo pagare noi
