Personal fulfilment, an autonomous life, economic independence for young Italians remain a mirage. This is nothing new, but what is worrying is the fact that the problem continues to increase year after year without anyone preparing serious generational measures aimed at reversing a trend that pushes an ever-increasing number of young people to bring valuable human capital abroad and penalizes those who decide to stay, allowing them to reach their first personal and professional goals only at the threshold or even beyond the age of forty.
The Bruno Visentini Foundation, in its 2019 report, tried to detect the generation gap in Italy, measuring the degree of difficulty that a young person must face in order to reach the main stages that lead him to autonomy and fulfilment.
YOUNG PEOPLE: THE GAP IS WIDENING
"In 100, the Generational Gap index made up of 2004 – explains the Report – made up of 13 composite and 36 elementary indicators, now stands at 128 points". The good news is that in 2014 the index was at 134 points, so in 4 years there has been an improvement. However, compared to 2018 there was a further slight increase (it was 127) which does not bode well.
At the basis of this gap are what the Visentini Foundation calls "breaking variables" or indicators. Four main ones: wealth, pensions, income and gender equality.
Let's start with the first variable. According to the report, the wealth indicator, which measures in various ways the distance between the wealth of the under 35s and that of the over 35s, is the main "depressing and impeding effect on the development of young people's life plans and professional affirmation" . Figures in hand, during the crisis the wealth of young people has decreased enormously, going from a median value of 68.855 euros recorded in 2004 to just 15 thousand euros in recent years (Bank of Italy data). "An impoverishment that has not involved the over 35s in an equally significant way", points out the study.
The second decisive factor at the basis of the generation gap is pensions. The increase in pension expenditure, which rose from 158 billion fifteen years ago to 220 in 2016, and the corresponding drop in the annual number of hours worked (which fell to 39,6 billion in 2018) had a worsening impact on the condition of young people, tangibly depressing their chances of realizing themselves both in the present and in the medium-long term.
Another indicator to take into consideration is the "flight" of human capital. In the last 15 years the number of young people who have decided to emigrate abroad - and in particular to countries that register an index of intergenerational equity - has increased by over 40 thousand units and the upward trend seems destined to continue. “If the wall gets too high – comments the Visentini Foundation – young people just have to turn their backs on the wall itself and look for other ways for their personal and professional affirmation. Otherwise, the time to climb the wall will be unsustainable with the risk of conquering an independent life only over forty or never succeeding".
YOUNG PEOPLE: INEFFECTIVE MEASURES BY GOVERNMENTS
"If the link between a prolonged crisis and the "marginalisation" of a weak group such as young people is evident, on the other it is equally evident how all the policies implemented by successive governments from 2014 to today have not made no contribution to reducing the generation gap”. This is the judgment contained in the 2019 report of the Visentini Foundation which then goes on to analyze the measures adopted under the 2019 Budget Law. a real “medium-long term strategy” and compared to the previous year the resources allocated to young people dropped from 55 billion to 4,036 billion euro. Speaking of the main measure contained in the text, namely the citizen's income, the report explains how the measure can be considered of a "non-generational" nature, i.e. with little impact on young people. For two reasons: the first concerns the fact that the constraints and restrictions introduced by the Lega-M3,513S government favor beneficiaries who already have their own family unit to the detriment of the younger ones. The second is instead based on data: according to the surveys released by INPS in April, only 5% of applicants are under the age of 25,3.
THE OPPORTUNITY INCOME
To bridge the generation gap, the Visentini Foundation again this year focuses on opportunity income, a measure that "recognizes young people aged between 16 and 34, who are entitled to it, a plan fund for spending on services and recognition of reliefs or benefits equal to 20 thousand euros, credited to a special individual account that can be used until the age of 35 ”.
Opportunity income would help young people make the transition from school to work, support research and development in the enterprise, cover the cost of scholarships, masters, training or career guidance. To finance the measure, funds used in a non-homogeneous and non-structural way for other generational measures could be allocated to it. In this way, 4,6 billion euros would be distributed to 2,1 million people. Alternatively, the amount of the individual account could be progressively modulated according to family income. By doing so, universal coverage would be ensured for young people, with an annual honor of 11 billion euros, the same amount that the 2019 Budget Law has allocated for the 100 share and basic income.
