Investments in human capital should be excluded from calculating the deficit. This is the proposal of the Minister of Labour, Enrico Giovannini, in an interview with La Stampa. The minister launches his idea in view of the European summit on work to be held in Rome during the Italian semester of presidency of the EU.
“The crisis has caused a lot of human capital to be lost – said the minister – and a special effort is needed on what is needed, otherwise the growth potential remains low. While it has already been agreed that investments in physical infrastructures are excluded from the calculation of the deficit, I would propose a reflection on the opportunity to do the same thing with investments in human capital".
Giovannini – skeptical of the hypothesis of extending the no-tax area – proposes a national instrument to combat poverty that would cost 200 million, the Sia: "I believe it is necessary and urgent to introduce a national instrument to combat poverty, such as the Sia, the 'Support for active inclusion', which we presented in mid-September. The idea is to stop wasting public resources in a thousand directions and instead create support for social inclusion, something very different from the basic income proposed by the 5 Star Movement, which combines the monetary component with the beneficiaries' commitment to look for work, send their children to school, to undergo medical examinations”.
