Dear Honorable Alfano, as new secretary of the PDL you find yourself managing a real emergency caused by the wave of distrust of investors towards the economic policies of almost all Western governments. We Italians, having a colossal public debt on our shoulders, have been catapulted to the forefront and must suffer the impact of investors fleeing our public bonds. For this reason it was necessary to launch an emergency maneuver to bring our budget into balance by 2013 and above all, at least according to the ECB's requests, to make some structural reforms that would allow us to raise our potential growth rate. Indeed, a country that does not grow does not create the necessary confidence in the markets regarding its ability to repay its debts.
However, the debate of recent days has highlighted the selfishness of the parties, their fears, and in many cases also their ignorance of the fundamental issues of the economy and politics. The League defends pensioners, or rather those who aspire to retire in the coming years in order to then be able to quietly take a second job, obviously illegally. In addition, it wants to preserve the hated bureaucracy of the provinces, municipalities, with connected caste politics, without understanding that the North does not want an extra mayor or a ministry in Monza, but would like to have the possibility of recovering a higher rate of development. In other words, those of the North know how to do it by themselves, but they want lower taxes, less bureaucracy, better general conditions that allow them to work with peace of mind.
Instead, the maneuver invents an absurd solidarity contribution so high as to seem an expropriation for medium-high incomes and instead contains nothing to stimulate growth. Now we hear that the VAT increase could be used to reduce the solidarity tax and above all to soften the cuts to municipalities and regions. But this would be a further mistake. The increase in VAT is possible and appropriate provided that the proceeds are used to reduce taxes on labor and companies. In this way, it has been calculated that it could give a good boost to growth without causing inflationary pressures. Similarly, pension cuts must not be used to raise cash, but to give young people the opportunity to start working, again through a reduction in taxation on their incomes.
A new grave danger is looming. In other words, that the maneuver be amended in Parliament not to give it the rationality it lacks, and which is indispensable if we want to pursue the objective of consolidating the budget and that of growth at the same time, but to satisfy some particularly angry or angry group of citizens who manages to scream louder than others. If we then want to lighten the Irpef surcharge, then we need to think of an ordinary property tax, that is, with a relatively low rate, on real estate: in short, a kind of ICI, perhaps conceived and presented in a different way.
But the main problem is political. We need to find the courage to come out of the confines of the meetings inside the Palaces and explain to the people that some sacrifices are indispensable, that they are distributed fairly in the sense that all categories (including politicians) are called to make them, and that however there are important measures capable of relaunching development which will therefore give all capable and willing people the possibility of building a future for themselves. No more barracks jokes. People are fed up. Many might even be willing to make a contribution to get out of the tunnel, but we need a safe guide and not just a mediator according to the old Christian Democrat style, which however in the end did not save us from bankruptcy and the irreversible crisis of the First Republic.
