With the arrival of 2014, Italian families will be forced to tighten their belts even more. Well yes, new increases can be glimpsed on the horizon. According to what is calculated by Adusbef and Federconsumatori, the overall increase will be 1.384 euros for the average family. And this only concerns the increases already programmed for the first part of the year, the effect of which is calculated over the entire twelve months.
The increases can be divided as follows: in the food sector, prices will increase by 5% for an annual cost of 327 euros per family, while transport will undergo an increase of 81 euros, fuel by 108 euros, car insurance policies by 53 euros , banking services of 61 euros, and with other items added together, the total will be 1384 euros.
Yet the Italian economy is stagnating, so prices should theoretically not rise. According to Adusbef and Federconsumatori, "the increases are not only linked to the usual speculative intentions but also to unresolved issues in our economic structure, in terms of competitiveness and bureaucratic oppression" and to "public services that unload waste, inefficiencies and clientelism on prices and rates". The arrivals, argue the two associations, are "unsustainable increases that will determine new and very heavy repercussions on the living conditions of families and on the entire economy, which will have to continue to deal with a deep and prolonged crisis in consumption".
In some sectors, the price increases will be modest, but added to other expenses, they will aggravate the already difficult economic situation. This is the case with the increase in electricity set for January 0,7: +4%, according to what was established by the Energy Authority, which calculates an average burden of XNUMX euros per family (gas bills unchanged ).
Positive news comes from the Post Office. The company has been authorized by the Communications Agency to increase the minimum cost of postage stamps for ordinary mail by 36% and those for registered letters by 50% over the next two years. But yesterday Romolo Giacani, head of consumer relations, assured that the company "has no intention of increasing tariffs. No increase is planned."
