Italy crisis: Senate adopts austerity law

dipsydoodle

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Fri Nov-11-11 08:45 AM
Original message

Italy crisis: Senate adopts austerity law

Source: BBC News 11 November 2011 Last updated at 12:34

The Italian senate has adopted a package of austerity measures designed to avoid a bailout of the eurozone's third largest economy.

The package is expected to get final approval in a vote by the lower house at the weekend, paving the way for PM Silvio Berlusconi to resign.

A technocrat government possibly led by former EU commissioner Mario Monti is being debated.

On Thursday, Italy raised 5bn euros (£4.3bn) from new government bonds.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15688755

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Javaman

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Fri Nov-11-11 08:52 AM
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1. Let the riots begin! nt

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VWolf

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Fri Nov-11-11 09:03 AM
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2. My thoughts exactly.

I'd hate to be anywhere near Rome tonight.

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DURHAM D

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Fri Nov-11-11 09:08 AM
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3. Amen.

Seems there is a protest every Friday anyway - today should be really wild.

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Javaman

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Fri Nov-11-11 01:14 PM
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9. No kidding.

I'm going there in March. I can't even imagine what that will be like.

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russspeakeasy

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Fri Nov-11-11 10:21 AM
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4. Good. Maybe we can learn something from them>

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deadinsider

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Fri Nov-11-11 11:29 AM
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5. They cannot seem to give up on the current system

And all these new provisions will do nothing, absolutely nothing, to prevent a final catastrophic collapse IMO.

It will be interesting to see what they pull next time, because there will be one, after they've destroyed any semblance of a world-wide middle-class structure. Who will bail them out? No one will have any money left to preserve the remains.

This is just dressing up a dead man, with the hopes that everyone still thinks he's alive and well. And it's not really even a zombie anymore. More like a mummy: absolutely inanimate and useless.

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tcaudilllg

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Fri Nov-11-11 11:43 AM
Response to Reply #5

6. I hope Berlusci dies in it!

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Kaleko

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Fri Nov-11-11 10:09 PM
Response to Reply #5

10. Vivid.

And the correct diagnosis. That parrot is ~*dead*~ and gone to bite its maker in the ass.

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RaleighNCDUer

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Fri Nov-11-11 11:57 AM
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7. In a related story:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2285478

Somebody is going to get rich off this - and it ain't Italy.

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DCBob

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Fri Nov-11-11 12:42 PM
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8. Worth it to get rid of Silvio..

remains to be seen if they can actually implement these reforms and whether the people will actually accept them.

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Nye Bevan

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Fri Nov-11-11 10:48 PM
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11. Good. Like Greece, they really need to get their act together. (nt)

Edited on Fri Nov-11-11 10:48 PM by Nye Bevan

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DCBob

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Sat Nov-12-11 10:06 AM
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12. Here are some of the austerity measures being voted on... they look reasonable to me.

The austerity package foresees 59.8bn euros in savings from a mixture of spending cuts and tax rises, with the aim of balancing the budget by 2014. Measures include:

-- An increase in VAT, from 20% to 21%
-- A freeze on public-sector salaries until 2014
-- The retirement age for women in the private sector will gradually rise, from 60 in 2014 until it reaches 65 in 2026, the same age as for men
-- Measures to fight tax evasion will be strengthened, including a limit of 2,500 euros on cash transactions
-- There will be a special tax on the energy sector

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15703459

================

I really dont see anything terribly wrong with any of those.

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