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BitaTruble -> RE: When does helping, turn into enabling? (6/27/2010 5:42:04 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Icarys
I think that's a good way of being but what about those on a national scale. I know your in another country..
I'm not sure what you mean about a national level. As far as I know, welfare is a state thing, right? Has something changed since we left the country?
quote:
What type of assistance is available there?
Well, there's Universal health care which is either free or has a very low cost and everyone is entitled to those benefits. Welfare is based on family size and runs until the child turns 18 and maternity leave is substantial. It's more common for welfare programs to be used in the south where you have a lot of farm workers than here in the north which is very business oriented and people, as a rule, make very good wages up here. Prescription drugs are very cheap so there is no need for extra insurance to cover it but a lot of people who can afford to do so will carry private insurance simply to avoid waiting weeks or months to see a doctor in non-emergency situations. A lot of the assitance is paid for via VAT (Value added tax) which is added to.. well, everything! Himself and I are not required to pay VAT so we save receipts and turn those in for a return of the VAT whenever we leave to visit the States. That was true of Portugal and we'll do the same thing here in Italy. We *are* however, required to pay taxes here and on everything over 76k, we are required to pay a portion to the US as well.
Workers get a daily lunch stipend mandated by law and paid for by the employer. I think it's 5 Euros 80 but don't quote me on that. That might have been in Portugal. There is social security for workers who turn 65 and unemployment compensation is mandated by the Italian constitution. While welfare is a problem, it's not as bad as it could be because the Italian people tend to be *very* family oriented and take care of their own. It would be more unusual to see a single 30 year old guy with his own place than seeing a single 30 year old guy living at home with his folks which helps especially here in the north where housing costs are sky-high. As an example, Himself and I were charged 2200 euros a month for 380 square feet of living space. That was one bedroom, one bath, small living room and small kitchen and that was not the most expensive unit in the complex. To wash and dry a load of clothes was 7 euros per load and didn't include the soap, fabric softner etc. Milan isn't like the rest of Italy though. I think it ranks 10th or 11th of most expensive cities to live in the world so take it all with a grain of salt. Things are much, much, much cheaper everywhere else in Italy. I think the current rate of unemployment in Italy is about 8% or so. Education is not free for universities but it's probably a 10th the price it is in the States. Once I get my dual citizenship my cost will go from about 10,000 euros a year down to less than half that and I won't have to pay for dorm room fees which can run around 4000 euros a year as well.
Corruption and graft are a way of life here so there is little incentive to fix what needs fixing or change what needs changing although things are slowly getting done and I do mean slow.. a word which I am quite sure was invented in Italy! There isn't much in the way of mental health services but, again, here in Milan, not much is really needed. I can't speak for down south but if it's like Portugal, it was a huge problem there and one that simply goes unaddressed most of the time. Public transportation is superb (and cheap, even here in Milan) as it has been in every country we've visted in Europe and the States could really take some lessons on how to do it right in that regard. We've haven't been here all that long so my knowledge of Portugal is much better.. but that's what I've learned so far about Italy. Hope that my answer was somewhat helpful. :)
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