The Bank of Italy has passed judgement on the latest bunch of austerity measures cooked up by Silvio Berlusconi and his government. The good bank is not overly happy and believes that the current proposals may lead to the stagnation of Italy’s already somewhat stagnant economy. Oh dear.
Moreover, the Bank of Italy considers the measures proposed; they still have to be voted into effect; will have a restrictive effect on Italy’s wobbly economy.
The tax burden on Italy’s already rather heavily taxed citizens will increase by 2 points, the Bank of Italy forecasts.
What is needed according to the Bank of Italy, but was not included, was some form of incentive to kick start Italy’s tired old engine, which has not been firing on all cylinders since well before Silvio Berlusconi bounced onto the scene.
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
The Bank of Italy does concede that the measures are necessary and whatever is done is likely to cause pain.
The IMF predicts that Italy’s economy will grow by a very meagre 0.8% in 2011.
If something had been done sooner, then perhaps the pain could have been avoided. Better late than never, one hopes.
Readers of Italian can read more over on La Repubblica, in Italian: Bankitalia, effetti restrittivi su economia
“Rischio stagnazione, serve rilancio” – Bank of Italy, restrictive effects on the economy, “Risk of stagnation, relaunch needed”.
