Beppe Grillo's Blog

The public debt of the Great Public Works

By now, there’s daily discussion of the public debt, and of its enormous weight on the Italian economy. An avalanche that is rolling down the hillside and that is knocking over pensions, acquired rights, and jobs and is also wiping out the future of one or two generations. However, as yet, there has been no discussion of HOW this debt has been created and to what purpose the 1,900 billion accumulated by the various governments, from Craxi to Berlusconi, has been spent. And above all, WHO has taken this money.
Judge Imposimato ha explained that the public money set aside for the “high speed” projects has financed the mafias, the political lobbies and the usual ragged arsed big groups. The responsibility for the debt is attributed to pensions, to public employees, to the Social State, the only guilty ones. It is they who have to pay the bill. Getting a pension at age 67 and the freedom to sack employees, cuts to education and to health are the promissory notes for having lived beyond our means. And while this social destruction is going on, the parties continue to get us into debt with useless public works. The Rome-Naples “high speed” project was an “aperitif”. Today the banquet is sumptuous, ranging from the TAV in the Val di Susa costing 22 billion, to the Gronda in Genoa, to the Expo in Milano. Let’s cut pensions and close down the hospitals while the usual filthy game goes on – with participants at the table being the parties, the Confindustria and the mafias. A cake for three. The presumed modernity of cement, the sanctity of public works, almost as though they were the “Opere Pie” {charities} is the alibi to get the Italians into debt. How much public debt is due to the so-called infrastructure necessary for the development of the country? To what extent have the Great Public Works got us into debt? It’s probable that without these wasteful projects, our debt would be more than manageable. Perhaps half. Corruption generates the public debt. This is not news. But why is it only the stupid ones that have to pay? The EU and the ECB are asking us for reforms that are basically just cuts to the Social State, but I have never heard Trichet or Barroso asking for the block on the TAV. Strange … A precise story about who has squandered the patrimony of a nation is necessary, indispensible. Before paying the bill, we have to know who has been eating at our expense and, if possible, ask them for (our) money to be returned, or at least what is left of the money.

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Comments

OK, the Italian governments have created that huge sovereign debt the way you said. Perhaps they also had some naive ideas about debts, as, according to the press, current premier until recently used to say that he was not worried by the sovereign debt. Be that as it may be, I presume that the governments acted through regular laws. Which need to be validated by the President of the Republic. Am I wrong? If not, could you suggest the name of a President of the Republic who refused to sign laws that were clearly leading to the said sovereign debt? Or who resigned if otherwise obliged to sign? If you can not suggest a name, then something must be basically wrong. The first area that comes to mind where to look for the faulty gear is the constitution. Cheers, Franz.

Posted by: Franz | October 29, 2011 12:40 AM

Make the necessary name changes and apply to Italy.......

Warren Buffett, "I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all
sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. The 26th
amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months
& 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in
1971...before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to
the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the
land...all because of public pressure.

Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of
twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do
likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the
message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office
and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All
funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security
system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system,
and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for
any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans
do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay
will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the
same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American
people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen
made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor,
not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours
should serve their term's), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take
three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is
time.

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it on.

Posted by: Shelagh Barker | October 28, 2011 07:22 PM