Lack of appropriate government
intervention and the absence of a national plan to fight poverty
were cited as main contributors to the "scourge" of poverty in
Italy, according to a report released by Caritas on Friday,
titled The Result of the Economic Crisis.
The report, from the Italian Episcopal Conference's
organization aimed at assisting the poor, criticized the
"limited effort" of the Berlusconi and Monti administrations
that governed during the years of the economic crisis from 2007
to 2013.
The "only response" to poverty during those years,
according to the report, was the Social Card initiative: a
Ministry of Economy and Finance program providing a 40
euro-per-month spending supplement to needy individuals who
qualify, to offset the costs of food, health care, and utility
spending.
The Letta government, in place from 2013 to 2014, was seen
as having neither improved nor worsened the situation.
Premier Matteo Renzi's 80 euro monthly pay increase for
low-income workers has had a limited effect on decreasing
poverty, according to the report.
Caritas appealed to Premier Matteo Renzi and Labor Minister
Giuliano Poletti to implement the "Social Inclusion Income"
initiative, designed to bridge the gap for families living in
extreme poverty, bringing their below-poverty income up to the
poverty level.
"The Social Inclusion Income initiative will become reality
if Renzi and Poletti make poverty a political priority and
decide to tackle this scourge by rethinking the current methods
of intervention," the report said.
Poverty now touches segments of society previously seen as
not particularly vulnerable to the economic crisis, such as
those living in the Central-North, families with two children,
families with a head of family younger than 35 years old, and
employed families.
Social services have been further weakened, said the
report, citing a decrease of 6% in funding at the city level
from 2010 to 2012; cuts which, Caritas pointed out, "hit a
segment that's already under-funded".
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