10 quotes found
"The monopoly of the United States and Europe in the selection process condemns the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to being seen as mere extensions of the strategic interests of industrialised countries. The choice of who leads these institutions is too important to be entrusted to mechanisms that are opaque, undemocratic and increasingly unable to guarantee that the best candidate will prevail."
"The blog is perhaps not the most appropriate tool for performing the true function of politics, which is to mediate between different interests and find a synthesis. It is more likely that the Internet will continue to be a tool for information and reporting. This is, however, a very important function."
"The fact is that a reduction in contributions increases the current deficit, but will automatically reduce future deficits due to the lower implicit debt associated with pension payments as these mature. We are not aware that this feature of our social security system has been highlighted in EU-level negotiations on the Stability Law."
"(About ius soli and ius culturae) Does it make sense to make them feel stateless in our own country? Does it make sense to present them to our children as strangers? Does it make sense to teach them our laws, our social norms and our history in our schools, to impart our culture to them and then exclude them from all of this? Are we not running the risk of developing in them and in our children a feeling of learned helplessness, injustice and discrimination, which is a precursor to resentment, hatred and mistrust?"
"The international system of exhibitions, fairs, biennials and scientific events is now extremely dense and pervasive. And although every year new crowds of global tourists (Chinese, Russian and even Indian) arrive on the scene, it is very difficult to make headway in such a fiercely competitive environment. [...] Why should 29 million visitors come to Milan in the summer of 2015? To see an extraordinary exhibition on food (the materials for which could be consulted in real time on our iPhones while we travel to India or Brazil to study their food policies first-hand)? Or to visit the beauties of Milan (no doubt about that, but some doubt about our ability to compete with much more aggressive competitors in this regard)? This is no laughing matter: if we want the Milan Expo not to be a flop, it is crucial that Milan gradually becomes a global centre of attraction on the theme of food."
"Thanks to the large cultivated areas that still surround it, Milan could truly become the first metropolis where agriculture returns to being the lifeblood of the city and not just an extraneous presence. But we need pluralistic agriculture, promoted by pluralistic urban policies. We need a new belt of extensive agriculture that could redraw the city's perimeter and prevent any further expansion; but we also need “zero-kilometre agriculture” to give meaning to the thousands of small pockets of empty space that dot the large sprawling city of northern Milan. Finally, we need urban agriculture to multiply the amount of green and organic space on rooftops and along roadsides and to create opportunities for employment and environmental awareness everywhere."
"We need a project that makes Milan a “world city” in terms of food production and marketing; a project that helps migrant communities to promote widespread food entrepreneurship and creates a network of spaces (such as the many abandoned farms within the municipal boundaries) where these different cultures can find logistical support."
"The real problem we have in Italy today is one of fairness, not the financial sustainability of our pension system."
"There are people who currently receive pensions or annuities, as in the case of politicians, which are completely unjustified in light of the contributions they have paid in the past. We have granted this privileged treatment to these people for many years. For those who receive very high benefits, should we not ask them to make a contribution that could in some way lighten the burden on the social security accounts? This would allow us to carry out some redistribution, for example, to help those people in the pre-retirement age group who are living in poverty, or we could allow greater flexibility in terms of retirement from the pension system. These are all measures that can be taken in this area. Linking contributions and benefits is the real underlying problem."
"The National Social Security Institute (INPS) provides benefits on behalf of the state. So as long as the Italian state does not go bankrupt, let's say that the INPS goes bankrupt, and I assure you it will not, but the Italian state will always be there. If there is anything people should be concerned about, it is not the INPS accounts but the Italian state's accounts, the public debt."