Very interesting read. I do not doubt your analysis of the situation in Italy. As someone living in France, however, I think the problem runs deeper (at least over here) than the economy. Yes, France has economic problems, cost of living is getting a lot tighter, finding a job takes longer, etc. But here's the thing. I'm a young person making my way in life with my partner. We're on the lower end of the economic spectrum (For now. We're starting on the bottom and working our way up). And it is TOTALLY possible to start a family—even a fairly large one—in this modern French economy. An average salary combined with government benefits and grants and social programs (and a modest lifestyle) will make it doable for us. And yet, we know literally one other French couple who plans on having two or more children. We have a LARGE social circle, and everyone else our age wants only one kid. Or zero kids! And very few couples are getting married. A big problem is simply the erosion of family values. For us, the reason we're alive is to start a family. For our peers, I don't even know the reason they're alive. Probably just to enjoy themselves with as much freedom and disposable income as possible, for as long as possible. But if French culture no longer values and prioritizes family, the country will inevitably decline.
You seem to recognize at some level that the immigrants are suppressing wages and making economic life more challenging for young people. There are other contributors to these challenges, but the ones you list are war shocks, not structural. But I'm sure there are structural issues, and I can only imagine having to live under the EU. In total, these economic challenges are preventing family formation and sapping the vitality of the country. I get that.
If the government wants to lay all these problems at the feet of the immigrants, isn't that a good start? Hold the government finally accountable for getting the immigrants out. That clearly won't solve everything. But it will provide Europe, like Japan as you describe, time to decide if it wants to survive or not.
👏👏👏 Everything you say here is 100% true, Alessandra! Italy is in major trouble! The Italian political establishment is rotten to the core and doesn’t care about the Italian people they are playing the left off against the right and migrants off against Italians to line their pockets. While they are fighting each other, the elites run out the back door with all the money. It’s a tale as old as time really. Italy 🇮🇹 is gradually drying. What neither the left-wingers who call Alessandra racist or the right-wingers and sexist pigs who troll her understand is that Italy’s problems aren’t just about immigration or the economy. It’s both! The problems that face Italy are complex and can’t be simplified down to bring caused by one thing. But what can be done to save Italy? That’s the million dollar questions. What are some constructive solutions to these very vexing problems Alessandra has done a terrific job laying out? Well, I’m no expert on Europe by any means. I am an American and merely a distant observer. But having educated myself reading Alessandra’s piece and reading the accounts of other Europeans on Substack, I think I can provide some potential solutions to what ails the Italian nation. First off, the cost of living must be brought way down. How? Well, Italy will cut all aid to Ukraine and start openly trading with Russia again. Italy also needs to start developing its own domestic energy sector. Italy thankfully is already starting to build nuclear power plants so that’s a good first step. Italy needs to making fracking legal and drill, baby, drill! Italy should scrap all use of worthless solar and wind power which by the way don’t even work. Italy needs to become energy independent! Italy should leave the EU, scrap the Euro and bring back the Lira and leave the Schengen Area. Being an EU member doesn’t serve Italy’s national interests or the interests of its people. Italy should build alliances with countries who are like-minded such as Hungary, Poland and Russia of course. Italy should also look for alliances abroad that can be mutually beneficial. The Italian government will be massively reformed. The bureaucracy will be cut down, taxes will be cut and regulations rolled back. Italy will start emphatically entrepreneurship and encourage young people to start their own business if that’s what they want to do. More economic freedom would mean more economic opportunity and the creation of upward mobility.
Giorgia Meloni has got to go! She is a complete disgrace and was a massive disappointment. What Italy needs is a Prime Minister who is bold enough to go against the grain of the EU and the United States and be an unapologetic Italian nationalist. Italians need to come first! That should be the policy of a future Italian government! As to immigration, here’s what needs to happen. Italy will do mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Migrants will be repatriated back to their country of origin. Italy will put strict limits on how many people can enter the country per year. There will be a zero tolerance policy for illegal immigration. The criteria for who can claim refugee or asylum status will be tightened. Businesses who hire illegals will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Welfare benefits and low-income housing for immigrants will be ended. Italy will prioritize high-skilled immigration and adopt a merit-based immigration system. Italy will prioritize culturally-adjacent immigrants from Europe who will have the easiest time assimilating. Immigrants will have to take classes to learn the Italian language, Italian history and culture and how to treat Italian women. They must then pass a rigorous test on all these subjects. They must also sign a declaration stating they will follow Italian law. A bill will be passed in parliament to make it easier and to more rapidly, deport criminal illegal immigrants. More police need to be put on the street. The major cities in Italy need to be cleaned up. Migrant camps will be cleared out. As to the birth rate, here is what I think needs to be done to fix it. First off, build lower density housing so couples have more space to raise children in. Teach children fertility education from a young age. Family, friends and neighbors should be encouraged to assist in child rearing. Images of family and children need to be shifted to be more positive. The cost of childcare needs to be cut way down. The centrality of the institution of marriage and the nuclear family in Italian society will be restored. The Catholic Church and Protestant denominations will hold revivals across the country.
I am a Canadian Gen X-er and I have deep sympathy for young people in North America and Europe who have literally no way to access a decent life without substantial family help or luck. The math doesn’t add up.
My view is that the Baby Boomers got a deal, Gen X got a worse deal, the Millennials thought they were getting a deal but weren’t, and the Zoomers know they aren’t getting a deal. I think it’s far more honourable for Zoomers to struggle for a decent life than living a life of obedient drudgery.
I think that Generation X is livid and wants change. I find Boomers utterly oblivious, self absorbed and unwilling to engage with new information. You just get the Boomer stare.
The right wing outrage industry is utterly stale at this point, just feel good pats on the back for the out of touch. New voices and a totally new approach are required.
If young people can’t access a decent life and start a family, that is the true national emergency, not the Ukraine.
The Bible foretold the wealth gap in James 5:1-6. It reads,
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have [d]fattened your hearts [e]as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
The protests and riots are just symptoms of the root cause. Europe is headed towards embracing the ultimate authoritarian leader. They will trade freedom for security and safety.
But it's hard to argue even from your perspective that pushing the migrant narrative in the media, knowing how badly the media twists everything in the other direction, might still be the better opportunity lol. What you're saying here is pretty much how me and most people who can discern geopolitics see it, that the migrant issue is intentionally getting Amplified for inflammatory reasons etc, and that it's more complicated than this, but people are not complex overall and don't parse out nuance so it's just hard to argue against trolling acceleration is who push this narrative specifically just to take it back from the liberal super queer Theory nonsense that's plaguing everything. I'm not sure anymore how many right wing/ accelerationist Outlets really believe this stuff anymore or they're doing it semi-ironically to try to counter the absurdity of woke.
Excellent. Could not agree more.
Very interesting read. I do not doubt your analysis of the situation in Italy. As someone living in France, however, I think the problem runs deeper (at least over here) than the economy. Yes, France has economic problems, cost of living is getting a lot tighter, finding a job takes longer, etc. But here's the thing. I'm a young person making my way in life with my partner. We're on the lower end of the economic spectrum (For now. We're starting on the bottom and working our way up). And it is TOTALLY possible to start a family—even a fairly large one—in this modern French economy. An average salary combined with government benefits and grants and social programs (and a modest lifestyle) will make it doable for us. And yet, we know literally one other French couple who plans on having two or more children. We have a LARGE social circle, and everyone else our age wants only one kid. Or zero kids! And very few couples are getting married. A big problem is simply the erosion of family values. For us, the reason we're alive is to start a family. For our peers, I don't even know the reason they're alive. Probably just to enjoy themselves with as much freedom and disposable income as possible, for as long as possible. But if French culture no longer values and prioritizes family, the country will inevitably decline.
You seem to recognize at some level that the immigrants are suppressing wages and making economic life more challenging for young people. There are other contributors to these challenges, but the ones you list are war shocks, not structural. But I'm sure there are structural issues, and I can only imagine having to live under the EU. In total, these economic challenges are preventing family formation and sapping the vitality of the country. I get that.
If the government wants to lay all these problems at the feet of the immigrants, isn't that a good start? Hold the government finally accountable for getting the immigrants out. That clearly won't solve everything. But it will provide Europe, like Japan as you describe, time to decide if it wants to survive or not.
👏👏👏 Everything you say here is 100% true, Alessandra! Italy is in major trouble! The Italian political establishment is rotten to the core and doesn’t care about the Italian people they are playing the left off against the right and migrants off against Italians to line their pockets. While they are fighting each other, the elites run out the back door with all the money. It’s a tale as old as time really. Italy 🇮🇹 is gradually drying. What neither the left-wingers who call Alessandra racist or the right-wingers and sexist pigs who troll her understand is that Italy’s problems aren’t just about immigration or the economy. It’s both! The problems that face Italy are complex and can’t be simplified down to bring caused by one thing. But what can be done to save Italy? That’s the million dollar questions. What are some constructive solutions to these very vexing problems Alessandra has done a terrific job laying out? Well, I’m no expert on Europe by any means. I am an American and merely a distant observer. But having educated myself reading Alessandra’s piece and reading the accounts of other Europeans on Substack, I think I can provide some potential solutions to what ails the Italian nation. First off, the cost of living must be brought way down. How? Well, Italy will cut all aid to Ukraine and start openly trading with Russia again. Italy also needs to start developing its own domestic energy sector. Italy thankfully is already starting to build nuclear power plants so that’s a good first step. Italy needs to making fracking legal and drill, baby, drill! Italy should scrap all use of worthless solar and wind power which by the way don’t even work. Italy needs to become energy independent! Italy should leave the EU, scrap the Euro and bring back the Lira and leave the Schengen Area. Being an EU member doesn’t serve Italy’s national interests or the interests of its people. Italy should build alliances with countries who are like-minded such as Hungary, Poland and Russia of course. Italy should also look for alliances abroad that can be mutually beneficial. The Italian government will be massively reformed. The bureaucracy will be cut down, taxes will be cut and regulations rolled back. Italy will start emphatically entrepreneurship and encourage young people to start their own business if that’s what they want to do. More economic freedom would mean more economic opportunity and the creation of upward mobility.
Giorgia Meloni has got to go! She is a complete disgrace and was a massive disappointment. What Italy needs is a Prime Minister who is bold enough to go against the grain of the EU and the United States and be an unapologetic Italian nationalist. Italians need to come first! That should be the policy of a future Italian government! As to immigration, here’s what needs to happen. Italy will do mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Migrants will be repatriated back to their country of origin. Italy will put strict limits on how many people can enter the country per year. There will be a zero tolerance policy for illegal immigration. The criteria for who can claim refugee or asylum status will be tightened. Businesses who hire illegals will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Welfare benefits and low-income housing for immigrants will be ended. Italy will prioritize high-skilled immigration and adopt a merit-based immigration system. Italy will prioritize culturally-adjacent immigrants from Europe who will have the easiest time assimilating. Immigrants will have to take classes to learn the Italian language, Italian history and culture and how to treat Italian women. They must then pass a rigorous test on all these subjects. They must also sign a declaration stating they will follow Italian law. A bill will be passed in parliament to make it easier and to more rapidly, deport criminal illegal immigrants. More police need to be put on the street. The major cities in Italy need to be cleaned up. Migrant camps will be cleared out. As to the birth rate, here is what I think needs to be done to fix it. First off, build lower density housing so couples have more space to raise children in. Teach children fertility education from a young age. Family, friends and neighbors should be encouraged to assist in child rearing. Images of family and children need to be shifted to be more positive. The cost of childcare needs to be cut way down. The centrality of the institution of marriage and the nuclear family in Italian society will be restored. The Catholic Church and Protestant denominations will hold revivals across the country.
I am a Canadian Gen X-er and I have deep sympathy for young people in North America and Europe who have literally no way to access a decent life without substantial family help or luck. The math doesn’t add up.
My view is that the Baby Boomers got a deal, Gen X got a worse deal, the Millennials thought they were getting a deal but weren’t, and the Zoomers know they aren’t getting a deal. I think it’s far more honourable for Zoomers to struggle for a decent life than living a life of obedient drudgery.
I think that Generation X is livid and wants change. I find Boomers utterly oblivious, self absorbed and unwilling to engage with new information. You just get the Boomer stare.
The right wing outrage industry is utterly stale at this point, just feel good pats on the back for the out of touch. New voices and a totally new approach are required.
If young people can’t access a decent life and start a family, that is the true national emergency, not the Ukraine.
The Bible foretold the wealth gap in James 5:1-6. It reads,
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have [d]fattened your hearts [e]as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
The protests and riots are just symptoms of the root cause. Europe is headed towards embracing the ultimate authoritarian leader. They will trade freedom for security and safety.
But it's hard to argue even from your perspective that pushing the migrant narrative in the media, knowing how badly the media twists everything in the other direction, might still be the better opportunity lol. What you're saying here is pretty much how me and most people who can discern geopolitics see it, that the migrant issue is intentionally getting Amplified for inflammatory reasons etc, and that it's more complicated than this, but people are not complex overall and don't parse out nuance so it's just hard to argue against trolling acceleration is who push this narrative specifically just to take it back from the liberal super queer Theory nonsense that's plaguing everything. I'm not sure anymore how many right wing/ accelerationist Outlets really believe this stuff anymore or they're doing it semi-ironically to try to counter the absurdity of woke.