Meloni's plan is the rich's: a general strike has been called and a wealth tax has been requested.
The CGIL takes the field
The strike was called the day after the budget was formally rejected by ISTAT, the Bank of Italy, and the Court of Auditors.
The CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) has called a general strike against the government's economic plan . It demands it be changed. The strike has been set for December 12th. It was announced during a meeting of union delegates held yesterday in Florence. The meeting's president, Fulvio Fammoni , announced it, and Maurizio Landini reiterated it.
The strike was called the day after the budget was formally rejected by ISTAT, the Bank of Italy, and the Court of Auditors. All three institutions formally declared the budget socially unjust. They said it favors the rich and tax evaders and does nothing for the poor. Landini gave the same reasons for the strike. He pointed to Italy's three political emergencies: healthcare, education , and wages. The CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) believes that a serious economic budget should focus on these three major issues.
With what money? That is the question. The CGIL has responded by reintroducing a wealth tax. Not devastating: very light. It would involve setting a special 1% tax on those with assets exceeding two million euros. It's a large but not gigantic group: 500,000 people. The CGIL is asking for a small sacrifice, little more than a solidarity contribution, which certainly won't entail major sacrifices for them, nor any changes in lifestyle, but would bring €26 billion into the state coffers. All of it, says Landini , to be spent on the three emergencies.
The government's response, frankly, is surreal. Instead of seeking serious arguments to contest (or, better yet, to accommodate) the objections of the Bank of Italy, ISTAT, the Court of Auditors , and the largest workers' union, Meloni and Salvini indulged in jokes about the strike being called for a Friday. They ignore that general strikes have always taken place on Fridays, long before their parties were founded. And they also ignore that for many decades, when faced with a general strike, government officials didn't respond with sarcastic jokes worthy of the MSI (Italian Socialist Party) club.
l'Unità
