My observations on how Italia has been impacted by the pandemic and inflation
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
As many of you know I am in Italia visiting my sisters, stepmom, and other family members. While here I wanted to get a feeling for how Italia is doing post pandemic.
Well, I thought I would start with gas, since I just filled up the tank on the rental car that I used to drive from Roma to Calabria. It is about $1.90 Euro per liter and there are four liters per gallon, so it cost about 7.60 Euro per gallon. How much is that in US dollars? It comes out to $7.91/gallon based upon today’s exchange rate. I asked my taxi driver how it was impacting them, during our ride from the FCO airport in Roma to the hotel and he said the gas prices are devastating people within his industry. Combining the gas price with the tremendous slowdown in tourism and it is devastating his industry.
There was some great hope that the tourism industry would start to turn around, since Italia got rid of their Green Pass or vaccine mandate. Prior to May 1 individuals needed a green pass to work, shop, and basically live a normal life in Italia. Tourist that came to Italia without a vaccine could not stay at hotels, eat in restaurants, visit museums and could face a two-week quarantine. That all changed on May 1. I am a prime example of how ending the mandate was good for Italia tourism. I did not take the jab and I am here in Italia because the mandate ended. Is there trouble along the horizon though?
My taxi driver had the same concern as I did, which is the economy. Sure, tourist can now come to Italia, but will they? Inflation and the economy have hit many Americans in the pocket book and they may not be ready to travel over to Italia. Instead, they are worrying about where the next meal will come from.
In Calabria, individuals are suffering and even though you may not notice it in Roma or other tourist hot spots, I see it here in Calabria. A good example is one of the best bread stores in my city of San Giovanni in Fiore. A place I use to go to for bread when I lived here and when I visited. We drove by it yesterday and I discovered that it is one of many businesses that have closed here. An area where 25% of the woman did not have a job, 20.2% of the males were without jobs, and 40.9% of the youth were unemployed; based upon the 202 statistics. These were the statistics prior to the pandemic. After the pandemic, it has gotten much worse and I would not be surprised to see these numbers double. Many of the families are leaving Calabria and heading north for jobs, since there is either nothing here or the jobs just are not paying enough. Like I said many businesses have closed, from Dino’s hotel to the local bread store. If I had to guess, I would state that maybe 25-30% of the local businesses have closed up shop, due to covid lockdowns. Keep in mind, restrictions were harsh in Italia. For example, in some cities you had to seek approval from the commune to just walk your dog, providing the direction that you would walk your dog in through the city. You had to stay in your home and could on not leave, very different from the Florida version of a lockdown and theirs went on for a long time.
Now I noticed that several men with children were out and about during the day, so I asked why and I found that it is a similar issue that we face in the US. My sister’s boyfriend is a great illustration of what is happening here and why I see so many young men at home during the day. He is a pizza maker and wants to work, but the government is paying him to much not to work. Or I should state that the businesses are not paying him enough to work. Italia is paying him $700 Euro each month to stay home or what we would call unemployment. The jobs in the Calabria pizza making arena are only paying $1,000 Euro per month. So, he would get an extra $300 Euro each month. However, that is if he works from 8am to 8pm or a 12-hour day. Then there is the driving factor, where he has to drive for a while and as I wrote above, gas is very expensive. Factoring all of this in, he finds it better for him to stay home and collect unemployment, versus going to work. This is not an isolated issue, but widespread and something that is similar to what is happening in the US.
My other sister’s boyfriend is home to, but his situation is a little different. He is getting the same money for staying home, but he wants to work and can’t due to supply chain issues. He is in the construction industry and from what I have seen, does a pretty good job. He states that finding a job is not the problem, there is a ton of work out there. The issue is supply. They do not have the materials to complete jobs, so the workers are at home and waiting for the supplies to come in, so that they can work.
Needless to say, many of the younger men and woman are moving to the north were there are jobs or better paying jobs. As my stepmom states, San Giovanni in Fiore is dead. Only the elderly with pensions are still here. Now walking around the city, I can state there are many younger men and woman here, but I think her point is that so many have left the city. Will they find a better life to the north though?
While in Roma and Sorrento, I did eat at several restaurants. I know that many of them were shorthanded. I am not sure if that is because of the pay or by choice of the business. So, many of the youth may be looking for greener pastures, but may end of finding the same old field of hurdles in life.
One other question I have been asked about is inflation and the impact on Italia. I know that inflation is up significantly, just like in Germany. It is hard for me gauge the prices because I have not been back to Italia for 5 years. Hotels seemed to be fairly priced, but restaurants seemed to be overpriced. To me it appears that it cost more to eat out in Roma, than it use to be years ago. I am basing that upon many visits and at one point a long stay in Roma. In the south, it depends. I know we bought some steak, sausage and bread for sandwiches yesterday. It was only a couple Euro’s and I was surprised at how cheap it was, but this is Calabria and it is usually very inexpensive, compared to Roma. I have asked my family since they are always out shopping and they have stated that prices are up significantly.
The bottom line, Italia is very much like America. The restrictions and lockdowns had a significant impact on the economy and that impact continues to be felt today. Add in the inflation factor, which factors into a catastrophe for Italia. Normal people are all feeling the pinch, while the wealthy continue on in life. The politicians are viewed in the same cynical manner here as in the US. I am sorry to say that that in Italia, Biden is viewed as an incoherent puppet that is controlled by others. This concerns many Italians since America’s sphere of influence impacts their daily lifestyles and they fear an extension of his proxy war with Russia via the Ukraine.
Thoughts?