Italy Restructured

In Italy politicians and the leading commentators about politics all agree about Italy’s problems, widespread corruption, excessive taxation, the lack of a good economic plan for growth, a failing public health system, an unworkable pension system, radical changes in the educational system and so forth. The politicians argue that they are trying to solve the problems but that despite the progress they are making, they must go slower than they wish and deal with constraints and lengthy procedures inherent in their government’s structure. Political commentators shout with rage that an intelligent approach to the problems would lead to quick positive changes if only politicians would use common sense to override outdated procedures and devote themselves to the public interest. Neither group is on the correct path to real solutions because the only power that can change Italy for the better must come from outside of the nation’s governmental system. Suppose the government were a large private corporation. If one of its subdivisions were not working well, it would sell it off and let some other agency take care of it. The central government in the American union of states acts as a means for states to get rid of problems and subdivisions that they cannot handle well at the state level. The Federal Department of Justice and the FBI investigate state politicians and regularly put them in jail for corruption. In effect, American states have gained better governments by assigning (rather than selling off as do private corporations) divisions of state governments to an outside power. Suppose Italy’s state government could get rid of handling its pension system. Would it not be less costly and and more effective as a state government without the burden? All workers in every state in the American union pay Social Security deductions from their paychecks to a universal pension system which pays retirees money not from the taxes of any government but from a proportion of the wages of workers actively working. Each state does the work of government that it can do well and does nothing in areas of government beyond its reach and costly like worldwide diplomatic activities and military operations. Clearly Italy would be better off if Rome needed to do nothing in military, diplomatic, and pension matters and an outside justice and police power could investigate politicians and put them in jail for corruption. The health care system would work better if it were not all handled from the top down but was based instead on some kind of private/public insurance system that could keep Rome as far away from it as possible. Education should be run and paid for locally with Rome paying a share of the cost. But Italians will say we want to change Italy for the better by taking away its full national sovereignty. Yes we do. We want it to transfer some of its sovereignty to the central government of a union of states located in Washington in the District of Columbia and we want it to send democratically elected representatives both to the central government in Washington and to its state government in Rome, Italy will throw some of its sovereignty out the front door but it will get it all back in a different form through the rear door and give Italians a much better working state government than they have now and much better economic prospects for the future. Italians will have a new reduced state government at Rome demanding less taxes and doing much less but doing it much better. Italian citizens will still have the state of Italy and they can become citizens of fifty other states simply by deciding to live and work in one. Wherever they live and work they will have two governments. Two is better than one especially when one standing on its own in Rome cannot do well what needs to be done.

aniel McNeill’s play,The Body Is A Legal Drug, will have 7 performances during the Midtown International Theater Festival in New York in July and August at the Davenport Theatre 354 West 45th Street. 212-956-0948.

tickets $20.00 : https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/27845

Loving the one your’re with can come back to haunt you. A comedy about finding your true identity.

Performances: July 18 2:30 pm. July 20 6:30 pm. July 24 6:30 pm. July 26 7:00 pm. July 28 8:30 pm. July 31 8:00 pm. August 2 3:30 pm