The agreed reforms, providing income support for the poor and allowing people to retire earlier, are the centrepiece of the government’s controversial 2019 “people’s budget”. But critics say the policies are unsustainable for Italy’s already-strained public finances. The agreement means that, despite having to make some concessions after a drawn-out battle with Brussels over the budget, the two ruling parties get to keep their flagship election promises to voters. “These are two measures...this government is proud of,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told reporters at a press conference yesterday. “This is a government that keeps its promises.” A woman reads the election manifesto on the M5S website. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP The bill must now be approved by parliament within two months, but it’s expected to pass easily. The current government is a coalition forged with difficulty last year between the right-wing League … [Read more...] about Italian government approves overhaul of welfare and pensions
Measures of welfare
Economic policy in Jakarta should improve public welfare: Baswedan
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has said that the economic policy in Jakarta, which is based on justice and equality, should be able to improve the public welfare and narrow down social gap. "I emphasize that Jakarta`s economy should have quality growth, with high growth and coverage that reaches everyone," he stated in an annual meeting with Bank Indonesia (BI`s) Jakarta chapter, here, on Thursday. The Jakarta Administration intended to establish cooperation with BI Jakarta in drafting appropriate economic policies for 2019, he noted. "So, we hope that in 2019, BI could give inputs for drafting new measurement of quality economic achievement," he remarked. The quality economic growth is crucial to materialize social justice, he added. He revealed that Jakarta has planned to ease business process, from licensing until capital access processes. "But all of these must be well planned," he explained. Baswedan, during the meeting, also outlined the … [Read more...] about Economic policy in Jakarta should improve public welfare: Baswedan
Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal: CEOs Must Get ‘Millions’ of Cheap Visa-Workers
Indian-born Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal says the U.S. economy needs millions of wage-cutting visa workers for good jobs sought by many Americans and immigrants. The editors of the New York Review of Books published Jayapal’s corporatist demand for more visa workers on December 3 under the headline: “A New Moral Imagination on Immigration.” She wrote:The number of visas for nonagricultural workers (such as construction workers, housekeepers, or forest workers) is stuck at the 1990 level of 66,000 visas—even though our economy requires millions. In reality, the resident population of blue-collar and white-collar visa-workers – H2Bs, H-2As, H-1Bs, L-1s, OPTs, etc. — routinely exceeds two million. Jayapal also urged that immigration policies should meet the needs of employers, not employees, writing that “our immigration system should be updated regularly to prioritize certain industries that are seeing rapid … [Read more...] about Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal: CEOs Must Get ‘Millions’ of Cheap Visa-Workers
Report calls for action to help families cope with welfare reforms
Report calls for action to help families cope with welfare reforms BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Thousands of households in Northern Ireland face misery and hardship if measures introduced to help people cope with welfare reforms are allowed to "fall off a cliff" in 2020, according to the authors of a report published today. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/report-calls-for-action-to-help-families-cope-with-welfare-reforms-37580202.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/article37580200.ece/20263/AUTOCROP/h342/2018-11-30_new_46150417_I1.JPG Email Thousands of households in Northern Ireland face misery and hardship if measures introduced to help people cope with welfare reforms are allowed to "fall off a cliff" in 2020, according to the authors of a report published today. The report, called Welfare Reform: Mitigations on a Cliff Edge looks at how specific measures to help Northern Ireland people cope have been implemented since 2015. It … [Read more...] about Report calls for action to help families cope with welfare reforms
Working single mothers forced to use food banks to feed their kids because of Universal Credit
FURIOUS single mums have taken the Government to court over Universal Credit - saying they're being made poorer and forced to foodbanks. Danielle Johnson, who worked part-time as a dinner lady, and three others are drowning in debt after going onto the new welfare system. She said the flagship policy forces hardship as the amount she gets changes wildly every month - leaving her £500 a year worse off. Tens of THOUSANDS of Brits could be affected, lawyers argued today. Danielle, 25, from West Yorkshire, said: "I have never been this financially unstable before, to the point of being unable to afford my rent and having to go into my overdraft when buying food. "It is getting me into a vicious cycle of debt. "Universal Credit is supposed to be simpler and fairer, but my experience of it is the opposite." She said was working part time to try and make ends meet and look after her daughter, but the system meant she wasn't better off if she went back to work. And she added: "I thought … [Read more...] about Working single mothers forced to use food banks to feed their kids because of Universal Credit