Rome
Millions of Italians went on strike this week to protest a planned raising of the retirement age. Italians as young as 57 can retire if they have paid into the state pension system for 37 years. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has proposed increasing that requirement to 40 years, saying the current system will bankrupt Italy in less than a generation. Italians live longer and have fewer babies than any other population in Europe. Soon there will be far more retired people drawing pensions than taxpayers to pay for them. “Short of selling the Coliseum,” sociologist Franco Ferrarotti told NBCnews.com, “there is no rational solution.” France, Austria, and Germany face similar crises.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Pope seeks inquiry on if Gaza assault is 'genocide'Speed Read In a book for the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis considers whether Israel's war in Gaza meets the legal definition of 'genocide'
-
Can Europe pick up the slack in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Trump's election raises questions about what's next in the war
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in RussiaSpeed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
