Italy promotes adult children who live with parents

A court has sentenced a craftsman in the Italian city of Bergamo to continue paying maintenance to his 32-year-old daughter, who has exceeded the prescribed period of study at university by eight years. Italy nurtures the "Bamboccioni", the children who stay living at home well into their adulthood, the daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung criticises: "Italy's society is still heavily influenced by patriarchal familyism. The state social expenditure is mostly geared towards families. You need good connections to get a solid job, and it's usually the parents who have them. Family enterprises, which the area between the Alps and Etna is teeming with, receive strong support from the state both in terms of taxes and labour laws, with protection against dismissal only valid for companies with more than 15 employees. Young adults striving for independence therefore mostly have to either make do with poorly paid temporary jobs or immigrate."

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Italy
All available articles from » Nikos Tzermias

» To the complete press review of Friday, January 22, 2010