VOA常速英语2007-Italian Government to Offer Incentives so Young

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
13 October 2007

Hoping to reverse a trend of young men clinging to their parents' nest, the Italian government has decided¹ to offer financial incentives² to help young adults leave home earlier. Italy's finance minister has set funds aside in the country's 2008 budget to help young Italians move out earlier. But many do not believe the assistance will be sufficient or will change what is also considered a cultural phenomenon. Sabina Castelfranco reports for the VOA from Rome.

Roughly eight out of ten Italians under age 30 still live at home, and the average age for moving out is 36.

Italian men are the bulk of those who stay with their parents, at around 67 percent. Women tend to get married and then move away from home.

The reluctance³ of young men to leave their parents' home is a matter that has raised the concern of the government, prompting it to act.

Italy's Finance Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa recently said that when young people stay with their parents, they do not get married or become independent. Experts have said the trend is costing Italy in growth and innovation. Franco Ferrarotti is a sociology professor at the University of Rome.

"It's a very difficult problem to tackle, because it's really both an economic and social, and psychological, anthropological⁴ problem," he said.

Many men in their 30s cite the high cost of living and the lack of jobs as the main reasons keeping them from leaving their parents' home.

"Nowadays especially in metropolitan⁵ areas, it's very difficult to find a decent apartment for a decent rent, apartments come very expensive and there is no job, very few jobs, very few let's say what the Italians love, a 'posto fisso,' a permanent job, a job for life," he said.

Ferrarotti says no one has a permanent job anymore. 

Ferrarotti says the center-left government is full of good intentions. Minister Padoa-Schioppa announced that part of a $2 billion Euro allotment in the government's 2008 budget would be used to help young Italians who move out.

Under-30s with low salaries will be offered tax relief. In addition, the government will pay 19 percent of the cost of rental⁶ housing for university students living far from home.

Marco Olivieri, 32, says he has not yet felt the need to move out.

He says he is happy living with his parents in Rome.  He says rents are high and his salary at the headhunting company where he works is too low to afford either a rental or a mortgage. So he prefers being at home with mom and dad.

Alberto D'Anna, 41, works at his family's antique shop. He moved out but then returned home because he had financial issues. He says Italians find it more difficult to find well-paying jobs and reasonable housing than young people in other European countries.

Salaries of Italians between ages 25 and 30 are half of those in some other European countries. European Union figures show that 56% of Italian 25 to 30-year-olds live with their parents, compared to 21% of Germans and five per cent of Swedes.

However, Marco Olivieri says there are other reasons that keep him from moving out.

He says his mother washes his clothes, cooks for him and makes his bed.

Sociologist⁷ Ferrarotti agrees that part of the problem lies with Italian mothers.

"Italian mothers are so important. They are really also responsible for some of the retarded⁸, regressive attitudes of their sons," he said.  "They love to iron their shirts, to wash and iron their underwear. It's incredible. It does not happen anywhere else in the world."

Giuseppina Sganga is Alberto's mother. She doesn't see a problem with children staying at home until their 30s or 40s.

Sganga wonders why should this be seen as a problem.  "If a young man is happy at home, why should he leave?" she asked.

Sganga, her son Alberto and Marco Olivieri are skeptical⁹ about the government's planned assistance. Marco says he does not believe the incentives will be sufficient to make moving out worthwhile.

Of the young people who do manage to leave home, 40 percent go back because they cannot manage financially.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

4 anthropological   

adj.人类学的

参考例句：

• These facts of responsibility are an anthropological datums- varied and multiform. 这些道德事实是一种人类学资料——性质不同，形式各异。 来自哲学部分
• It is the most difficult of all anthropological data on which to "draw" the old Negro. 在所有的人类学资料中，最困难的事莫过于“刻划”古代的黑人。 来自辞典例句

5 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

6 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

7 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

8 retarded   

a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• The progression of the disease can be retarded by early surgery. 早期手术可以抑制病情的发展。
• He was so slow that many thought him mentally retarded. 他迟钝得很，许多人以为他智力低下。

9 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。