Hacker News Reader

Comment by bl4ckm0r3 | Hacker News Reader

Lombardy voted to have more control regarding immigration and safety, Veneto to change their taxes and have more control in the "residuo fiscale" (what's left of taxes after all the administration costs has been covered). Neither is allowed by the concept of regional autonomy in Italy. Unfortunately, just like any other "independence" request these days, it's just a move to avoid helping poorer states and drawing a thick libe between "us and them". They have been talking about it for years, they just jumped on the latest speedwagon.

View on HN

Honestly - how long more can Lombardy help the South. The freaking dogs on the street know about the Cassa Del Mezzogiorno. My father emigrated from Naples in the 60s and found a job in Lombardy, where he met my (Lombard) mother. I emigrated from Lombardy to Ireland. Not advocating emigration at all costs, but certainly governments of the last 50 years have advocated centralization and unfair redistribution of wealth to the detriment and frustration of the North. The South of Italy has so much potential (between UNESCO/POIs sites and wonderful landscape, tourism alone would get everybody employed year round), how it remained poor all these years is a mystery that goes beyond reductive punts on organized crime.

organised crime is everywhere in italy, there is a long going conversation to understand the "south situation" in italy, it has historical roots, lack of investments and political corruption on a national level that put investments into the hands of the local mafias.

Falcone (a man who knew a thing or 50 about organized crime) said that once you have taken money out of the hands of organized crime they are dead. Freeze accounts, suspend influx, cut the pipe. Without subventions to the south, the Mafia has nowhere to pick that money up.

And this is the reason why the referendum will go basically nowhere, by the way.

can you elaborate?

Sorry for the late answer. What I mean is, If this is going to actually affect the money flow from North Italy to... basically the black hole which is the political and criminal ecosystem of Southern politics, well - Let's just say they got quite convincing "arguments" to make sure Zaia & Co. backtrack on their positions. And I'm not even talking about by violent means.

It's not reductive at all. It's pretty much confirmed that most of the "Cassa del Mezzogiorno" money for Sicily went straight to Cosa Nostra.

Unfortunately, just like any other "independence" request these days, it's just a move to avoid helping poorer states

While it’s possible that there’s some of that attitude in Catalonia, I’d point out that the other large, recent European independence movement in Scotland was emphatically not that. Brexit, comparable on some levels, is also different.

In reality, the reasons for independence/sescession movements gaining strength is complex and varies from place to place. That description seems a little reductive.

Scotland wanted to leave for economic independence (The national identity, which i respect, is always a political excuse). Brexit "let's get back european money and put them into nhs"?How is that going not the same?Oh the rest was about the immigrants.

Catalonia is literally the same, with just more political madness to it.

The reason behind all of this is that we are living in a harsh economic era, politics failed in providing a guidance and unity (since a while) and people don't feel empathy towards other side of their countries and blame them for their country defects, as if you could just point the finger to a specific region or group of people to blame them for the economic tragedies and corruption of modern politics.

holding on to more of north sea oil revenues has been one of the major motivations for scottish independence.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com