Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio Discuss Italian Government's Proposal to introduce Basic Income for Italian Citizens
16 Sep, 2018  
Fig: Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio Discuss Italian Government's Proposal to introduce Basic Income for Italian Citizens

Yunus Centre Press Release (September 16, 2018)

La Repubblica, one of the most popular national newspaper in Italy has covered a story featuring Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and The Minister of Economic Development, Luigi Di Maio on their meeting regarding the youth unemployment situation. The article focuses on how Professor Yunus believes introducing the basic income for unemployed citizen will only hide the problem, not solve it. It will create dependence and inaction among the youth.

The meeting between the Deputy Prime Minister and Yunus was extensively covered in the Italian Papers:

 

Il Matino

Local Italian Newspaper Il Matino featured an interview of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus where he discusses about his journey in creating Microcredit and Social Business and how he believes the biggest challenge that we have right now is still tackling poverty and unemployment. The full article can be found in this link.

https://www.ilmattino.it/economia/il_premio_nobel_yunus_il_capitalismo_non_ha_fiducia-3961558.htm

La Gazzette, La Stampa & La Nuova

Local News outlet La Gazzette  has published an article featuring Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus on his take on the youth unemployment situation in Italy. The scanned copy of the article has been attached here for more information regarding it alongside a few more news articles which have been published in Italian Language such as La Stampa and La Nuova.

The English translation of the full article published in the Repubblica is given below:

 

DI MAIO'S WELFARE PROPOSAL DOES NOT PASS THE EXAMINATION OF THE "GURU" YUNUS

La Repubblica, September 09, 2018

"The minimum income to the unemployedis not a good idea". An unexpected cold shower yesterday for Luigi Di Maio. Absolutely unexpected because it did not come from the declarations of Salvini or the Grillini of Taranto infuriated for the solution on Ilva. The Minister of Development has met Muhammed Yunus. When Beppe Grillo, met the guru of the five stars Movement Yunus in 2007 in Bologna, showered him with all the honors during a conference. Even today, on the blog, articles appear that praises the work of the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2006. Yesterday many of Grillini's parliamentarians greeted the meeting that was held with Yunus  at the ministry.

Yunus is a giant. This Bengali economist invented microcredit. This experience inspired the Fund for Small Businesses that 5-star MEPs finance with part of their allowance. The Grameen Bank of Dhaka has been providing small or very small amounts to poor entrepreneurs for over 40 years.  It works without guarantees, without recommendations, without bureaucracy. But yesterday morning Yunus explained to Di Maio that the minimum incomedoes not work and it will not work. This was an unexpected part of the meeting which otherwise went very smoothly. The guaranteed incometo those who do not have a job is a formula that the Nobel Prize winner Yunus always contested. Welfare assistance does not produce results, even in times of serious economic crisis. And those who come from Bangladesh know poverty well. Yunus often repeats it during his lectures around the world. Di Maio explained to him that this measure will be introduced in the next budget. Yunus then suggested taking countermeasures.

The five star movement which swept the general election held in January this year is led by Luisi Di Maio, a 32 year old political leader.  His party is inspired by Nobel Lureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. But Yunus’s position on basic income for unemployment comes in conflict with the Five Star Movement’s declared commitment. The op-ed in the Republica points out the difference.

It may be mentioned that during the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister Di Maio Professor Yunus and the Deputy Prime Minister discussed many other issues, such as expansion of the financial services to the bottom-most people, creating a law to create Bank for the poor, expansion of the social business by involving corporate, giving priorities to the social business in providing government contracts, crating of the Social Business Venture Capital Fund to turn the unemployed youth into entrepreneurs.  

He said, "If you must introduce it, you may think of an alternative, you should create a disincentive mechanism. Or rather, create incentives to find work. You may introduce it as a deciling amount of guaranteed basic income, sich as: 780 euro the first year, 400 the second 200 the third ..."

It seems that Di Maio wanted to publish on his Facebook page the full video of the meeting. But in the end, he did not post anything.

Link: http://ricerca.repubblica.it/ricerca/repubblica?query=yunus&view=repubblica&ref=HRHS

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