> And there were no pensions to be had for those people well into the 1980s anyway, meanwhile everybody in those rural places knows everybody else since childre

> And there were no pensions to be had for those people well into the 1980s anyway, meanwhile everybody in those rural places knows everybody else since children... Hailing from a much poorer country than Italy I can assure you, you can have everyone in on it. I've spent four years in (northern) Italy and was impressed by the level of cleverness they displayed going around their overbuilt bureaucracy and tax system. It was both impressive and familiar really. Not something normally admirable, but the Italian government (whichever might be in power at the moment) seems to think it's still 2005 or so and that the middle class will just take whatever is thrown at them.