Rinaldi: “Without grants we will see a massacre of companies”

Interview with Antonio Maria Rinaldi on the current economic situation, on the latest developments in the ESM and on the forthcoming crisis that threatens to wipe out entire service and industrial sectors.

Original article in Lo Speciale Giornale

Mes yes, Mes no. Conte closes the doors to the use of the bailout fund but then, in the face of the protests of the Democratic Party, takes a half-step back. Zingaretti and Renzi want it, the 5 Stars don't and even Gualtieri brakes. I mean, what's going on?

“It seems clear to me that the question is purely political, I would say by now exclusively ideological. Conte has to deal with mathematics, which in this case does not lead two and two to automatically make four. If in fact the numerical majority shareholder of this government is the 5 Star Movement, in political practice it is the Democratic Party. The problem is that the ESM is no longer analyzed today from a technical point of view as it should be, and that it would in fact lead to consider it not convenient. but only from an ideological point of view. Conte followed the line against the Mes of the grillini who are the largest parliamentary group, but then he had to partially go back on what he had said in order not to jeopardize the stability of the executive which, without the votes of the Democratic Party and Iv, cannot hold up . He is a tightrope walker, one step forward and two steps back so as not to upset anyone ".

The Count who rejected the ESM two nights ago, did he do it on the basis of convincing reasons or is there more to consider?

“Conte's motivations, the League has always supported them, even going beyond what are apparently superficial evaluations. The ESM is a mechanism designed to help countries that have difficulties in accessing markets and Italy does not seem to me to have these problems. Those who access the MES also agree to undergo very strict controls of their public accounts, regardless of the letter from Gentiloni and Dombrowski from last May, which in reiterating access to a substantially soft MES, did not change the original and institutive treaty by one iota . That letter, beyond the authoritative signatures, does not in any way constitute a source of law. The Mes remains codified in the European treaties and by specific regulations. If the European Commission really wanted to reform the mechanism by making it lighter, it should have changed Article 136 of the Lisbon Treaty and the related regulations, not writing a simple letter of intent. From a legal point of view, therefore, the ESM has remained the same as it always has been with all its consequences ”.

From the Democratic Party and from Italia Viva, and in part also from Forza Italia, it is argued that one cannot refuse the Mes and at the same time criticize the health shortages, the lack of places in intensive care and the organizational difficulties in dealing with the Covid emergency . How does he respond?

“If there is really the will to increase and improve the health sector, the Mes is not the only way forward, considering, moreover, that the resources would be provided with a dropper. It would be enough to put BTPs or other government bonds on the market, so that the market itself can buy them at very advantageous rates and without the heavy conditions provided for by the ESM. Furthermore, the operations of the ECB through the so-called Pepp, the bond purchase program designed to deal with the pandemic, ensures that the rates of the bonds of the Eurozone countries are kept at very low levels. With the further advantage that the bonds purchased by the ECB are in many cases also at zero cost, considering that the matured coupons are then transferred to the respective central banks, which in turn transfer them to their respective treasuries. In short, if we really have to get into debt, let's do it at least in an intelligent and advantageous way ".

Conte spoke of economic recovery, but in Rome in the central Via Frattina twenty-two shops have lowered their shutters forever. What to do? How to intervene to avoid the collapse of the activities?

“It is proof that the government is completely disconnected from reality, it travels to another planet. Unfortunately, we are paying dearly for the mistakes that have caused us months of bad choices. As we had suggested from the beginning, it would have been necessary to intervene by granting the owners of these activities non-repayable aid as has been done in other countries. We have chosen the path of the loan, or worse still of the recognition of tax credits that can only be used against a taxable amount. If you want to avoid the catastrophe for commerce and small businesses, it is necessary to allocate, on the basis of last year's turnover, non-repayable aid, without asking for either capital or interest in exchange. Then it would be necessary to remove the tax obligations to those in serious difficulty ".

Such as?

“We of the Lega have won the battle over the suspension of tax bills, since last week we all went, with Matteo Salvini at the head to demonstrate under the Revenue Agency. But the suspension is not enough, because it only means postponing a problem that will recur promptly in March 2021. We need to be far-sighted and study a form of excerpt, considering that many professionals, VAT numbers, traders, small entrepreneurs, will have enormous difficulties for a long time not having materially billed ".

---

---

The Rinaldi article : "Without grants we will see a massacre of companies" comes from ScenariEconomici.it .

---

This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/rinaldi-senza-aiuti-a-fondo-perduto-vedremo-unecatombe-di-aziende/ on Tue, 20 Oct 2020 11:13:26 +0000.