I Live in Italy, But Don’t Worry About Me
I’m worried about the Coronavirus’s effect on America
As of March 11th, there have been over 12,000 cases of the Coronavirus and over 800 deaths in Italy so far.
Since the virus first spread to Italy, things have escalated very quickly. People have been messaging me non-stop to ask if I’m okay because they know that I live in northern Italy. What no one knew is that I happened to be with my boyfriend visiting his family in the United Kingdom when things began to escalate. From England, we watched Milan become a red zone. Then our town, Padova, became a red zone. Since Monday, the entirety of the country is a red zone.
My roommate is currently house-bound. Since long before Padova was declared a red zone, his company declared that everyone would work from home. He isn’t even able to travel to his hometown to be with his family during this time. He told me that the situation is equal parts scary and boring.
The entire country is in lockdown.
All shops are closed except for grocery stores and pharmacies.
Hospitals are under an enormous amount of pressure, and are struggling to keep up with demand.
Millions of Italians won’t be able to go to work to earn their living.
Millions will feel the financial burden, unable to keep their business open or unable to pay their rent.
So, why am I not worried about Italy? Because Italy, like the rest of Europe, benefits from socialism. That’s right, social welfare systems.
Like the fact that banks have pledged to suspend mortgage payments during the crisis.
Or that Italy’s government has already designated funds of more than 7 billion euros in stimulus to help mitigate the economic crisis caused by business screeching to a standstill.
“The package consists primarily of an increase in the financial resources for the wage supplementation fund and for financial assistance to the most affected sectors and firms,” Gualtieri wrote. “We will provide extra funding for the public health-care system, civil protection and security forces.”
Meaning these funds will support the following systems:
universal healthcare
paid sick leave
tax breaks and tax extensions
Meanwhile, what’s going to happen if (when) the situation in America reaches Italy-levels of crisis mode? I’m worried. I’m worried that:
- Americans won’t be able to afford the Coronavirus test, let alone the treatment ($3,200 for a test?!)
- hospital bills will crush survivors who do receive treatment
- hundreds or thousands of people will be laid off of jobs, especially in the service and travel industries
- schools will close, necessitating parents take time off they can’t afford to take care of their children
- those who do fall ill won’t receive more than the state minimum of sick leave, unless the company is large enough and “generous” enough to pay, like Amazon
- closed businesses and not being able to attend work will cause employees to fall behind in rent
- small and medium-sized businesses, especially restaurant and service-industry ones, will be forced to close
- impoverished children who don’t go to school won’t get the nutrition they need (am I still talking about America here??!!)
- this could be the beginning of the making of another recession (see stock market for more details)
Please notice how long this list has gotten and the coronavirus is hardly featured on it. The coronavirus is deadly, but the statistics are not that alarming to me.
What scares me is the lack of preparedness or social systems America has in place to absorb the shock of this kind of crisis. We’re not made for it, built for it, or ready for it, but here it comes.
So, the last few weeks, my Aunts and Uncles have rung me up to ask if I’m alive and I’m going to be okay. “You’re where now? Italy? United Kingdom? I hear all of Europe’s in a crisis” they say. And yet, if I dare bring up the ugly words “socialism,” or “social welfare system,” my family starts howling and stamping their feet. My worries fall on deaf ears.
