[Serial_Worrier]

This is what you get in socialist countries - constant shortages of fuel and food.

[Pretorian]

There are no socialist countries. So how do you know that?

[dolanbaker]

In the UK there is a system where some businesses get gas at a discount if they're prepared to forgo their supply during periods of shortage. Chances are the same system is also used in Italy.

[Serial_Worrier]

There are no socialist countries. So how do you know that?

What % of industries are government owned in Italy/Spain/France?

[vision-master]

This is what you get in socialist countries - constant shortages of fuel and food.

Dearest Serial_killer..........

It's called interruptible gas. Industrial Customers have a stand by fuel source, mainly oil these day's. Back When I started in the business (1973), some Industrial Customers went to coal instead. When the temps get real cold, interruptible gas customers are required to switch over to stand by fuel.

[alokin]

I don't usually post but were did you get the information that Italy is a socialist country? Look up which party forms the government in Italy and try to get some basic information!

[SeaGypsy]

Come off it, Italy is in the EU which is fundamentally socialist. Socialized medicine plus housing garauntees, plus endless welfare extensions. That is as socialist as it gets these days, besides which Pretorian is correct.

[Pretorian]

There are no socialist countries. So how do you know that?

What % of industries are government owned in Italy/Spain/France?

I don't know, and it's irrelevant. Socialism defines not by presence of state-owned industries, but by absence of private ones.

[M_B_S]

Italy cuts gas supplies for industrial consumers by minister decret!

Record high domestic demand and russian cuts in gas exports have forced this move.

PEAK GAS in Europe this winter ?!

Europes gas reserves in cavernes are down to 58% falling more than 1% per day

M_B_S

[Serial_Worrier]

There are no socialist countries. So how do you know that?

What % of industries are government owned in Italy/Spain/France?

I don't know, and it's irrelevant. Socialism defines not by presence of state-owned industries, but by absence of private ones.

We're talking about a relative scale. There is 100% socialism in North Korea and less so in Europe, even less in America. Where is the correct place to be?

[Pretorian]

There are no socialist countries. So how do you know that?

What % of industries are government owned in Italy/Spain/France?

I don't know, and it's irrelevant. Socialism defines not by presence of state-owned industries, but by absence of private ones.

We're talking about a relative scale. There is 100% socialism in North Korea and less so in Europe, even less in America. Where is the correct place to be?

No we are talking about something that is or is not. You cant be a little bit pregnant. If an individual can own means of production in any meaningful way, than there is no socialism. NK haven't been socialist for at least 15 years or so.

[alokin]

There are no housing guarantees in Europe. And most countries have an insurance system for healthcare, that means you pay a percentage of your salary. Better than beeing indepted when you have to go to hospital.
I wonder why each and every problem must be caused by socialism, even in countries which are not socialist, but have a social welfare system, that is simplistic and shematic.
What have the Russian gas delivery or the lack of it to deal with socialism?? Nothing.

[M_B_S]

What have the Russian gas delivery or the lack of it to deal with socialism?? Nothing.

Thats the point . Its the garbage in this thread. Maybe the smoking bomb to mantel the facts:

Europe is running out of natural gas in very cold winters because gazprom has not enough gas for export and domestic demand.


M_B_S

[SeaGypsy]

I believe in socialized medicine, basic living welfare payments. When these aren't there, employers are able to pay workers less than it actually costs to live. There are plenty of cities in EU with housing guarantees, whether this is a national policy or not. I don't think there's anything wrong with making sure your citizens don't starve or die from easily preventable/ treatable diseases, lose every cent they have if they fail to have 'adequate' insurance.
Nor with providing basic shelter/ heating. It's a fine line and some countries do it much better than others.

[dorlomin]

This is what you get in socialist countries - constant shortages of fuel and food.

Socialist

You are Glenn Beck I claim my five pounds

[SeaGypsy]

I think the only reason Australia, New Zealand, the Scandanavian Bloc, can afford to maintain A class or B+ at least welfare services is our relative resource base/ population equation. Owning huge resources gives a proximate buffer to the ordinary consequences of economic incompetence not afforded countries 100% reliant on processing and or agriculture, top ups from tourism seem to be shrinking worldwide.

[Pretorian]

And most countries have an insurance system for healthcare, that means you pay a percentage of your salary. Better than beeing indepted when you have to go to hospital.

The reason Americans go bankrupt once they get sick is private monopoly on healthcare services, NOT lack of proper insurance system. In any case scenario a healthy person is better off without any insurance.

[dolanbaker]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17738670
Car sales in Italy were down 26.7% in March compared with a year earlier, leading the falls in European car sales.

Registrations across the EU were down 7.0% to their lowest March level since 1998, according to an Association of European Automakers (ACEA) report.

March is traditionally the strongest month for car sales across the 27-nation bloc.

[Graeme]

Italy shifting focus toward alternative energy amidst financial crisis

Italy is currently in the throes of an economic crisis, along with other countries within Europe. This crisis has spurred change in the country, much of which has been directed at its political and economic structures and paradigms. The crisis has also sparked a change in the mindset of the government, leading Italy to consider alternative energy as an economic and political issue rather than one solely about the environment. Now, the government is looking to introduce a number of new laws and regulations that could help alternative energy play a bigger role in the country’s future.

This week, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti introduced several proposals that are considered to be pro-alternative energy. The Prime Minister has unveiled plans to introduce a carbon tax, which would have the country’s businesses pay for the emissions they produce every year. The proceeds from the tax would go toward funding alternative energy projects and developing new energy systems. These systems would, in turn, help the country cut ties with fossil-fuels and foreign sources of energy, thereby lowering costs and alleviating stress on the Italian economy.

The Prime Minister also revealed tentative plans for a solar energy feed-in tariff similar to ones seen in Germany and the U.S. Italy is already home to a robust solar energy market, but the government believes that this market could grow at an exponential rate if citizens were encouraged to adopt solar power. The feed-in tariff would reward Italians for installing solar energy systems in their homes. Surplus electricity generated by these systems would be sold to the government, which could serve to stimulate the economy and cut energy costs and consumption significantly.

hydrogenfuelnews

[dolanbaker]

Quitaly is what the Guardian are trying to name the potential Italian exit.

Forget Brexit, Quitaly is Europe's next worry
Larry Elliott

First it was Grexit, then it was Brexit. Now the looming threat for Europe is Quitaly, the fear that Italy might decide it has had enough of the single currency and go back to the lira.

Put simply, Italy’s economy is floundering and has been for the past two decades during which time there has been virtually no growth and Italian goods have become less and less competitive in export markets.....

Matteo Renzi’s centre left government loses power and is replaced by the Five Star Movement, which has pledged to hold a referendum on leaving the euro. Given the state of the economy, Quitaly could not be ruled out. If it happened, the single currency would collapse.