who will lose basic income

Citizenship income – Photo by Ansa Foto

A first compression of the basic income could already come with the first economic maneuver of the Meloni government, which the Council of Ministers will approve today.

The assumptions on the steering table are different, but they will have to take into account the social impact of changes in income. The reform aims to reduce the number of beneficiaries and strengthen controls, with the aim of saving 1.8 billion out of the approximately 8 that the DRC costs.

Citizenship income: who is limited?

The compression will only affect employees considered employable, who could therefore work and do not work: it is a third of the total. Let’s see who could lose their basic income.

The people at risk are mainly the recipients who are required to sign the Pacte pour l’emploi in the Pôles d’Emploi. According to Anpal monitoring in June, there are about 660,000 people. To these could be added around 173,000 recipients who are already working, but who have such low incomes that they meet the income conditions. The total is more than 800,000 out of about 2.5 million.

possible changes

The hypothesis that seems the most likely is to impose an end to the duration of the subsidy. Today, the income can be received for 18 months, renewable after the one-month suspension, whenever the conditions are met.

With the squeeze, the employable recipient would no longer receive the subsidy after 18 months, but for a maximum of 6 months, economic aid for training, financed by European funds. After this period, the benefits cease.

Tightening the Basic Income: Durigon’s Proposal

Another hypothesis is the one put on the table by the Undersecretary of Labor Claudio Durigon (Lega) which provides that after 6 months of training, if the citizen does not yet have a job, he could request the income again for a maximum of 12 months and with a reduced amount of 25%. After that, there would be another 6 months of suspension, after which the subsidy could be requested one last time, for 6 months and with a further reduction of 25%.

For now, however, the hard line of tightening controls on requirements and rules that end the payment of citizen income prevails. Whereas today two job offers can be rejected, under the new rules the grant will be lost after the first reasonable offer is refused.

What will change for everyone else

Certain developments are also envisaged for all the other recipients of the ground floor, i.e. two-thirds of the public, made up of minors, the elderly, people with disabilities, people with integration difficulties and other subjects who are unfit for work and who are referred to the social services of the Communes.

The latter will be subject to stricter controls and will have to prove that they reside in Italy by periodically going to the offices of the Municipality of residence.