Young Entrepeneur

Posted on June 9, 2008
Filed Under danielmcvicarblog | Leave a Comment

I joined a conference last weekend of young entrepeneurs.  Held in beautiful Santa Margherita, with a dinner in Portofino, this conference had several roundtable discussions on how to improve business conditions in Italy.  It is a great challenge, as there is a great burden on all new businesses from regulation, taxes, and customs which include more holidays than I knew existed.  

President Berlusconi spoke on Saturday, and although I stay clear of Italian politics, much of what he said made sense.  Make the government more efficient, increase responsibility, and have Italy keep up with Europe.  He indicated more work would occur in infrastructure, and also in digitizing government systems to increase their efficiency.  One statistic stood out.  It costs an average of Euro 4500 per person to run Italy’s government.  In Spain, the cost is Euro 3000.  There is a lot of room for improvement.

President Berlusconi is not without his blind spot.  I may know this, because I have my share of vanity as well.  It seems there was a mobile phone conversation of his captured from the air, and released.  It proved to be embarrassing for him.  He is now suggesting a “privacy law” that would make an act like that illegal punishable for five years in prison.   

I am a big believer in open dialogue, and to me, the airways are open.  Privacy laws are important, yes, but do they apply here?  I hope that some of his discussions occur on secure and encoded phones.

Ciao!

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