Was talking last night with a student that says her cousin
is living in Italy and receiving S.S. from the U.S. Says it's rough
with the exchange rate and all.

How are Americans who live in Italy on Social Security
coping with the bad exchange rate of dollars to euros?

Good question!

Living in small town is much more affortable than the large metropolitan center. Just think of the huge difference in costs between living in Manhattan and living somewhere in the center United States in a small town.

Pension were high in Italy years ago but they have been shriking dramatically and Italians do have to survive as well with less and less per month per caput.

I do think that a real minimum of Euro 1000/month is close to the minimum you need to live anywhere however - Euro 1500 for 2 people but members who are actually living in Italy now-days might provide more up-to date feedback

I don't understand why anyone would be living on Social Security outside their own country? Who paid for the air fare to Italy?

Mark
Maybe we have the US-English vs American-English issue here.
For social security I meant ( and I assume Villa did the same ) retirement funds. Pensione in Italiano. Per qualche motivo qui chiamano i soldi della pensione social security - Immagino tu invece stai pensando a quando il governo ti mantiene perche' tu non trovi lavoro immagino.

Mark
Maybe we have the US-English vs American-English issue here.
For social security I meant ( and I assume Villa did the same ) retirement funds. Pensione in Italiano. Per qualche motivo qui chiamano i soldi della pensione social security - Immagino tu invece stai pensando a quando il governo ti mantiene perche' tu non trovi lavoro immagino.

Grazie Paolo - Two countries divided by a common language :) In the UK, Social Security is generally understood as Unemployment Benefit and the like! All the same, as a "foreigner" in Italy, if my UK pension (State or private) goes down, tough on me! I chose to live here, and if Italy's situation means a drop or a rise in the exchange rate, then I'll live with it, good or bad. If you can't stand the heat (or cold), get out of the kitchen, as they say..................all swings and roundabouts as far as I can see!

At approximately 3:30 p.m. on August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act* became law above President Franklin D. Roosevelt's signature. The Social Security Act is one of the truly momentous legislative accomplishments in United States history. Enacted in the throes of the Great Depression, it was a sweeping bill that generated an array of programs to aid numerous groups of Americans. The law got its title from the groundbreaking social insurance program designed to provide a steady income for retired workers aged 65 or older.

Background

When English-speaking colonists arrived in North America, they were steeped in the notions and practices they knew in England, including the "Poor Laws." The original colonial poor laws emulated the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. They stressed local taxation to support the impoverished and all relief was a local obligation. Town elders determined who was eligible for relief (or subject to punishment for laziness) and how it would be meted out. Prevailing American attitudes toward poverty relief were usually dubious, and governmental involvement was slight.

Social Security as it would be recognized today did not actually come into being in America until 1935, but there was one significant predecessor, a social security program intended for a particular segment of the American population. In the aftermath of the Civil War, there were hundreds of thousands of disabled veterans as well as widows and orphans. Their needs led to the development of a pension plan with similarities to later developments in Social Security.

Rooted in the 18th century, several significant social trends occurred in 19th century America that made conventional ways of securing economic survival increasingly obsolete:


The Industrial Revolution** come of age;

Social Security Surplus
Bush Pledges Not to Touch Social Security Surplus: "We're going to keep the promise of Social Security and keep the government from raiding the Social Security surplus." [Bush, 3/3/01]

Bush Spends Social Security Surplus: The New York Times reported that "the president's new budget uses Social Security surpluses to pay for other programs every year through 2013, ultimately diverting more than $1.4 trillion in Social Security funds to other purposes." [The New York Times, 2/6/02]

He robs from the poor and gives to the rich!

Doesn't really matter to me. I won't be receiving any when i retire.

Complimenti