Comments by "Kim Jong-un" (@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un) on "Why Is There No Bridge to Sicily?" video.

  1. I'm glad you talked about such an interesting topic like this bridge to Sicily! The concept is cool! The prevalence of the mafia is largely a byproduct of its economic situation, and a bridge may not simply solve it. It would help Sicily, but both Sicily and Calabria lack the most basic land infrastructures that has to exist to let the bridge work at full capacity. The reasons why Southern Italy is poorer than the rest of the country is more complex than this. The South’s relative poverty is due to various historical, social, and economic factors. Italy until the 1870s was not a united country since the fall of the Roman Empire, and the South had been under control of the Bourbon monarchy and various other polities that had caused a more repressive, feudal social structure and an economic system far different to the North. The economy was almost entirely agrarian, and lacked industry, being exploited for a long time. Unlike the fertile Po Valley in the north, much of southern Italy lacks extensive plains suitable for large-scale agriculture. This, in addition to the cultural differences with the North, their slight disdain for Southerners and the fact that the South was not even particularly wanted by the more advanced, industrialized Liberal North/Kingdom of Sardinia but more annexed as a result of chance due to Garibaldi’s expedition, led to a severe economic mismanagement of the South following the creation of the Kingdom of Italy. The economy of the South integrated very poorly with the Northern economic system, and the government employed harsh repressive measures against dissent and crime (caused by the dire economic situation) in the South in the latter half of the 19th century. Due to the historical poverty of the South, crime and corruption tends to go hand in hand with economic woes and as such a situation arises where it is difficult for the South to alleviate its own situation. It had very little industry. In addition, Northern Italians tended to not sympathize with Southerners, some even calling for separation in the 21st century (Lega Nord, a once popular political party founded on the basis of Northern independence). Ultimately, the South’s relative poverty is due to a mix of historical cultural, political and economic circumstances, where the South had mostly found itself lagging behind the North. When annexed into the Kingdom of Italy, the South was terribly mismanaged and found itself in a worse situation due to incompetence and apathy towards the South by the Northern Liberal Elite. The prevalent issues of crime, corruption, mafia and lack of industry did contribute to the situation but were also primarily the natural byproduct of economic and political trouble. Small private armies known as "mafie" took advantage of the chaos and extorted protection money from landowners, eventually evolving into the organized criminal groups we know today. Nowadays, although the South is not as bad, it still remains poorer due to lack of investment and brain drain. Why would anyone invest in an already dysfunctional area, when they can just invest in the richer North? Southern Italians have long internally migrated to the industrialized North in search of employment and better quality of life. These two issues go hand in hand. Although not as bad, the corruption caused by historical economic and political insecurity is still an issue that can deter investment, making it more expensive. Additionally, the regional form of government means that Southern regional governments lack the ability and money to effectively create, improve and repair infrastructure, contributing to the continual stunted development. Italian immigration to the Americas was overwhelming from the South. It's the reason why Southern Italian cuisine is far better known internationally than Northern Italian. Yes, they got a lot of tourism, but as shown by other places, you can't simply rely on tourism
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