Stato-balia

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “nanny-State”.

Noun

Stato-balia m (plural Stati-balia)

1. (derogatory, idiomatic) nanny state
   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 12, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa [A Promised Land], Garzanti Libri:

     E se capitava di discutere della pressione fiscale troppo elevata o di come certe regole scoraggiassero l'innovazione, dello «Stato-balia» che minava l’iniziativa privata o di quanto fossero dispendiosi certi programmi, eravamo tutti consapevoli dei vantaggi di una società che perlomeno si sforzava di offrire un trattamento equo a tutti i suoi cittadini e di costruire una base solida sotto la quale nessuno potesse sprofondare.

     And if we sometimes debated whether taxes were too high or certain regulations were discouraging innovation, whether the "nanny state" was sapping individual initiative or this or that program was wasteful, we generally understood the advantages of a society that at least tried to offer a fair shake to everyone and built a floor beneath which nobody could sink.

     (literally, “And if we happened to discuss of taxation that was too high or of how certain regulations discourage innovation, of the "nanny state" that undermined private initiative or of how wasteful certain programs were, we were all aware of the advantages of a society that at least endeavored to offer equal treatment to all its citizens and to construct a solid base beneath which no one could sink.”)