I'm surprised there is no thread on France's ouster of Sarkozy. Actually it's not all that surprising given the state of this board. Hope that reverses course. Socialist Elected
rex I read some of hollande's campaign promises were for more government spending, more taxes on the " rich " and businesses and to LOWER the retirement age. IIRC their guaranteed work week is 35 hrs. i wonder if those plans can work in the type of climate they have in France and Europe?
Hollande is talking about jacking up the rate on those earning $1.3MM or more (I suppose that's in Euros) to 75%. Ridiculous.
The tax rate the wealthiest Americans paid on the top portion of their earnings at the end of Ronald Reagan's first term? 50%. Under Richard Nixon? 70%. Under Dwight Eisenhower? 91%. Comparatively speaking, things were pretty good then. Not everybody disagrees with the new French president.
I think it was the Economist that ran an article saying French voters were choosing between existing with the South of Europe (Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy) or the North (Scandinavia, Germany, Netherlands). France and Greece are opting for a slow bleeding collapse before they make the neccessary structural reforms. I guess they have to learn the hard way.
Is anyone surprised? Frankly, I was surprised when Sarkozy got elected in the first place. What's really going to be interesting is if this change from France's conservative party to its socialist party will impact the financial crisis in Europe. Up to now, France and Germany have mostly been a unified front in dealing with the screw-up nations in the Eurozone. From this point on, it's anybody's guess.
The Post-WWII and late 20th Century U.S. economies are not apples to apples comparisons to a sclerotic and unproductive economy. Your analogy is like saying a 80 year old emphysema patient should keep on smoking because that twenty year old college kid smokes and seems to be doing fine.
He also advocates letting foreigners vote in french elections. This is not good. The rightist candidate will win the next election. And I don't mean Sarkozy's party. A few years ago I was in Paris for the first time in twenty years and mentioned to a taxi driver how many more foreigners there were in the central city area since my last trip. He went on a tirade about how the africans and arabs were wrecking the welfare system because of too many kids and not enough work, how hard it was to fire incompetents and lazy people, etc. And how being French was not just a matter of living there, that the language and culture were not compatible with a lot of people from africa and the muslim immigrants. Now people like him will be outvoted
The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money. == Margaret Thatcher Seemed appropriate. France will soon get a very difficult reality check. Until then, they just use the Barack Obama playbook of class warfare, which works. It has worked in Latin America for generations.
There are more balanced assessments out there: But a growing number say the cuts have been too much, too fast. They say the region’s economy can’t return to growth unless governments stop tightening the fiscal noose and start spending again to create demand.... .... Despite Hollande's ambiguous and, in some cases, dubious plans for managing the French economy, he was elected not just as an anti-Sarkozy vote, but because he talks a lot about European growth. In some ways, his timing couldn't be better. When the eurozone crisis broke last fall, the Franco-German crisis response was to push through an austerity package; but spending cuts have further undermined growth in several European economies, prompting a clamor for a more stimulative approach. Hollande hopes to seize the moment and frame himself as a champion of growth. He has three ideas for how to do this, one of which -- tapping the funds of the European Investment Bank to promote growth -- is supported almost unanimously by EU leaders, including those in Germany" The Link
Ah y'all are just racist or bigoted ro something thise foreigners are just going to where the welfare benetis are better. I wonder how Angela Merkel and Hollande will get along?
Craig James not killing 5 hookers while at SMU is also "invulnerable to disproof." So, sweet point homey.
2 nuggets from Rex Kramer today: "Actually it's not all that surprising given the state of this board. Hope that reverses course." "Craig James not killing 5 hookers while at SMU is also "invulnerable to disproof." So, sweet point homey" I have to give you credit ... you didn't say you'd change your own behavior to help the board's direction change course-- just that you HOPED things would change.
Fleeing French The forecasts of some of you are already coming true. London is a hot venue for rich French looking to keep their money from socialist hands.
I think it shows two important points: austerity is not popular, and neither is rampant immigrant bashing.
OH well all will be well BO is giving advice to Hollande on how to run the French economy "President Obama's spokesman warned the new socialist president-elect of France not to implement his campaign agenda of ending austerity measures, indicating that such a reversal could damage the world economy. "A balanced approach . . . Both fiscal consolidation and efforts to boost the recovery is the right approach for Europe," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters today. "That's an approach that he thinks ensures that the recovery continues while putting our fiscal house in order." French President-Elect Francois Hollande called for an increase in government spending and taxes.The Link becasuse we all now how successful BO has been in , what was it he promised? To cut the deficit in in half by end of his first term. How is that going BO?? And how funny is it that Bo advises Hollande to not end the austerity measures even as NO tries to up the number of people on welfare here in US>
So you are not counting Postal employees or Military personnel, two organizatioins that have the most amount of Federal workers. Yet in the state employees you are counting teachers, which accounts for about 50% of all those employees. That was a real good link and it was spot on the beacon of honesty and truth.
