In a two-hour speech to about 10,000 supporters north of Paris, she laid out a 100-proposal platform, pledging to raise pensions, to increase the minimum wage to €1,500, or about $2,000, a month and to guarantee a job or further training for every youth within six months of graduating from university.
I would assume that not many are surprised by this, after all, she is a socialist. It's always nice to hear feel-good socialist ideas, until you get to the point where one has to consider how to pay for them, should they be implemented.
"The unfettered rein of financial profit is intolerable for the general interest," she said. "You told me simple truths. You told me you wanted fewer income inequalities. You told me you wanted to tax capital more than labor. We will do that reform."
There's that evil word again, profit. Here's a real secret: Companies with no profit create no jobs. I would think that socialists would have realized this by now, but I digress.
Go back to pre-Mussolini Italy and see the value of having workers take over factories and other types of companies. Look how long they lasted after they wrested them from the rightful owners by force. If that's not enough for you, try looking at how the new Arizona minimum wage law is affecting the unskilled jobs market. Then, come back and tell us how economic socialism is better than market capitalism.
9 comments:
LA
I'm not a big fan of Royal, but this needs to be addressed:
If that's not enough for you, try looking at how the new Arizona minimum wage law is affecting the unskilled jobs market. Then, come back and tell us how economic socialism is better than market capitalism.
This isn't true in every state, and if you read the story that I linked below, it will show you that raising the minimum wage has done more for small business than to hurt it.
In Illinois, we raised our minimum wage and I haven't seen a lack of jobs for teens, in fact, they are crying out here for teens to fill the jobs.
The Republican cries for not raising the minimum wage because it will hurt small business is a myth.
http://tinyurl.com/38nbgb
The most silly part of her speech was promising a "guaranteed buying power" for everyone. Is she, like, a marxist? She seems desperate in any case. Looks like I may loose my bet with my wife about who will win the election (I said Sego; she said Sarko).
just a brief word on "socialist" candidates.
the modern french economy has always been classified as a "mixed" economy, mixing elements of free-market principles with socialism (i.e. it's never been a socialist economy).
sego is only "socialist" in the idea that she can push for 'emphasizing' the socialist elements of this mixed system. in fact, many free market principles are mandated by the eu.
Here's an interesting video I found from Charles Bremner of the London Times Paris blog, about Sego Royal. It sounds like he thinks she's really screwed because she lost some of her base when she hung around the middle too long....now she's trying to get them back, but many of them are voting for Boyou (sp?) to "punish" her.
Anyway, here it is...
http://tinyurl.com/2nh8h5
The problem with the French socialist party is much like the problems that plagued the French Communist Party and led to it's fall from grace among French voters in the 80's. At one point they had 24 % of the vote in the early 70's In short they are not able to break from a dogmatic past and propose a real platform which could finally address the problems that France has such as factory output and a huge trade imbalance(please compare to Germany for any of you who may doubt), discrimination , opaqueness; archaic judicial system prone to errors and I can go on.) The Italians, Spanish and British left abandoned dogma in the 70's. The French left still blames big capital for all their ills, but it's normal becasue the French in general always blame someone. They are truly in denial. During the Socialist Party meeting on Sunday in Villepinte, Royal went from Center to Far Left and then back to Center at the end in a feeble attempt to reassure at the same time the centrists outside the party the left wing of the socialist party as a whole. (oui, mais, non, mais attend! bof!) It's not me who says it, it's political comentators such as Christophe Barbier and Eric Zemmour. She's taking a lot of flack for her comment on guarantying purchasing power but you have to remember that she is sinking fast. A poll today showed absolutely no change in voting intentions. Usually a candidate will recieve a pass for a week or so and the numbers will go up as did Sarkozy's after this type of political forum.(his crowning) Seems as if the French are not to be duped for the moment. But in the last weeks I fear a barrage of promises which may influence the vote as well as talk of a terrorist attack "à la espanole" (see Al Quaeda)around election time that has to be taken seriously.
What France has is soft capitalism although many jokes came out after the fall of the Berlin Wall that Communism hadn't totally fallen in Europe. There was still France. Also see Lech Walesa's comments at the time of the Polish plumber incidents that France was a communist country.
There are still the lurking shadows in French politics and certainly in the French Socialist Party and shame on you if you try to defy them. In the case of the Socialits, it's Lang and Fabius. Jospin is a dead man now and Strauss Kahn is too "liberale" but he still weighs in. The problem with France is moreso the problems of democracy. France still has many totalitarian aspects about her that other countries have dealt with a long time ago.(no habeas corpus here) The only body you ahve here is in the wine as well as the legs
PS - The term mixed economy has been out of use for over 20 years. That was used at the time that Europe on $5 a day was a best seller and certainly alot of starry eyed people come over and got their first taste of cheese and paté and loooove! This was a term which was used in order to justify a very high degree of government intervention which in fact still exists today however someone less but I can really get into a debate on that. It has fallen out of use at least over here.
Greg, talking about a mininum guaranty of buying power is not Marxist it's called being desperate.
PS - "Les verts" have something called a RE "revenue ( je ne sais pas quoi)". I read it in the paper yesterday. It's says a cash payoff of 1000 euros for everyone. I'll try to find it, but this puppy has to work a little.
LA hope you bring up the topic of centralisation and opaqueness in France one day.
MsM,
//the modern french economy has always been classified as a "mixed" economy, mixing elements of free-market principles with socialism (i.e. it's never been a socialist economy).//
While it is true there is no pure socialism or pure market capitalism, they usually lean more one way than the other. In the USA, there are socialist programs, but the overall economy (and level of government intervention in it)leans more toward the market than many European economies. In France, there is certainly market competition between private businesses, their overall economy is far closer to a socialist economy than the US.
At issue here is, does a population want more government intervention or less? I subscribe to the theory that less is better. Many French (to include Sego), believe more government intervention, interference, and involvement is better. With all of the red tape that any government has to offer its clients, it's hard to see how allowing them any more control over the people's lives, is going to have a positive effect.
I do not need, nor do I want, a big brother or a Robin Hood to manage the affairs of people that empower it. Maybe a better way to contour this argument is statism versus individualism. If so, I vote for more rights to the individual every time.
Rocket,
One criticism I have heard from French people that subscribe more to the market theory is, the French system stymies incentive, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Too much hassle for such little return will slow any economy's ability to grow.
I found Le Figaro in english.
Not much but better than nothing
http://www.lefigaro.fr/english/
PS when I have some time I'll write about how the money is flowing out of France. Big article in le Figaro yesterday about how rich French people are no longer embarassed to leave France (encore la pensée unique en france se casse la gueule) Also started a new contract at an Alzheimers institute and the comparisons with north of Europe and US are very interesting how France leaves these people to their own.
On another note the French singer Renaud is leaving France for England but says he will contiue to pay taxes in France. (you don't have to be an accounting genius to figure this one out) yeh sure. tell me about it. this was the guy who had a song about Margareth Thatcher in the 80's and how horrible the England of Thatcher was. How things have changed. Maybe the french are learning that their country is toquard.
http://tinyurl.com/2s8ykd
Rocket,
//Maybe the french are learning that their country is toquard.//
Toquard?
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