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Big_Bird
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...
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 Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:49 pm Post subject: FRANCE needs to reform its economy - or is that Bollocks? |
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This is to cheer up BJWD - it's not about America, and it's on his favourite topic: economics. But..Oh... damn it .... I see the US are mentioned yet again...
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=74&ItemID=12679
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The elections in France demonstrate the power of faulty economic analysis, and more generalized problems with arithmetic, to shape ideas and possibly the future of not only a nation, but a continent.
The United States has faced similar problems with its debate over Social Security, in which the majority of Americans were convinced - based on verbal and accounting trickery - that the program is facing serious financial problems when the baby boom generation retires. (It isn't).
In France, Nicolas Sarkozy, the right-wing candidate, has taken the lead after Sunday's election with 31.2 percent of the vote, against S�gol�ne Royal, the left-of-center candidate of France's Socialist party, who garnered 25.9 percent. They face a runoff election against each other on May 6.
The general theme that has propelled Sarkozy into the lead is that the French economy is somehow "stuck" and needs to be reformed to be more like ours. It is also widely believed that France needs to be made more "competitive" in the global economy, since competition is tougher now in a more globalized world.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has been the most popular proponent of the idea that French workers must lower their living standards because of the global economy. "All of the forces of globalization [are] eating away at Europe's welfare states," he writes . . . "French voters are trying to preserve a 35-hour work week in a world where Indian engineers are ready to work a 35-hour day." For Friedman and most of the pundits, this is impossible.
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:58 pm Post subject: Re: FRANCE needs to reform its economy - or is that Bollocks |
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| Big_Bird wrote: |
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has been the most popular proponent of the idea that French workers must lower their living standards because of the global economy. "All of the forces of globalization [are] eating away at Europe's welfare states," he writes . . . "French voters are trying to preserve a 35-hour work week in a world where Indian engineers are ready to work a 35-hour day." For Friedman and most of the pundits, this is impossible.
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Zmag. All those MIT trained economists!
Anyways, no, the French do not need to lower their standard of living. Though, it might be nice if they let brown people participate in the economy. As I understand it, unemployment among "French" is about 3-4% if unemployment is calculated as Sweden does (and 10% if calculated as America does), but among non-French it is 40%+. This is why the French don't care about the massive unemployment. It doesn't impact them.
Only labour reforms (making it possible to hire/fire at will) will push France forwards.
But France will likely be the last Western nation to fully integrate into the world economy. And I'm ok with that. It will be nice to compare them with Finland, Ireland and Iceland in 10 years (compare welfare states across levels of globalization etc). |
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Big_Bird
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...
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| Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:03 pm Post subject: Re: FRANCE needs to reform its economy - or is that Bollocks |
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| BJWD wrote: |
Zmag. All those MIT trained economists!
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I understood that Mark Weisbrot was writing for the Washington Post.
As I understand it, no-one writes for ZNet; rather, it just provides a collection of articles (tainted with an alternative lefty tree-hugging girly-man perspective) from various sources, including sometimes from normally conservative publications.
But thanks for a somewhat intelligent response.
Don't think we'll get many other takers somehow.. |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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I suppose cause the article was from the WaPo, that might give it away.
You're welcome.
I hope Royal wins. The world needs an example of what not to do re: everything. |
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