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How Ford & GM of them. These people are lucky to have jobs. I love how they point to the government and others instead of taking accountability for their own li

How Ford & GM of them. These people are lucky to have jobs. I love how they point to the government and others instead of taking accountability for their own lives.

sounddust 18y ago
French people don't have the "American dream", they simply don't have the job mobility that Americans have. They specifically chose a government that would provide a more security and public service as a result of higher taxes. They choose to work fewer hours (and be slightly poorer as a result) so that they can have a more tranquil lifestyle, enjoying time with friends and family. The recent policies by the French conservatives threaten to destroy that system. They are loosening restrictions on businesses, which allow them to layoff workers, which cause the workers to rely on more public services, which take money away from other public services, etc.. The net result is a redistribution of wealth to the most wealthy, and a slow deterioration of the public services that French people enjoy. I have to say that I have a lot of respect for the French lifestyle; who cares if you only make $40,000/year instead of $60,000 when you can actually have time to enjoy life. Software engineers often make $100k/year while being pressured to work 60+ hours a week. I often thought to myself how nice it would be if I could just make $45k and work 35 instead. Good luck finding an employer in the US who will let you do that and still provide decent benefits.
- gaius 18y ago
  They specifically chose a government that would provide a more security and public service as a result of higher taxes They might have thought they were choosing that, they may even have been told by the politicians they were choosing that, but what they were actually doing was spending tomorrow's money today. Now it is tomorrow and there's no money there. Lesson for startups: Be careful that you see things how they are and not how you wish them to be.
  - sounddust 18y ago
    This story has been killed so no one will read this, but I can't help but respond. The statement that France was "spending tomorrow's money today and now it's gone" is ridiculous. In 2007, France's national debt as a percentage of GDP was 63.9% and the USA was at 60.8%. Both countries will be facing hard times in the future; however, neither are on the verge of collapse. The economic crisis is global, and countries who had nothing to do with it (coughjapancough) are affected by it. It's pretty cheap to try to use it to pin France's economy as weak, when their system has worked well for decades. French people have benefited greatly from the extra service provided by government, and their government is quite efficient compared to most. France chose a different system than the USA because their view of an ideal society is different. Both of them have been fairly successful; neither are utopian. I happen to support the French strikers who are opposing the recent changes, not because I think the old system is better, but because I like cultural diversity and choice, and I don't want the world to become homogenized.

How Ford & GM of them. These people are lucky to have jobs. I love how they point to the government and others instead of taking accountability for their own lives.

sounddust 18y ago

French people don't have the "American dream", they simply don't have the job mobility that Americans have. They specifically chose a government that would provide a more security and public service as a result of higher taxes. They choose to work fewer hours (and be slightly poorer as a result) so that they can have a more tranquil lifestyle, enjoying time with friends and family. The recent policies by the French conservatives threaten to destroy that system. They are loosening restrictions on businesses, which allow them to layoff workers, which cause the workers to rely on more public services, which take money away from other public services, etc.. The net result is a redistribution of wealth to the most wealthy, and a slow deterioration of the public services that French people enjoy. I have to say that I have a lot of respect for the French lifestyle; who cares if you only make $40,000/year instead of $60,000 when you can actually have time to enjoy life. Software engineers often make $100k/year while being pressured to work 60+ hours a week. I often thought to myself how nice it would be if I could just make $45k and work 35 instead. Good luck finding an employer in the US who will let you do that and still provide decent benefits.

gaius 18y ago
They specifically chose a government that would provide a more security and public service as a result of higher taxes They might have thought they were choosing that, they may even have been told by the politicians they were choosing that, but what they were actually doing was spending tomorrow's money today. Now it is tomorrow and there's no money there. Lesson for startups: Be careful that you see things how they are and not how you wish them to be.
- sounddust 18y ago
  This story has been killed so no one will read this, but I can't help but respond. The statement that France was "spending tomorrow's money today and now it's gone" is ridiculous. In 2007, France's national debt as a percentage of GDP was 63.9% and the USA was at 60.8%. Both countries will be facing hard times in the future; however, neither are on the verge of collapse. The economic crisis is global, and countries who had nothing to do with it (coughjapancough) are affected by it. It's pretty cheap to try to use it to pin France's economy as weak, when their system has worked well for decades. French people have benefited greatly from the extra service provided by government, and their government is quite efficient compared to most. France chose a different system than the USA because their view of an ideal society is different. Both of them have been fairly successful; neither are utopian. I happen to support the French strikers who are opposing the recent changes, not because I think the old system is better, but because I like cultural diversity and choice, and I don't want the world to become homogenized.