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

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.