Full French Retreat

Fire of Liberty

Well it seems that the French government finally folded to the angry protests of students and the militant unions. Instead of introducing some reforms that would liberalize the French economy and create an environment that was more conducive to reducing massive unemployment, the French government has taken another spanking from the unions and the nutty students and has scrapped the CPE law and is offering subsidies and tax incentives for companies who take on 18-26 year olds. So once again the French politicians choose socialism over capitalism to solve the problems but the only thing this will do is cause the unemployment rate to stay in the cellar (What businessman do you know would be silly enough to accept these cash payments and take on a new hire who might not be a good worker.)and will just add one more burden on the economy. You'll never erase the 23% unemployment rate amongst 18-26 year-olds and an overall unemployment rate of 9.7% by pushing more and more of the government's nose into the tent of French businesses and economy in general. As Calvin Coolidge, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush(ok he spends a lot of money but his tax cuts have paved the way for a 4.7% unemployment rate) and Margaret Thatcher demonstrated time and time again, the pathway to a robust economy is by getting the government off the people's back by reducing taxes and by reducing the governments strangle-hold on businesses by eliminating regulations. While these are only a sample of what the great individuals did to spur on their respected economies it still demonstrates that less government is far better than too much government. All in all, the French government remains committed to the status quo of socialism and high unemployment rather than a robust economy. As the French say C'Est La Vie (That's life).