Geez. I made the simple observation that in FRANCE on a FRENCH national holiday the colors of the fireworks were those of ITALY, not France. I did not suggest that Corsicans are Italians.

By the way the colors of the Corsican National flag are black and white. But in any event I was describing a French national holiday, not a Corsican one.

I'm really sorry that the irony of the color of the firworks for Bastille Day is too complex a concept for you. It was a minor observation that some might find interesting -- not an attempt to start a major debate of politics. Some Americans might also be amused if their local Fourth of July Fireworks were all purple and green instead of red, white, and blue. Obviously you wouldn't be surprised by that at all. Different things amuse us, that's all.

I didn't realize that France had a problem with economic growth- is it true?

There was an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about the protests and mentioned a poll that was taken by people from various countries and the French were the only people where the majority of the people polled didn't believe that the free market was the best way to handle labor issues (only 37% thought the market was better). This was much lower than even the Chinese.

>a poll that was taken by people from various countries and the French were the only people where the majority of the people polled didn't believe that the free market was the best way to handle labor issues

What would be interesting is to see the questions asked in the poll, in French. By even slightly changing the wording you can influence the poll results a lot - it is well known...

Is there only one way to achieve economic growth. Gosh.

From where I’m sitting (Australia) this is interesting. As we float somewhere between the US and Europe in relation to what we expect from the state, and our scepticism about the virtues of the free market, I’ve found my sympathies bouncing back and forth as I read.

Clearly the much-vaunted French quality of life leaves too many of its citizens out in the cold (i.e., unemployed and poor). But so does the much-vaunted American money machine (working and poor). So, while the French have their problems, I find it difficult to see how anyone could prescribe an undiluted American model as a cure.

If I can put in a word for a middle way: Australia has its problems, but we’ve managed to combine a vigorous economy, low unemployment and moderate taxation with a reasonable social safety net that includes universal health insurance and income support for the unemployed, students etc. Very few of us would want to swap our conditions for those of either France or the US.

A few stats from the CIA World Fact Book:

GDP per capita US$:
US 41.8K – FR 29.9K – AU 32.0K

GDP growth:
US 3.5% - FR 2.7% - AU 1.5%

Public debt (% of GDP):
US 64.7% - FR 66.5% - AU 16.2%

Unemployment:
US 5.1% – FR 10.0% – AU 5.2%

Fertility rate:
US 2.08 – FR 1.85 – AU 1.76

Infant mortality/1000:
US 6.5 – FR 4.7 – AU 4.3

Life expectancy (yrs):
US 77.7 – FR 79.6 – AU 80.4

HIV/AIDS prevalence %:
US 0.6 – FR 0.4 – AU 0.1

Literacy (% adults):
US 97 – FR 99 – AU 100

Pop below poverty line:
US 12%- FR 6.5% - AU na

oldie,

You made snide comments about Cato's use of English.

What about your own? &quot;… <u>France is</u> obviously doomed. One great advantage <u>they</u> possess …&quot;

hi Neil,
As a fellow Aussie, (living in London), i can only concur with your sentiments.

Too many people have an either/or approach, as though there are only two approaches to economic development. Countries achieve economic success in a myriad of ways - some more state orientated, others more free-market and as you correctly pointed others, like Australia, somewhere in between.

What I found annoying was the arrogance of some posters that only one form of economic development is possible. A patronising position....

Hi Neil_Oz,

In no way do I wish to seem that I am disparaging OZ.

You must keep in mind that comparing a country with a population of 20M to those with 3 to 15 times that number is risky.

The US has a very large population of 1st and 2nd generation immigrants. These populations, unlike in Australia, are from 3rd world countries.

So does France. (Some are third and fourth generation.)

Small, homogeneous populations can provide all sorts of social services and keep everyone happy.

Large, diverse populations are much more difficult to deal with.

I'm mildly amused by this thread because I remember when the French would lecture the US on how to handle its racial problems, the Germans and then the Japanese would lecture us on how to run our economy, and the Soviet Union told us &quot;we will bury you&quot;.

I also recall that the Luddites tried to destroy the new textile mills that had water-powered looms, fearing that the new machines would destroy their livelihoods.

Quote:
<i>So young adults, get ready to enter this new workers paradise, where the loss of a job is only a mangers discretion away.</i>

It was ever thus, here in the great state of Illinois. And we're doing just fine, thank you.

While it is true that &quot;at will&quot; employment may lead to the occasional unjust firing...it is equally true that employees are free to quit their jobs at the drop of a hat as well.

Believe me, there are far worse tragedies in this world than being an employee (or employer) on an at-will basis.

Good point, Mr_Go.

Consider the employer who is suddenly confronted with an employee who says, &quot;I have a job offer from someone else for XXX amount more. Match it or I leave&quot;.

Shouldn't the employee have to prove that he is not causing undo hardship to the employer?

Shouldn't the employer be compensated for the cost of training a new employee?

Fantastic for Illinois. As has already been stated - merely because it's appropriate in Illinois or the USA does not make it necessarily appropriate in another country.

Ira:

Tsk, tsk...surely you meant &quot;undue&quot; instead of &quot;undo&quot;.

Ira,

A french employee can't leave at the drop of a hat. He must give notice 1 to 3 months (generally) in advance. This duration is equal to the duration of the notice the employer would have to give if he fired the employee for a legitimate cause not related to a faulty behavior of the employee.

Otherwise the employee must pay an indemnity to his employer equal to the amount the employer would have paid for him (salary+ taxes+ contribution to the healthcare system, etc...) during the same period.

If an employee leave it of course might signifiantly inconvenience its employers, who needs time to find anoter candiate, might need the former employee to train him, or to finish some duty in prgogress, etc.. The french &quot;undetermined duration contract&quot; of course brings obligations to both parties.

B+

Yes, Ira, those Japanese &quot;lectures&quot; about how to run our economy have apparently resulted in a wonderful trade deficit and and an even more wonderful exchange rate Yen vs. the Dollar.

And American auto makers thought they could keep turning out the same types of vehicles until those pesky Japanese rolled in with their fuel-efficient Hondas.

Hi Cato

Thanks for the interesting post. I don't share your concern about low birth rates. Alot of the world's problems can be solved by simply reducing the global population. Think about it - what would France be like if all it had to offer was shared with half the number of people it has now. Isn't this why China is so desperate to reduce its population?

It is only the Captains of industry who advocate a ten fold increase in population. After all this means a ten fold increase in markets = profits. While they live in mansions everyone else will be confined in filthy squalor. Don't believe the rhetoric about the evils of a falling birth rate. Ultimately, in an advanced society there is plenty for all not just for a priveleged few.

I say free condoms for all!

ira, that's a fair point, up to a point (and no disparagement from this end either).

However, Australia is far from being homogeneous - 40% of us are 1st- or 2nd-generation immigrants, and for the last few decades most new arrivals have flowed from Asia, the Middle East and other &quot;third world&quot; countries. We're certainly not more homogoneous than France. I think my comments could apply also to Canada, which is more diverse again.

One problem we don't have is America's historical legacy of the slave trade. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that rather than the absorption of later immigrants seems to be the biggest challenge to achieving greater social equity. That, and perhaps the will in certain quarters to achieve it, a will which I stress is also lacking within my current government.

But if I'm off-beam in comparing Australia to larger populations, I respectfully submit that the OP is just as far off in comparing France to the US. I'm not arguing that France doesn't need an injection of the flexibility seen in the English-speaking countries, but I suspect that a US-style cure as favoured by Cato would be worse than the disease. There are more moderate means to the end.

I forgot to say that the Australian government has just enacted deeply unpopular laws designed to tip the balance of power further away from unions. The fact that we're not out on the streets like the French is a sign of apathy rather than good sense, I'm afraid.

Gee, Neil_Oz, I didn't realize that the ballot box was no longer available in Australia to redress wrongs.

And your point, jsmith, is...?