Faites attention, États-Unis d'Amérique
With 80% of their citizens having casted votes, France elected François Hollande their new President. Hollande is a socialist in the modern sense; a label hard to define these days. Why should we care? I believe we should pay attention because he wishes to steer his nation away from austerity to a trend of growth via higher taxes on corporations.
Americans tend to ignore France. Culturally, we are Anglophiles in love with Masterpiece Theatre (with an “re”) and the Royal Family fashion news. Most Americans do not know that France possesses nuclear weapons and leads the world in nuclear power technologies three to four generations ahead of our latest American nuclear plants in the making. France’s colonial ties with Syria make France a heavy player in the diplomatic wrangling with Mother Russia. The US is a rather limp bystander there. But we pay little attention to France except in fashion magazines. While we long for England we forget that the French helped us win the Battle of Yorktown. Names like Comte de Rochambeau and Marquis de Lafayette familiar?
We will ignore France until something drastic occurs like when David Cameron steps down as Britain’s Prime Minister in the coming wake of the ongoing Murdoch kerfuffle. We’ll ignore France and their internal crisis to absorb and embrace a growing multi-cultural population. Serious problems one doesn’t see on Paris school trips abroad. We’ll ignore France until we realize they’ve successfully powered Western Europe with nuclear power and become the world’s leading nation in non-fossil fuel technologies. We may pay attention to France for a few days this summer when the price of their wine jumps higher. Then we’ll ignore them again.
France sets trends in culture, too. Unfortunately we receive the trends via New York City, translated and Americanized with a dash of prudish air-brushing. Yet, today, if we choose, we can simply click a translate button ourselves…if we choose to pay attention.
We could do a bit of “faites attention” practice by paying a bit more attention to our very France-friendly neighbor, Canada. I think we should engage with the French deeply and ditch our Anglo-fascination. Of course your vacation dollars will go far over the coming year in England.
In the meantime, I predict this trend toward socialism to become something to which you’ll pay some attention in the coming years as Europe (those using Euros), England, The Irelands, Wales, and Scotland (for the preceding 4.5 countries do not consider themselves European) choose between austerity, or growth, middle-ground, and the ways and means to achieve it. Their choices will affect us and we should pay attention closely.
à bientôt
George Hunsucker
Northland
1 year agoWe shall see how France does Tom under an avowed socialist….France is not a competitive country, but as you correctly state has very good nuclear technology, including reprocessing… As Thatcher said socialism works well until u run out of other peoples’ money. france will loss a sizable number of wealthy people at a 75% tax rate!
Mark Hastert
1 year agoWe owe the Eurozone countries a debt of gratitude for proving once and for all that you can starve an economy back to life. Britain, Ireland, Spain all back into recession (others teetering on the brink) while the US with it’s “failed” stimulus is growing, adding jobs for 20+ months in a row, with private sector employment above pre-recession levels. Woo-hoo! You go John Maynard!
George Hunsucker
Northland
1 year agocheck mark…. you keynesian lovers are truly short-term view people…
the big 0, as in zero, has added over 5 TRILLION in new debt, and just like the Greeks, you see everything as aok….
I am glad I have some gold for the bout of inflation that is coming…
Mark Hastert
1 year ago“I am glad I have some gold for the bout of inflation that is coming…”
Read more here: http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/faites-attention-etats-unis-damerique/#storylink=cpy
One thing is for certain. We’ll never have any growth in revenues or be able to pay any debt off if we choke the economy to death. Ask Ireland, Spain, France, Great Britain…..all fallen back into recession from austerity. Even German GDP has slowed and is only forecasted to increase by less than 1%. At 2.2% for the US John Maynard is kicking butt! He’s the Man!
Phil Cardarella
1 year agoEurope should NEVER forgive us for sharing Hooverian Economics with them.
Incidently? German CONSERVATIVES are more liberal than American Liberals, let alone moderates like Obama. Look at the work week, vacations and benefits of German workers — who participate in running their companies. Germans have nothing like the income disparity we have here. The GOP would attack Merkel as a socialist if not a commie!
The Wall Streeters — who would gladly sacrifice toddlers on the Altar of Baal if that were needed to keep capital gains taxed at 15% — have combined with Bible-thumping social “conservatives” to move the axis of American political life so far right that no other democracy can compare.
Matt McKinley
1 year ago“The Wall Streeters — who would gladly sacrifice toddlers on the Altar of Baal if that were needed to keep capital gains taxed at 15%”
The libs have the market cornered on sacrifices, you get them before they can cry out for life.
Mark Hastert
1 year ago“The libs have the market cornered on sacrifices”
Read more here: http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/faites-attention-etats-unis-damerique/#storylink=cpy
… that would be shared sacrifice. The burden should not fall on the shoulders solely of the middle and lower classes. Our wealthy countrymen have fared very well at the expense of the rest of us. They own most of the country’s wealth, have not suffered much during this recession, and their children aren’t dying in Iraq & Afghanistan.