Cynical Nation

"When a hundred torched cars per night being is what passes for normalcy, the only wonder is that Royal even broke out of single digits. "

Hmmm...And what makes you think that Sarkozy would be better than Royal in controlling the violence? In fact during the last debate Royal was the one who raised the issue.

I think that if Royal were elected, she would have been more effective in decreasing violence than Sarkozy. But we will never find out.

>And what makes you think that Sarkozy would be better than Royal in controlling the violence?

Because her big plan for combating unrest in the banlieue seemed to be raising the minimum wage for jobs that these Peugeot-burners can't even get in the first place.

Sorry,
But you seem to have a slightly biased view on the subject. I dont think you can say with confidence who are the Peugeot or Citroen burners. How could you?

>I dont think you can say with confidence who are the Peugeot or Citroen burners. How could you?

Because I've been following the news stories for the past couple of years. If you've been following the situation as well, you'll know that these are rioters are primarily young kids from the suburbs, frequently of North African descent, for whom unemployment is pandemic.

The French social system has made hiring people so costly that there simply aren't enough jobs to go around. And when there's a shortage of jobs in French society, poor young kids from the wrong side of the tracks with Arabic-sounding names end up at the back of the line.

"The French social system has made hiring people so costly that there simply aren't enough jobs to go around. And when there's a shortage of jobs in French society, poor young kids from the wrong side of the tracks with Arabic-sounding names end up at the back of the line."

Thats why Royal's plan was better. What is needed is more tolerance and support of the poor and the immigrants there. Raising the minimum wage would only help.

"Thats why Royal's plan was better. What is needed is more tolerance and support of the poor and the immigrants there. Raising the minimum wage would only help." (BW)


The unemployment is ONLY one problem, the primary problem with the Third World immigrants in France, Germany and most of Europe is that they are both unassimilable and decidedly anti-European.

ALL of France's current economic woes are the result of Keynesian economis, the kind espoused here by dolts like Paul Krugman.

Royal was part of the problem.

Sarkozy contacted Giuliani in 2002 as French Interior Minister and came away adopting some of Giuliani's (actually Bratton's COM STAT procedures and welfare reform - Sarkozy drew up a plan which required every able-bodied French citizen to work in some assigned capacity in order to maintain their welfare benefits - a big step in the right direction.

Raising the Minimum wage is no solution, making it easier for businesses to fire slackers IS...and that's another thing Sarkozy supports

Let's hope that Sarkozy gets the Parliament he wants in next months election - that is key.

>What is needed is more tolerance and support of the poor and the immigrants there. Raising the minimum wage would only help.

See, this is my problem with liberals. As much as I admire their social agenda, their complete lack of understanding of economics is a real deal breaker for me.

Blue, raising the minimum wage only helps if you already have a job. The unemployment rate in France is higher than that of its European peers, and there are simply not enough jobs to go around. French workers are among the most coddled in the world, with a mandatory 35-hour work week, mandatory offices with windows, labor laws that make it all but impossible to fire someone, and ridiculously generous vacation and paid leave policy.

That and the higher minimum wage is all fine for those who have jobs, but many don't. "Tolerance" is fine and all, but what's needed is jobs. Raising the already generous minimum wage doesn't help create jobs. Rather, it makes it even more prohibitively expensive for companies to hire new people. That's exactly the opposite of the kind of incentive that's needed.

Well, that's about as clearly as the economics of the situation can be explained Barry.

While I'm hopeful that Sarkozy will get the Parliament he needs to get France out of its economic morass, I'm more heartened by his stance on the "scum" he called out during last summer's riots.....though how would you know there's a riot, when on an average day these unassimilable thugs burn 100 cars!?

I hope that France's failed experiment with "multiculturalism" is over now, because before the "Islamization" of Europe can actually be stopped, this misguided "multiculturalism" must be ended first imo.

Are we sure that the Peugeots are being torched?

I mean, they are Peugeots. So they may have spontaneously combusted on their own. :D

"I mean, they are Peugeots. So they may have spontaneously combusted on their own"

The truth of the matter is that Peugeots are much better than Chevy Cavaliers or Pontiacs :)

I've heard EVERYthing is better in France, BW...even the flowers smell sweeter than they do here in grubby old Capitalistic America.

Not to mention that sweet 35 hour work week, the six to eight weeks of vacation time guaranteed each year and the state mandated job security that keeps companies from getting rid of even the most glaring of dead-beats (not that there are many of those in that near "worker's paradise").

Of course, all that may be about to change with this ill-wind called Sarkozy - pledging to eradicate the 35 hour work-week and dismantle some of that monolithic welfare state.

If he gets the Parliament to effect that agenda next month, even those French flowers may not smell quite so sweet.

Still, I know my French is very rusty (I took it back in HS), but isn't "Peugeot" French for "piece of shit?"

I thought it was, just as Ford = "Fix Or Repair Daily" and Fiat = "Fix It Again Tony."

"I've heard EVERYthing is better in France, BW...even the flowers smell sweeter than they do here in grubby old Capitalistic America."

JMK,
I am disappointed on you! You should like your country more than France. You keep disappointing me.

"Blue, raising the minimum wage only helps if you already have a job. The unemployment rate in France is higher than that of its European peers, and there are simply not enough jobs to go around. French workers are among the most coddled in the world, with a mandatory 35-hour work week, mandatory offices with windows, labor laws that make it all but impossible to fire someone, and ridiculously generous vacation and paid leave policy."

Interesting. But may I ask, what is the situation in Denmark with regard to coddling workers? Do you know? Because Denmark is one of the most socialist countries in Europe and has the lowest unemployment rate. At the same time, what is the situation with coddling workers in Poland? Poland's unemployment rate is running around 11.4% and is the highest in Europe. Poland is a market economy and its economy has been growing at a brisk pace the past few years, but while unemployment has fallen, it remains above 11%, according to Eurostat. Also, Poland's unemployment rate for under 25s was at 24.4% in the Q$ 2006, second only to Greece.

So what's this change supposed to do again? This sounds to me like a political promise more than a solution. You know how politicians are: "Son, I say, son? You got yerse'f a problem? Well lemme tell ya whatcha gotta do. You jest gotta push on this lever right chere 'n' tilt this here wheel over to this side kinda easy like and all yer problems'll be solved."

I suspect the problem is more intractable and complicated than it is made out to be.

>I suspect the problem is more intractable and complicated than it is made out to be.

The problem isn't easy at all, and it certainly won't lend itself to a quick fix. I've also been openly skeptical of Sarkozy's chances for effecting genuine reform. My point was merely that Royal seemed to promise nothing but more of the same.

As far as coddling goes, I don't have the exact figures handy, but last I heard, Germany led the pack with France running a close second. Germany has had some success in recent years with fairly modest reforms. Recall that a few years ago, Germany was the European powerhouse with the ailing economy. Now that honor seems to have been passed to France. Denmark, which you mentioned, underwent some tax reforms back in 2004, as have many of its neighbors. France seems to be bringing up the rear in terms of introducing market reform. We'll see whether that changes or not.

"JMK,
I am disappointed on you! You should like your country more than France. You keep disappointing me." (BW)


I guess I got carried away, as you waxed poetic about the greatness of the Peugeot.

Maybe France can fix it's employment problems by having everyone learn how to run con games. Then JMK might move there since being dishonest and stealing by way of fraud are so appealing to him.

I don't where you'd get such an idea from DBK.

I commented on (1) the current INVESTIGATION into the carbon offsets field and remarked that a friend of mine is looking to partnering up with a few people (including myself)in a waste oil/petroleum recycling business (completely legit)...and possibly selling offsets (as yet to be determined) and (2) on the Tennessean's (a reputable Tennessee newspaper) allegations that Al Gore's "carbon offsets amount to stock purchases in an investment management company he helped found.

If the Tennessean's charge is true, then Gore would indeed be a "scammer" and a "con artist," as opposed to those folks who've merely offered "investments" in actual green businesses as "carbon offsets" for things they were already contracted to do.

HUGE difference.

I mean, the irony here is that for you to compare me to Gore, in terms of calumny and wrong-doing, makes you comparable to Joseph Goebbels in regards to "bending the truth."

I want the French people to do well. So I hope that the incoming governemnt makes it easier for companies there to hire & fire employees, introduce more market-oriented reforms and ultimately to expel a huge number of that Muslim menace in their midst.

I'm sure you'd agree that in economic terms - the free market is "the light of the world."

You just keep bloviating. Yadda yadda yadda. You said you'd like to be able to get in on a con game and make some money off of it. You said it was a "scam" and you wanted in. We got that you would like to defraud people out of money and we got it that you take yourself so seriously and we got that you are a gasbag. We got it already.

Sweet Flamin' Jesus on a Kabob, we got it.

You must've misunderstood, I said Gore's activities (at least according to the Tennessean) appear to be a scam.

I, on the other hand, would NEVER be involved in anything technically illegal....right now, carbon offsets are being looked at...there are no laws against providing a "perceived benefit" to guilt-ridden people, at least not at this point.

Your problem SHOULD be with Gore, a man who appears to be ACTIVELY involved in what is at least an unethical action (calling stock purchases in a company he helped found "carbon offsets), and not a working guy like myself, who is merely seeking out an opportunity.

I'm like any other working guy, who forged an early living repossessing cars from deadbeats, to put enough money away to buy a first house with cash and get involved with some small investments here and there. I'm a scrapper (a hustler) not a "scammer."

I've always sought to give "fair value" to any customer and a "fair day's work" to any employer.

In the FDNY I sought out the busiest company in the entire city and put about twenty years in the South Bronx.

Guys like Al Gore never worked an honest gig in his entire life and now he's trying to con people into thinking he's the John "Cobra" Cobretti of the environment - "Global warming's a disease, and I'm the cure."

Come on!

The guy can't even read a UN summary right!

The UN Summary of the Report on Global Climate Change said that if global warming continues at its current pace, sea levels worldwide could rise by as much as 18 to 20 INCHES by the end of this century.....Gore reports that "sea levels could rise by 20 FEET by the end of this century."

Man, it would be refreshing if you could actually hold up your end of the discussion.

If it's any consolation, I hear Goebbels couldn't hold up his end either...at least not when confronted with the facts.

Sarkozy was the only choice in France, other than living as dhimmis under Sharia law, which undoubtedly did appeal to a great many of the Nazi appeasing pacifist pansies.

France is not committing suicide just yet. They still have the will to live. There is hope.

Now all they need to do is round up the Muslims, strip them of citizenship if they have it, and deport them all -- just like we should do to the Mexicans.