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WSJ: As Goes France

mbig

mbig

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A National analysis string instead of reportage on election results - the latter awaits round 2.
A round that will be fairly meaningless in economic terms.
As in my country, somebody has to face the music.
Perhaps it's better not to be in power at such a time .. as Sarkozy has noticed and the next leader may suffer more grievously.

Stephens: As Goes France - WSJ.com
Even exceptional nations cannot ignore the laws of economic gravity.
Updated April 23, 2012

"...Political scientists sometimes speak of the concept of the rational voter, which is the idea that each person will typically make an intelligent political choice given his interests and options. In France—where Sunday's electoral menu consisted of quasi-fascism, quasi-Marxism, soft socialism and the bouillabaisse ideology of a failed and desperate incumbent—the rational choice for voters was to stay home. - Instead, the French came out in huge numbers... [........]
Still, the mystery of France is how a nation can witness what happens to countries that live beyond their means and yet insist on living beyond its means. France's debt-to-GDP ratio will rise to 90% this year from 59% a decade ago. It spends more of its GDP on welfare payments (28.4%) than any other state in the developed world. It has an employment rate of 62.8%, as compared to Germany's 76.5% or Switzerland's 82.9%. -- These sorts of statistics may have been obscure before the economic crisis, when politics could still be the art of not making choices. Today you would need earplugs, a helmet and a burqa for the message not to get through. Nations, like people, cannot spend too much more than they make; otherwise they can lose their creditworthiness and go broke. Competition in a global economy is a reality, not an option. Wealth cannot be transferred if transfers also destroy wealth. Rich people can always take their money (and their tax payments) elsewhere. The "trade-off" between work and leisure is ultimately a choice between wealth and poverty.

Now the French have stared all this in the face and said: Ça n'a rien à voir avec nous. It has nothing to do with us. - No candidate in the contest has suggested the country ought to attract foreign investment or nurture its native entrepreneurs. No candidate seems to think a tax cut—whether on consumers, producers or wage-earners—might be a good idea. Is France capable of nurturing a Steve Jobs or a Mark Zuckerberg? The idea seems to have crossed none of the candidates' minds. - - And how will France get out of its debts? Not through a more productive private sector and a more frugal public one, but in a flood of ever-cheaper currency, courtesy of a pliant ECB. That's something on which both Mr. Sarkozy and Mr. Hollande firmly agree. Inflation is the windy updraft the falling man often mistakes as a force more powerful than gravity."[.......]
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Ahh a negative piece about France by an American newpaper owned by a known Francophobe... who would have thought!
 
WSJ said:
...the rational choice for voters was to stay home. - Instead, the French came out in huge numbers.
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Priceless.
 
PeteEU said:
Ahh a negative piece about France by an American newpaper owned by a known Francophobe... who would have thought!
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Who would have thought!
Pete Gratuitously Bashing another good article from a very credible source because it's American.
Not critiquing it's content, just bashing it as always.
This, as I said in I think my last post in the section to washunut, is Daily flaming and 100% PeteEU for 100% of my near 3 years here.

The article concludes: (as did I about MY country having "to face the music")

...The U.S. differs from France in having a much more robust distrust of the state's power and its claims to wisdom, and an equally powerful faith in the regenerative powers of the free market. Federalism also creates opportunities for policy experiment—on school choice, for instance, or lower taxes—not always available to the French.

Yet Americans should also take note that we aren't so different from France, either: in our debt-to-GDP ratio, our employment rate, our credit rating. Above all, both in France and in America there's a belief that, as exceptional nations, we are impervious to the forces that make other nations fall. It's the conceit that, sooner or later, brings every great nation crashing to earth.
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And Maybe Pete should look at say, the Health section, where two of my other articles near the top, are criticizing my country, including one from the WSJ relative to Europe:
http://www.debatepolitics.com/health-care/96696-wsj-u-s-spends-141-more-health-care.html
and http://www.debatepolitics.com/healt...-up-5-8-private-up-7-7-medicare-up-2-7-a.html

I am sick of this empty of this empty and Bigoted harassment. It should never have gotten to this legendary scale.
 
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mbig said:
Who would have thought!
Pete Gratuitously Bashing another good article from a very credible source because it's American.
Not critiquing it's content, just bashing it as always.
This, as I said in I think my last post in the section to washunut, is Daily flaming and 100% PeteEU for 100% of my near 3 years here.

The article concludes: (as did I about MY country having "to face the music")

And Maybe Pete should look at say, the Health section, where two of my other articles near the top, are criticizing my country, including one from the WSJ relative to Europe:
http://www.debatepolitics.com/health-care/96696-wsj-u-s-spends-141-more-health-care.html
and http://www.debatepolitics.com/healt...-up-5-8-private-up-7-7-medicare-up-2-7-a.html

I am sick of this empty of this empty and Bigoted harassment. It should never have gotten to this legendary scale.
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I dont care... plus cant read the article... behind the great NewsCorp paywall.

WSJ has lost all its credibility since Rupert Murdoch took over. And Rupert Murdoch is a francophobe, since France and French companies blocked his access to the French pay tv market... and exposed his mafia company for what it is... corrupt and worse. Look up ONDigital and the information that has come out lately about how Rupert Murdocks News Corp hired hackers to hack competing digital providers systems and then used a bulletin board they had set up under the deguise of being "THE hacker site" to spread these codes and undermine the direct competition and prevent that their own system would be hacked ... and if it was prevent it being spread since they actually controlled the site at the time that spread the codes for pay tv in the UK...

The WSJ is no different, it does the bidding of Murdoch so anything in any article has to be taken with a grain of huge salt. Are bits true.. of course, but there is also a lot of horse**** in the article.

Just look at the comment paris quoted and called priceless.... it is the most idiotic comment ever. Unlike the Americans, people take their democracy serious in Europe.. and do vote in large numbers... hence the comment is priceless.
 
Ben K. said:
So nothing but ad sourcinem?
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Yes. Well put.

and lets be clear on motive.
Those of you who know me from the rest of the board: economics, politics, environment/tech, etc, Know I am no fan of Faux News, and have used that term.
As I've said previous, during Prime Time it's basically a giant anti-Obama Editorial having only 60 second breaks unwittingly called 'News Breaks'.

I am a financial professional and this IS the News I see daily. We and Europe are up blank's creek fiscally. Europe more so at the moment.
These stories are important news to me and part of the reason I have a higher percent of posts in this section than any other American.
But the current bind is tremendously important to all of us.
You don't have to be a financial person any more to appreciate that. Jobs, pensions, taxes, (even ruin) hang in the balance for every citizen in the West except maybe the responsible and resource rich Australia and Canada.
Both countries ironically blessed with good fiscal governance and plenty of resources.

Like many readers, I was greatly concerned when Murdoch bought the WSJ. Still am.
There seems to be a small move right from an already conservative-leaning publication. They also defended Murdoch editorially in the UK phone hacking scandal. This is conflict of interest in my book, even though everyone knows their interest. They should have recused especially knowing the sensitivity of the world to the charge of meddling by Rupert-the-pig.

Nonetheless, we can't just dismiss all or even most of the articles from this still Excellent paper.
I find Guardian incurably biased in re the Middle East conflict and have laid a basis for that not rare opinion. An opinion even fairly well known and widely held, acknowledged by Guardian at some point.
Pete hasn't laid any such basis for his position or better yet, shown THIS article is inordinately critical of France. It's not only well written, it's meant to be a cautionary tale to equally confident/oblivious 'exceptional' Americans.

Please see posts number 7, 8, 9, 10, for a previous but hardly lone version of this kind of incident:
http://www.debatepolitics.com/europe/89165-europes-debt-crisis-rolls-into-2011-a.html#post1059200611
where I also had to clear the air on objectivity and counter another Pete gratuitous attack on Yahoo finance: "Biased piece of **** article."
 
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mbig said:
Yes. Well put.

and lets be clear on motive.
Those of you who know me from the rest of the board: economics, politics, environment/tech, etc, Know I am no fan of Faux News, and have used that term.
As I've said previous, during Prime Time it's basically a giant anti-Obama Editorial having only 60 second breaks unwittingly called 'News Breaks'.

I am a financial professional and this IS the News I see daily. We and Europe are up blank's creek fiscally. Europe more so at the moment.
These stories are important news to me and part of the reason I have a higher percent of posts in this section than any other American.
But the current bind is tremendously important to all of us.
You don't have to be a financial person any more to appreciate that. Jobs, pensions, taxes, (even ruin) hang in the balance for every citizen in the West except maybe the responsible and resource rich Australia and Canada.
Both countries ironically blessed with good fiscal governance and plenty of resources.

Like many readers, I was greatly concerned when Murdoch bought the WSJ. Still am.
There seems to be a small move right from an already conservative-leaning publication. They also defended Murdoch editorially in the UK phone hacking scandal. This is conflict of interest in my book, even though everyone knows their interest. They should have recused especially knowing the sensitivity of the world to the charge of meddling by Rupert-the-pig.

Nonetheless, we can't just dismiss all or even most of the articles from this still Excellent paper.
I find Guardian incurably biased in re the Middle East conflict and have laid a basis for that not rare opinion. An opinion even fairly well known and widely held, acknowledged by Guardian at some point.
Pete hasn't laid any such basis for his position or better yet, shown THIS article is inordinately critical of France. It's not only well written, it's meant to be a cautionary tale to equally confident/oblivious 'exceptional' Americans.

Please see posts number 7, 8, 9, 10, for a previous but hardly lone version of this kind of incident:
http://www.debatepolitics.com/europe/89165-europes-debt-crisis-rolls-into-2011-a.html#post1059200611
where I also had to clear the air on objectivity and counter another Pete gratuitous attack on Yahoo finance: "Biased piece of **** article."
Click to expand...

Provide the whole article then. What you have linked sounds like the usual American bashing of France and chest thumping for America.
 
The tone of the article is indeed codescending, IMO.

But the points should be taken seriously.
 
PeteEU said:
Provide the whole article then. What you have linked sounds like the usual American bashing of France and chest thumping for America.
Click to expand...

As if your bias required him to prove an opinion.
 
Murdoch ate the WSJ's soul. it seems like every time an article from WSJ pops up on google news, it is some fox-esque confirmation bias BS.

i used to dig that paper when i was in college; it had the feel and professionalism of a classic when others reduced both size and content. alas, poor WSJ. i knew him, Horatio.
 
It doesn't matter who wrote the article. No fun in being in power when you have to cut 10-20% of the budget. Not very difficult to grasp, not particularly 'anti-european' either.
 
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