I’ve mentioned before that sometimes when I read an opinion piece there is something I just can’t get past. I was predisposed to agree with Fareed Zakharia’s most recent Washington Post column, the thesis of which is that left populists and right populists are making common cause against government-as-usual but I couldn’t get past this statement:
Thus far, the “yellow vest†protests in France have lacked a party, structure and leadership. But lists of demands have been circulating. At their heart is an unworkable fantasy, such as a constitutional cap on taxes at 25 percent , coupled with a massive increase in social spending.
Let’s do a little back-of-the-envelope calculation. Total personal income in France is around $2 trillion per year. 25% of that is around $500 billion. Present French government spending is around $136 billion. Maybe my math is rusty but it certainly appears to me that there’s a considerable amount of space between $500 billion and $136 billion. Sounds pretty workable to me.
The present personal income tax rate in France is 45%.
The fantasy is not that France can lower its taxes and increase its social spending. The fantasy is that good outcomes can be achieved solely on the basis of regressive taxes and that’s the status quo, not just in France but here in the United States as well.
Yes, the people are revolting. Who can blame them? The people who are supposed to know better have made a right hash of things. Somehow those betters always seem to make out pretty well.
All of which is why, if they take down Trump, where will the frustration vent after that? In the streets? A new demagogue waiting in the wings?
Zakharia is against 25%. What that number can buy is not the point. If France could tax income at 25% and provide a safety net for the entire world, he would still bitch about 25%.
Yes, the people are revolting. Who can blame them? The people who are supposed to know better have made a right hash of things. Somehow those betters always seem to make out pretty well.
You just described Trump voters, but it is not just that the elites have made a hash of things. It is that the rules do not apply or affect them.
@Gray Shambler
They will sit down and shut up. Most people want to get along with the least amount of hassle. I doubt that you are ready to start marching in the streets. For me, I do not leave my house very often, and I do not see that changing.
They will vote.
One piece that’s missing in this is that the protestors may well be aiming their frustration at the wrong people.
Trade policy for France is set by Brussels (and if you are cynical, Berlin), not Paris. Monetary policy is set by Frankfurt. Fiscal policy is constrained by agreements among EU governments and enforced by Brussels.
Even non-economic policy like migration is controlled at the EU level by Schengen.
The protestors could overthrow Macron and find capturing Paris is not what it used to be.
“They will sit down and shut up”
Aside from voting, which the deep state is proving will “not hold”, You’re right Tasty, With Trump, we strained at the chains. With the Mueller investigation, they proved beyond a doubt they are in control. Trump cannot find a Chief of Staff. Who in their right mind would put themselves and their families through what Trump’s associates have? Bankruptcy, homelessness, job loss?
If the deep state wins, who do you believe actually leads America?