Guest Post by Jesse
“Four weekends of mass protests in Paris and in towns and villages across France have hampered economic activity while hurting the country’s image with investors, the government said Monday…
He [Macron] did not mention changing course on the most business-friendly overhaul of the French labor market in decades. The omission was a signal to investors that, despite the recent chaos, Mr. Macron plans to stick with his strategy for re-energizing Europe’s third-largest economy by pursuing changes that had stalled for more than a decade…
His mostly unyielding attitude underscores the stakes for France as he eases business regulations to seed dynamism. His plans include altering the country’s strict labor code to encourage hiring, and making budget adjustments during his first year in office that hit low-income earners and retirees especially hard, even as he cut taxes for wealthy people.”
NY Times, Unrest in France Hinders Macron’s Push to Revive Economy
“The headline of an article [NY Times] on the protests in France told readers ‘Unrest in France hinders Macron’s push to revive economy.’
The policies in question include ending a wealth tax on the rich, cutting retirees’ Social Security benefits, and a series of measures designed to reduce the power of unions. While it is possible that Macron has taken these steps because he really does believe that this is the best to boost economic growth, it is also possible that he has taken these steps because he wants to give more money to rich people. In this respect it is worth noting that Macron is a former investment banker. Therefore he is likely to be very rich, and to have rich friends.”
“The problem of the last three decades is not the ‘vicissitudes of the marketplace,’ but rather deliberate actions by the [captured] government to redistribute income from the rest of us to the one percent.”
Dean Baker
Continue reading “Why Are the ‘Yellow Vests’ Protesting”
