Tag Archives: François Hollande

The trillion-euro question must wait

November 24, 2012 By in Austerity, Business Administration, Cost Cutting, Cost Reduction, Euro Crisis, Growth, ordoliberalism, Politics Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
Eurocrat

Eurocrat (Photo credit: Eoghan OLionnain)

Combined flags of the European Union

Combined flags of the European Union (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is an excellent editorial from the FT. Check it out!

The you think? trillion-euro question must wait – FT.com.

Personally, I agree with the article that it’s sensible to protect programs that are effective and in times of austerity to focus on cutting the costs of the Eurocrats. However, I disagree with an instrumentalist approach to budgeting. It’s time for a zero-based type review that

The legislative triangle of the European Union

The legislative triangle of the European Union (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

would take a hard look at the likes of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

What do you think?

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Francois Hollande announces French tax grab on holiday homes – Telegraph

July 5, 2012 By in Austerity, Euro Crisis, French election, Neoliberal, Unemployment Tags: , , , , , , 5 Comments
Français : Francois Hollande - Mardis de l'ESSEC

Français : Francois Hollande - Mardis de l’ESSEC (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is an important story reported in the Telegraph. Check it out!

Francois Hollande announces French tax grab on holiday homes – Telegraph.

The story can be read at two levels. Firstly, it will bring misery to the UK nationals who have holiday homes in France. Secondly, it raises alarming questions about targeting foreigners more than French nationals. Given the relatively small amount of increased tax revenue to be generated, this action looks politically inspired.

Personally, I think that Francois Hollande’s policies of higher taxes on the rich and foreigners will drive investment away from France, reduce France’s growth and put France in an increasingly awkward economic squeeze. It is clear to me, and presumably financial markets, that France is neglecting two critical priorities:

  1. Cutting the size of France’s bloated and inefficient Public Sector, and
  2. Cutting the pay and pensions of French Public Sector workers – this is effectively an internal devaluation of the Euro to raise competitively to German levels
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