France

[squidge]

Hmmmmm just back from three weeks in france. My sister and her family and my parents live there. Wondered how France does it. The roads are good, the towns and villages tidy and beautifully presented, their high streets don't appear to be full of boarded up shops or charity shops. Their supermarkets have local products and fantastic fish even away from the sea, their health care system is good and appears to work with little waiting times children at school get a full three or four course nutritious freshly cooked lunch every day for 3 euros. Working parents can get full time childcare from 3 at little or no cost.... That's 7am to 7pm! Child benefit is higher than here, unemployment benefit higher than here, council tax equivalent seems lower than here.....I always understood that their taxes were much higher but having looked and done a few calculations it appears not significant and even lower for people on ordinary salaries. It's true you can't really get cheap meals out and food seems the same price but wine... And even whisky is cheaper there and property is still good value although solicitors fees seem to be very high. So, how come? I don't understand much about economics despite my best efforts over the years but shouldn't they be struggling more?

[John Little]

I think it's probably about spending priorities.

They don't for example, get involved in long expensive wars that are not in their interests or in countries that have nothing to do with them.

I don't know how they stand on tax breaks and cancellations of tax for large companies, but I'd make a guess.

And of course they are signatories to the European Social Charter which, by guaranteeing certain levels of income, tends to distribute wealth in a fairer way, so there is more cash sloshing round the system instead of in fewer plutocratic pockets.

And I suspect that in their thinking on life, people are more important than profit, community more important than cartels, and the individual more important than Utilitarianism.