The inventor of Corbynomics, Richard Murphy, has told us that the French protests aren’t about tax. No, absolutely not, it’s not about tax in the slightest:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] I have a concern. As Lichfield notes, France rioted 50 year’s ago and rising prosperity deflected the anger. Now no one thinks that will happen. All increases in prosperity go to a tiny handful in society. People are oppressed, and they know it. We need to be clear about the cause of the oppression. The superficial anger is in tax. I am well aware of it. But the cause is inability to make ends meet. [/perfectpullquote]Well, if the government is taking 45% of everything then maybe ends can’t be met because of tax?
The Senior Lecturer at Islington Technical College continues:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] The problem is not tax. But the answer is not to blame taxation. [/perfectpullquote]Hmm:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Tax offices in a dozen French towns have been attacked by so-called yellow vest demonstrators before further protests in Paris expected tomorrow.[/perfectpullquote]Oh, right, it’s definitely not about tax then.
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France is beset with lots of little taxes on this and that in the belief people won’t notice a bit more here, a bit more there. The fuel tax was just one ‘bit more here’ too far.
It is about the increasing cost of living. Increasing fuel taxes just added to the load, but was more noticeable and plaything of elites worrying about future abstracts rather than current real life stuff.
Farmers, who live off CAP welfare, demonstrated last year over cheap imports (actually from other EU Countries). The response from the Agriculture Minister was that the consumer should be prepared to pay more to help the farmers. Behind the scenes supermarkets agreed to buy more, more expensive French produce.
Competition is a dirty word in France and the protectionism of the EU keeps it out, regulation and subsidies stifle it internally.
France still operates like an agrarian society, agriculture with industry and so the economy has never evolved and aligned with the modern, competitive World.
France is stuck. Its political class don’t know how to change it -so play with trifles like climate change and sugar taxes and make grand plans about the EU project - the population is set in its ways, in a groove led there by the politicians who have always given more and more without the means to pay for it, because the increased economic activity needed to pay for it is prevented by dirigiste policies of old and EU membership and euro debt cheap.