patrick.net

Heraclitusstudent says

Goran is against socialists and also against Macron, even though Macron is largely undoing socialist crap: deregulating labor laws, removing the tax on wealth, etc, etc...

Increasing national gas taxes is “undoing socialist crap”? Interesting.

Macron is bought and paid for like Merkel. Both traitors.

Heraclitusstudent says

Goran is against socialists and also against Macron, even though Macron is largely undoing socialist crap: deregulating labor laws, removing the tax on wealth, etc, etc...

He's still leaving socialist price setting on things like ambulances, who haven't had an increase in 25 years, according to a business owner who was complaining. But now instead of them being paid direct by the state, they'll be paid by the hospitals, who will take a cut of that fixed price to boot.

Like I said, France reflexively loathes small business like local ambulance companies, they'd rather have them integrated into a government hospital network.

Centralization is on the way out. Brexit, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Venezuela, and I'm sure I've forgotten a few, are all examples of failed centralization.

In the US I'd say SF is a good example, no one wants to live there anymore.

NuttBoxer says

Centralization is on the way out. Brexit, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Venezuela, and I'm sure I've forgotten a few, are all examples of failed centralization.

In the US I'd say SF is a good example, no one wants to live there anymore.

Why would you? SF is a smelly dirty shit hole that you have to overpay for the privilege to live in.

My wife loves going to the city, and everytime I walk down Market Street near Union Station, the smell of piss is so strong I have to go into the mall to not gag. It's sickening shit that Democrats have unleashed.

Goran_K says

My wife loves going to the city, and everytime I walk down Market Street near Union Station, the smell of piss is so strong I have to go into the mall to not gag. It's sickening shit that Democrats have unleashed.

---

It's not like Republicans are running to help out. But that's the thing about centralization failure, it's not partisan, it's ALL OF THEM!

Goran_K says

Increasing national gas taxes is “undoing socialist crap”? Interesting.

Closing the deficit is a conservative thing to do.

Most of his action is supply side economics. Lowering the safety net. Lowering entrenched advantages.

This is what neo-liberalism looks like, in an otherwise very socialist country.

TwoScoopsOfSpaceForce says

He's still leaving socialist price setting on things like ambulances

He's not going to change everything in 2 yrs. He already passed laws to deregulate taxis, and notaries, 2 notoriously "protected" professions in France.

Heraclitusstudent says

Most of his action is supply side economics. Lowering the safety net. Lowering entrenched advantages.

That's not by choice. France has nearly hit the 3% EU GDP/Debt ceiling. How could he do anything besides "decrease entitlements"?

France literally has no money and Macron was forced into economic austerity (which I'll give credit, he actually made the obvious choice unlike most leftists who continue to make the stupid choice). I'm also not sure how you can make the conclusion "he's not a leftist" when half his supporters are former socialist party members and the entire reason he got into office. He's French Obama, a left leaning big government asshole that's not completely socialist.

Is that supposed to be impressive?

He'll be out of office soon anyway and the rabid socialist will probably take over and end France once and for all.

Goran_K says

That's not by choice. France has nearly hit the 3% EU GDP/Debt ceiling. How could he do anything besides "decrease entitlements"?

No, Macron is an ex-banker that absolutely believe this is the right path. Yes, he sees the path as forced by France's situation, but the 3% limit is not the reason. This is the opposite: the 3% is the political excuse why he is doing "sorry but we have to follow the rules". This is a pretense. The true reason is that the country having debt at 100% of GDP should try to save money. A nation that has a huge trade deficit should tax consumption and avoid taxing work done in France.

Goran_K says

I'm also not sure how you can make the conclusion "he's not a leftist" when half his supporters are former socialist

This sentence shows a certain ignorance of how he got there. There were 2 mainstream parties in France: the socialists and the center right. (where the center right is about the equivalent of Clinton, compared to the US). But Francois Hollande, a socialist, found himself in a situation where the economic situation became so bad that a lot of the socialist crap became untenable. So he led mostly neo-liberal policies. Because this went against his own party, he had to do it slowly, spend a lot of time explaining, and take a lot of half assed measures. As a result, the socialist party was split between the centrists, who would follow these policies, and the true leftists who saw them as heresy. Macron came to lead the former half in the election and managed to attract a lot of the right, against the fringes nationalists and socialo-communists. This is how the neo-liberal elite managed to sink the "socialist" party as the entire political spectrum in France moved to the right. All that remains of this party now are fringe leftists without a clear agenda.

One should make no mistake about Macron: his inclination is neo-liberalism: undo generous welfare, undo over-reaching regulations, fiscal conservatism and yes: free-trade and immigration are part of this mix. You can call him a globalist. But at least part of the agenda is much needed in France.

The yellow vests oppose all of it, and they are not so subtle as to oppose free-trade or something like this.
They will absolutely throw out the baby with the bath water, with catastrophic results in Europe.

zzyzzx says

Wonder why they are so pissed-off?
Wonder what people don't understand about pissing people off? ;-)

Heraclitusstudent says

his inclination is neo-liberalism: undo generous welfare, undo over-reaching regulations, fiscal conservatism and yes: free-trade and immigration are part of this mix. You can call him a globalist. But at least part of the agenda is much needed in France.

"Part" is not enough to save France. I don't understand how anyone with two brain cells to rub together can disagree with that. He may be embracing austerity in some areas (forced to at least) but he won't change anything nearly enough to save the country, French Obama is not what the country needs.

Marine Le Pen would have been far better for the country.

Heraclitusstudent says

He's not going to change everything in 2 yrs. He already passed laws to deregulate taxis, and notaries, 2 notoriously "protected" professions in France.

Which also happen to be jobs run by independent people, not generally the target for takeover by large corporations. The latter he will leave mostly alone, because neo-liberals prefer big companies, and as a graduate of L'Ecole d' Administration and a Frenchmen, his bias from his upbringing.

Multinationals love disruption, so long as gives them a handle of markets typically served by independents. Just not disruptive of them.

NuttBoxer says

It's not like Republicans are running to help out.

How would Republicans help out? Democrats have owned SF and surrounding counties for Decades. What do you want Republicans to do?

DASKAA says

They have no clear picture of what they want.

Retirement at 45 with full pay for life plus healthcare might be somewhere in the list of demands.

Goran_K says

Marine Le Pen would have been far better for the country.

Le Pen is very socialist, perhaps more than Macron:

During the campaign, Le Pen promised to maintain the 35-hour work week, lower the retirement age to 60, and not reduce the nation’s tax on wealth (N.B.: not merely income). She would increase some welfare benefits.

d6rB says

Goran_K says

Marine Le Pen would have been far better for the country.

Le Pen is very socialist, perhaps more than Macron:

During the campaign, Le Pen promised to maintain the 35-hour work week, lower the retirement age to 60, and not reduce the nation’s tax on wealth (N.B.: not merely income). She would increase some welfare benefits.

And she has Putin's dick so deeply inserted into her ass, its head is visible in her mouth whenever she speaks.

Goran_K says

"Part" is not enough to save France. I don't understand how anyone with two brain cells to rub together can disagree with that.

You have such a simplistic view of things. Just to deregulate taxis/notaries, he had these professions in the street. You think you can change everything in a couple of years?
For every small advantages, there are people for whom this is their lives. For every small rules, there are companies that depend of them. If enough people are unhappy, you get yellow vested pretty quickly.

It's just a simple fact of life that "deregulation", "flexibility", "supply side economics", etc... all start with layoffs, precarity, poverty... and then maybe in the mid-term there are economic advantages, unless in the meantime China rolls over you with subsidized state companies.

You think inversely he could just decide to change the system radically, stop playing the globalist game? All his political patrons would abandon him the next day. He wouldn't last 3 months. There's just too many interests in these games continuing.

You think you're so smart? It appears this way to you, because you have no idea the kind of problems Macron is juggling with.

d6rB says

Le Pen is very socialist, perhaps more than Macron:

During the campaign, Le Pen promised to maintain the 35-hour work week, lower the retirement age to 60, and not reduce the nation’s tax on wealth (N.B.: not merely income). She would increase some welfare benefits.

True, she's not perfect, but she also would not hand her country over to Muslims. I would take that over what Macron has brought upon France.

Heraclitusstudent says

You have such a simplistic view of things. Just to deregulate taxis/notaries, he had these professions in the street. You think you can change everything in a couple of years?
For every small advantages, there are people for whom this is their lives. For every small rules, there are companies that depend of them. If enough people are unhappy, you get yellow vested pretty quickly.

So he goes and proposes a national fuel tax? Possibly the stupidest way to spill the apple cart and get yellow vest out in droves?

You're defending French Obama, but not doing a very good job. You say he is trying to be some negotiator and balance supporters wishes while trying to change the country for the better, but then he makes this very, very (for anyone with an IQ over 80) obvious blunder.

Goran_K says

So he goes and proposes a national fuel tax? Possibly the stupidest way to spill the apple cart and get yellow vest out in droves?

You would, what? Privatize healthcare? Now, that would be stupid.
Every one of these yellow vests have a number of benefits they take for granted, and hold dearer than even driving a car.
You would be guillotined in 3 months.

Heraclitusstudent says

Goran_K says

So he goes and proposes a national fuel tax? Possibly the stupidest way to spill the apple cart and get yellow vest out in droves?

You would what?

Not impose a national fuel tax that no one could actually afford.

Tenpoundbass says

He's a "skittles man". Super alpha move. ( https://heartiste.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/be-a-skittles-man/ )

It’s over.