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May 28, 2003 I never thought I would have a reason to say this, but I have to hand it to the French government: they finally showed a little backbone. This week, despite immense political opposition from the unions, the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin passed a package to shore up the finances of the national pension plan. It may not seem like a reason to drop balloons and confetti, much less congratulate the French, but it’s truly a noteworthy event when you can pass any sort of reform in one of Europe’s premiere welfare states. Keep in mind that this is a country that loves to go on strike. After bashing America, avoiding soap, and smoking cigarettes, it could be their favorite pastime. They will strike at the drop of a hat and over anything. Most famously, they struck over the attempts to increase the workweek, which the government had lowered over the years and currently stands at a grueling 35 hours. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d be sliding down the old dinosaur tail after lunch on Thursday if my week were capped at 35 hours. In any case, an attempt to increase hours back to something resembling a full week seems like a silly reason to strike - but the French did anyway. (As a side note, the workweek logic is a real winner: the French government is of the school that mandating fewer hours will force companies to hire more workers - labor and production costs must be elusive theories for them.) This week, it was the French air traffic controllers and teachers’ turn to strike. For those who like to keep count, this makes the ninth time this year that the teachers union has walked out. Yes, nine times. Oh, and hospital, postal, and telecommunications workers joined in as well for good measure. Indeed, it was a difficult week if you were trying to conduct any sort of business in France. But something had to be done to the French pension plan, which operates on a “pay-as-you-go” system. The painful, demographic reality is that there are too few contributors for the number of people drawing benefits. (Low birth rates, longer lifespans, and retiring baby boomers make for one disastrous recipe.) Retirees, currently a fifth of France’s population, will constitute a third by 2040. Those are demographics that even southeast Florida could appreciate. To shore up the plan, the government is asking people to contribute for about two more years before drawing a full pension. As you can tell from their reaction, the unions were not so keen on the idea. In a way, you can’t blame the unions. (Never thought I’d say that, either.) Having paid for years to support the pensions of the generations ahead of them, today’s workers want what’s coming to them. They view that nice, full pension as a birthright of sorts. And therein lies the problem with any state-run system that promises money to one group by taking it from another: at some point, inevitable and unforeseen changes (like demographics) will put a strain on the original arrangement. But once people have come to expect that entitlement, the will ferociously, if not illogically, fight any attempt to reform the system. If any of this smacks of our own problems with Social Security, you’re right with me. Fifty years after the fact, our own state pension plan is facing the same problems that the French face. We haven’t started taking to the streets like the French, but that’s because no politicians at home have been forced into making the hard decisions yet. The mantra from Republicans is “private retirement accounts,” which, although unproven, could help. From the Democrats, all we hear is “lock box” and “shore up Social Security,” which probably means just throwing more tax dollars at the problem. Whatever the fix is, we’d better do it soon. At this rate the French, given their rare display of political courage, may actually beat us to the punch. And I don’t want to have to congratulate them again. ------------ About Matthew Bastian: Recovering socialist, part-time drummer, long-suffering Brewers fan, and all-around beach hound, Mr. Bastian lives in central New Jersey. Email Matthew Bastian: mbastian19@hotmail.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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