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The Alarming “Sense Of Pauperization” in France
Wolf Richter www.testosteronepit.com www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter
In France, 48% of the people considered themselves either living in poverty or on the way to living in poverty. The sobering results of a survey released just ahead of the National Conference of the Fight against Poverty. It’s going to be a big conference—a sign the government is taking poverty seriously. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had announced it in September under the motto, “Imagine the social policies of the 21st century.”
It will take place in Paris on December 10 and 11 at the Iena Palace, home of the Economic and Social Council, which advises the National Assembly and the Senate on social and economic policies. President François Hollande himself will kick it off. Ayrault will close it. Sandwiched between them will be ministers, representatives of anti-poverty associations, and even people who live in poverty. The goal: a roadmap for social questions in Hollande’s five-year term.
It was one of his campaign promises. “The first time that the poverty has become a political topic that a President seizes,” said Bruno Grouès, coordinator of Alerte, an umbrella organization of 35 anti-poverty associations.
The largest consumer companies are already reacting to “the logic of pauperization,” as L’Oréal CEO Jean-Paul Agon had called it. Unilever, the third largest consumer products company in the world, was adjusting its commercial strategy by redeploying to Europe what had worked in poor countries of the developing world. E.Leclerc, the number one retailer in France, confirmed that poverty is a new commercial reality [read.... The “Pauperization of Europe”].
In France, poverty is linked to the private sector that is atrophying and shedding jobs. Unemployment numbers have been like Chinese water torture, rising relentlessly since mid-2011 to reach 10.3%—the worst since 1999. Youth unemployment hit 24.9%, the highest since the data series began in 1996. And there is no letup in sight.
The jobs fiasco goes beyond the debt crisis. Unemployment peaked at 11.2% in 1997. The emasculated private sector simply couldn’t participate in the craziness and benefits of the dotcom bubble that was in full swing in the US. After 14 years of Socialist governance—from 1981 to 1995—and nationalization of many of the largest companies, the private sector had lost its oomph. But after a wave of partial privatizations, jobs recovered. Unemployment dropped to 7.5% in the second quarter of 2008, even as the US was sinking into the financial crisis.
President Nicolas Sarkozy gloated on TV: France was immune to the American crisis, he said; under his leadership, it had its act together. By late 2009, unemployment was at 10%. The subsequent jobs recovery was as feeble as it was short, ending in mid-2011 at 9.5%. Unbeknownst to Sarkozy, that was as good as it would get:
The debt crisis was hitting France. Uncertainty took over. The private sector pulled back, and unemployment stormed higher, right in front of Sarkozy’s incredulous eyes. When Hollande took over, unemployment had been getting worse for a year!
It has left its mark on poverty in France, as the dreary CSA survey shows: 37% of the French consider themselves on the way to living in poverty; 11% consider themselves already in it. Only 51% weren’t affected by it. Surprisingly, of the professional categories, “employees” were the hardest hit, with 12% living in poverty and a stunning 48% on the way. A total of 60%! Only 38% considered themselves beyond poverty’s reach.
Jérôme Sainte-Marie, director of the political opinion department at the market research firm CSA, which had conducted the survey, worried that France has “entered a new era.” This was now no longer a question of “lowered status,” he lamented, “but of pauperization.” Many French people not only had the impression of being “worse off than their parents or worse off than hoped,” but they worried “that they could be thrown into misery, if they aren’t already in it.”
The conference and the surrounding fanfare will produce some heartfelt speeches, a few soothing Band-Aids, and perhaps even a laudable roadmap. But it remains doubtful that these measures can, or even attempt to, address the wheezing private sector whose job-creation machine has been demolished. But only a thriving private sector could reverse the jobs fiasco and stem the rising “pauperization.”
The Eurozone is full of big fat lies that politicians and eurocrats served up to make the euro and subsequent bailouts or austerity measures less unappetizing. Like in 1999: “Can Germany be held liable for the debts of other countries? A very clear No!” said the CDU, the party of Chancellor Merkel. Read.... Ten Big Fat Lies To Keep The Euro Dream Alive.
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Proof of the adage about "Frogs" in a pot of hot water!!
I didn't care for the French when I was there in '71 and '74. Snotty fucks and the hookers smelled bad. So tough shit if they go tits up.
Most locals will get a bit snotty with a tourist going round prostitute-sniffing.
I don't understand what you all guys talking about. All western govs have been doing everything for private business, WTO, trade agreements, everything you can imagine and to justify it to local populations they were jacking up social benefits and lowering rates to stay in power, and keep sheeple on proper standard of living to prevent any unrest.
Now after years of consolidations that private sector thrives paying huge dividends and feeding GDP. After years of those policies no small business, except restaurants and some resaling of cheap stuff, cannot exist anymore because of cost of wages, taxes, military and govs expenditures. Want to manufacture something? Try it everything comes from biggies for 10% of what you can charge to stay alive.
So what private sector are we talking about? The only thing left to you is apps market, some other software areas but even that will die out fast without access to real manufacturing and understanding technology behind it.
And now we have problem sheeple is tapped out, cannot, or hardly do it on social benefits, solve the problem and you get Nobel prize.
France, much like a certain percentage of the United States, reminds me of words once written by one of their great countrymen, Alexis de Tocqueville.
"They want equality in liberty, and if they cannot have it, they want it still in slavery."
Yep, and the cure for all ailments of 'americanism' is even more 'americanism'.
Hey, Annoyingmousee, have saved enough for apartment in Kangbashie?
FORAAARDEE!
Xi Jinping/Obama NWO 2018
Oh dear,
Reduced to canned fois gras.
"Propaganda is to Democracy, what the bludgeon is to the Totalitarian State."--Noam Chomsky
Propaganda is always needed as long as the population needs to be controlled, regardless of whether the state is totalitarian or democratic. Propaganda has been used to hold together all totalitarian states in the history of the human race. Until the serfs can be completely controlled by absolute force (almost impossible unless we can set up a 1984 style surveillance/control state) or by something more effective - like genetic manipulation - propaganda will always be used by the elite class. The dream society for the elite is a society where the people do not need to be controlled because they want to be oppressed. Currently only about a third of the population wants that - i.e. liberals.
Chomsky should know. He spews out propaganda with the best of them.
- Citibank (en faillite) vire 11.000 personnes, lire ici Bloomberg( ajout mercredi à 15h)
- Osram va supprimer 4.700 emplois lire ici Reuters, merci à Mr Lepage.
- DINGUE et jamais vu: Texas Instruments va virer entre 300 ou 500 ingénieurs dans sa filiale en Inde, lire Tech2
- Sky Aircraft prévoit 159 licenciements avec sans doute une faillite à la clé, lire ici l'Essentiel, merci à Mr Tacchi .
- Reebok, sport, se débarasse de 150 personnes au niveau mondial, lire ici le Boston Globe.
- Living Social, site web ventes privées, vire 400 personnes, lire ici le Business Journal
- SAIC vire 700 personnes, lire le Buisiness Journal.
- Le New York Times va annoncer un nouveau plan de licenciements, lire le Huff Post.
- Lufthansa veut réduire sa masse salariale de 3.500 personnes, lire ici IB Times.
- L'aéroport de Chicago licencie 300 personnes, lire ici la Fox
- Netjets vire 128 pilotes, lire ici le Journal de l'Aviation
- Northrop Gruman aerospace vire 200 salariés, lire ici le Los Angeles Times
- KDH Defence Armor vire 250 personnes, lire Fox News
- British Airways va supprimer 400 stewards et hôtesses chez BMI
- KLM la compagnie hollandaise se déleste de 3.000 personnes, lire ici la Libre Belgique, merci à Mr Debrauwre.
- Canadian Railways vire 4.500 personnes, lire ici Bloomberg.
- KBL banque privée luxembourgeoise supprime 150 postes lire ici le Quotidien du Luxembourg, merci à Mr Curieux.
- La Santa Barbara Bank, si, si, vire 470 personnes et ferme des agences, lire Nooz Hawk.
- NovaGalicia Bank vire 2.000 personnes pour une fermeture de centaines d'agences lire ici Euronews, merci à Kenishi.
- MVM, fabrication de meubles en redressement 388 salaries, lire France 3, merci à Marcel.
- Les 129 salariés de la fonderie Focast de Villeneuve-Saint-Germain ont été licenciées, lire ici l'Union, merci à Mr Lepage.
- L'hôpital anglais de la reine, le Royal Bolton supprime 500 postes,lire la BBC.
- Rio Tinto vire 136 personnes lire ici les Echos, merci à Mr Lepage.
- Deux trésoreries fermées en Bretagne avec des suppressions d'emploi lire ici le Telegramme, merci à Mr Salvado.
- Les mines Resolution Copper virent 400 personnes - le métallurgiste US Steel en vire 142 - le Metallurgiste de Singapour Global Foundries vire 300 personnes, lire le FT.
- Eads supprime jusqu'à 850 postes dans la division défense Cassidian lire ici Romandie, merci à Mr Lepage.
- Swiss Life tire abandonne AWD et supprime 200 postes, lire ici Marketwatch.
- Cimes, sous traitant PSA, liquidation de 98 salariés, lire ici France 3, merci à Marcel.
- Walygator, parc d'attraction est en redressement avec 50 salariés permanents et 250 à 300 saison lire ici Tout Metz, merci à Marcel.
- SAEB tuyauterie industrielle est en liquidation, 28 salariés lire ici la Montgane, merci à Marcel.
- Camponovo, librairie de Besançon en liquidation, 39 salariés lire ici France 3, merci à Marcel.
- Buroform, fabrication de meubles en redressement, 107 salariés lire ici la Nouvelle République, merci à Marcel.
- Le groupe Sanef, lors de la réunion GEPC avait annoncé la suppression de 441 emplois voir Syndicat SUD SANEF Autoroutes, merci à mon lecteur.
- Mouvements de grève au centre des Impôts de Bourg en Bresse pour cause de suppressions de postes, lire Le Progres, merci à Christiane.
- Credit Suisse licencie 100 banquiers cette fois en Angleterre lire ici le Figaro, merci à Mr Bourhis.
- La filiale Inox de Mittal va supprimer 550 postes en France lire ici Challenges, merci à Mr Rousseau.
- MEB, construction modulaire bois, liquidation et 39 salariés lire ici La Depêche, merci à Marcel.
- Le nombre d'intérimaires a plongé de 15% en un an lire ici RTL, merci à Aetos.
- Oppenheim, filiale de Deutsche Bank, licencie 500 salariés lire ici Bloomberg merci à Mr Cornet.
I think you've come to the wrong site. I think you want www.zerohedge.fr
I lost you at "Le Huff Post".
Salut Pierre (?)
Jules, peut-être?
French logic.
The way to save a failing socialist state is to elect a bigger socialist.
"I'll show me!"
Like the USA Is any better now. The Egyptians have more guts in throwing out islamic terrorist puppet leaders. The Egyptian army officer corps, or corpse as our mullah would say, will not fire on the citizens.
I do not trust corwardly Joint Chiefs/Pentagon scum like Colon Powell, Weasely Clark, Betrayus and other br-ASS cowards. They are too busy chasing islamo spy poon tang with irish mick names like Kelly.
let them eat cake
They did, maxed out their credit card.
There are no credit cards in France. There are only debt cards. The French do not have any credit card debt.
We've seen this particular bit of "cinema verite" before...
In 1789 in fact, when Louis XVI convened the Estates-General at Versailles...and we know how that turrned out.
Vive Le 18 Brumaire!
Doctor Joseph-Ignace G. deserves the posthumous Nobel Price!
You make it sound like failure. France is a shining beacon of collectivistic progress comrades. Soon the political elite and banking Nomenclatura will have abolished private ownership by confiscating all assets and the former bourgeoisie and working classes will be kept in check by the State and their dependents who prey on them. This is true progress we can look forward to.
This is an excellent point to bring up Mr.Coke and Hookers, they did this to themselves, it was not inflicted upon them by an external authority. Therefore, if they do not understand the error of their ways can we expect any change or even minor alteration in the course set before them?
They partly did it to themselves but not entirely. France voted against the Lisbon treaty but the elite ignored it. France did not vote for unrestricted import of third world people who live in ghettos and burn cars on new years eve while sucking up tax money from the shrinking middle class. They did not vote for collusion between the political elite and the banks. In fact, regardless of who they vote for, they all become a part of the political elite hell bent on destroying France. Sound familiar?
But still, it could be said that a nation that elects a mentally deficient corrupt marxist gnome like Hollande deserves ruin. Much like America deserves for electing Obama - who happens to be exactly like Hollande.
Now that`s what I call a most beautiful rant!
+1
Let them eat coke?
"France did not vote for unrestricted import of third world people who live in ghettos and burn cars on new years eve while sucking up tax money from the shrinking middle class."
A simple case of the socialist cultural descendants of the hunter-gatherers importing socialist cultural descendants of the hunter-gatherers from third world countries to shore up their political base. Like minds and all.
The French, along with others that are doing the same, will pay dearly for this because hunter-gatherer economic beliefs do not work in a modern technological society.
They are survival adaptations suited to a nearly extinct culture.
+1
Hollande is scum but his better than our mullah. At least he is French aka a citizen of France.
No one would have came if the they hadn't built the empires up and then burnt them to the fucking ground for fun in games during the world wars. Has Jack shit to do with Socialism any more than it does with Capitalism. Back then people were in short supply and needed replacing.
That brings up a good point - we wonder how the first world war started? How the second world war stated?
Just look at the clusterfuck, the bankers, the unelected bureaucrats in the EU.
This is going to explode just like 1917....
WW II was secured when peace treaty for WW I was signed...
>“Imagine the social policies of the 21st centruy.”
Carl Marx comes to mind.
They have had Marxism since the 30s, that is the problem. Over there everyone believes success is something the government gives you, jobs are something the government can create, and prosperity is the government's responsibility. No one can even conceive of any other system.
The government is so screwed. And when the people tear it down, they go down with it.
The French don't know yet how lucky they are compared to the poorest 48% of the Americans!
Someday the peasants will understand government produces nothing, all government can do is make things worse.
Y = C + I – G + NX.
G = Tax, borrow, or print.
Someday the economic textbooks will make this simple but profound change and then the people of the world will go back to living again.
>Y = C + I – G + NX.
The sign doesn't matter. Either way, the formula is playing games with numbers to derive an new, arbitrary term, Y, which cannot be a cause of anything but is rather merely an effect. No insights of economics inhere in that formula, any more than other nonsensical computations like Z = C^2 - I^2 + G *NX.
Where in that equation is leisure - an important, scarce economic good that people value?
The formula has seemingly nothing to do with economics. It is mere mathsturbation (maths = mathematics + Latin turbidis, meaning confused or murky).
Last time I sat in on an economics class I noticed this GDP equation being repeated ad infinitum. Although I will admit I much prefer your version. My question is, if the values for 'C','I','G','X','M' can be manipulated using accounting procedures for political purposes does the value produced for 'Y' matter anymore?
I've read your posts before and appreciate the effort you put into them and I've seen you mention one of my favorite books Adam Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations', but it seems to me at this point in history the world needs a bit of 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments' first and foremost.
Without morals and consequently honesty, can we trust any published numbers anymore?
No.
The GDP numbers are complete bs, just like inflation numbers. Still people want numbers. Governments want numbers. However arbitrary everyone wants numbers.
Changing the formula to Y= C + I – G + NX
C= Consumption
I = Investment
G = Government, tax, borrow, and print.
NX = Exports – Imports
Allows the government number calculations to continue but justifiably penalizes the government portion of the GDP instead of rewarding it like the formula currently does, which justifies all the Keynesian crap that is destroying the economy.
It certainly is not perfect but it changes how people view government.
FYI…If you wanted to be more accurate you would change it to Y = C + I + (0.45) G + NX, changing the coefficient every year to reflect the efficiency of government.
Shhhh.
The Y = C + I – G +NX is the easiest to understand and communicates the message that government is a burden not a economic benefit.
Pity me, I have a macro class with professor Keynes Jr today. Wednesday we were forced to learn the Phillips curve for reasons that still baffle me.
He shows us charts that prove that the economy has been a cycle of G created bubbles since 1971 but blames the 70s problems on oil shocks not the fact that we killed what was left of the gold standard.
He doesn't believe we are experiencing inflation and points to a website that tracks Internet prices as proof. He has a complete disconnect between the price of oil and inflation, except for the 70s which is a total contradiction. He doesn't understand the difference between price inflation and money inflation and sees no problem with the debt and deficits. When I ask him if such things don't matter, then why don't we cut the tax rate to zero and print everyone a million dollars, he gets flustered.
He has a PHD in Econ and was shocked when I proved to him, through treasury department data, that there never was a Clinton surplus.
He forces us to read Paul Krugman articles.
I had to take this course to fill a distribution requirement and I thought it would be better than gender studies - I was wrong. I guess I do understand (as much as anyone can) the mind of a magical thinking Keynsian, so that's something....
Yeah I had the same type of Keynesian kool-aid drinker as macro teacher... the guy didn't even know what Austrian economics were. He worshipped Bernanke, enough said.
The number of times I rolled my eyes in his class...
Fight the good Austrian fight, Ayn. I'm a junior econ major at a 'good school' and I can tell you it's a joke. I just sent an email to the econ dept. head saying easily the biggest disappointment is not getting to even hear the free market side in any of my econ classes. Never any Fed criticism. It was all those 'evil speculators' with the housing bubble collapse not doing their DD. Couldn't have been the cheap money and govt Fannie/Freddie backing, I suppose, in their world.
My macroecon prof was on the Boskin Commission in the 90s that changed the CPI equation to make it even more dishonest, as now hedonics and substitution was incorporated so that they could sub in hamburger for steak.
Inflation is the increase in money supply. Rising prices (or prices not falling enough, as in the roaring 20s) is a result. They can blame weather, etc. all they want.Those are normal supply/demand fluctuations. The money printing is the other thing.
I am at a "good" school as well but it's a small liberal arts college and Econ isn't their strength - but they want to beef it up. I'm an older student there so it's harder for him to pull the wool over my eyes with his magical sliding curves. The promising thing is that more and more, the college aged kids are questioning this garbage.
Oh and every time I mention that the way they calculate inflation and unemployment in the 90s, he has some vague answer or goes back to one of his ridiculous curves. He actually believes low unemployment causes inflation!
I'm glad I'm almost done here. I woke up probably late freshman year to how fraudulent all of it was. I knew from the start when they were teaching about the Fed and how banks create money via 10% reserve ratios that something wasn't right that 100 bucks could turn into 190.
Obviously the world views things from the Keynesian POV, so we Austrians just have to 'hedge accordingly' and recognize that the market ultimately will impose discipline, despite things like the inertia of the USD world reserve currency status. I remember just looking into libertarianism and then some Peter Schiff videos and seeing, wow, you know what, this stuff is common sense. You can't live beyond your means. The 'economists' try to mess with your mind and propagandize their .gov supported views.
Here is the "kicker" which will probably make you more depressed.
I was an econ major at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). You would think this would be the most liberal school ever.
Our econ major professor was from IRAN. He taught us clear and concise Supply Side economics as if it was gospel, including the Laffer curve, etc. To this day, I have trouble understanding why we just don't lower tax rates for EVERYBODY and watch the economy take off. But I guess that is not fair to the poorest among us or some shit like that.
P.S. I got in trouble regarding one economics class by complaining that the TA's were teaching the TA sessions in Chinese (they were). I made a big stink about it because I was the only white guy in the class. The Iranian professor indicated that we did not get the top economic students and that is why the Chinese PH'Ds where teaching as TAs.
The above was from 1989-1994.
Stick in there guys.
As a professor I get a negative reaction from students who expect the government is good and glorious stories. I occasionally run across someone who understands Austrian economics but it is a rarity. Most are offended when I do not praise the federal government and few even know what the Federal Reserve is or it’s propose.
And I asked the econ dept. head if there was any forum to have an economics debate where I could make the case for the Austrian school, as in my personal experience when I actually have a chance to explain the free mkt POV to my peers they actually see how it makes sense with why tuitions are so high and degrees worthless, etc.
All I got was that there is supposedly one market-oriented prof, but when I asked her if the liberty club she runs has some economic rigor, or if it was more just the 'legalize marijuana' crowd, she says 'half and half.' And I told the econ dept. guy that sorry, the Chicago school is not at all to be confused with the Austrians, because Friedman et al were basically neoclassicists who had no problem with, and endorsed, Fed priming the pump, let alone existing in the first place.
And when looking for internships, I got a list and it had Mesirow Financial which is here in Chicago, but I remembered a Peter Schiff video where he taught a Keynesian Diane Swonk who led that firm what inflation is, and I said no way I'm working at some Keynesian club.
I've chosen to make my case on exam questions and follow my convictions. I refuse to just regurgitate what they want for good grades. To one TA's credit, he gave me credence for my international relations exam essay answer that ripped apart Kindleberger and the globalists about WTO, Bretton Woods, etc., as I basically synthesized readings from Mises.org (independently, of course) and talked about how the Marshall Plan was just rent-seeking for the big multinationals like steel to get into the broken down markets and have them use U.S. taxpayer dollars to buy goods at jacked up prices. Acheson and Truman conjured up a 'demand for dollars' case and the anti-Communism case and Congress bought it.
I bet 99% of econ students here don't have a club about something like the Creature from Jekyll Island or the Rockefellers and Bilderberg. They've been taught the Fed is inherently needed and so with that out of the way, it's all about figuring out what the best policy is. They even have an 'award winning' club here of students who won the Fed Reserve Bank of Chicago's contest about creating monetary policy that could solve our woes. I belittled that in my email to the econ prof head by saying that these are just stopgap ways to numb the pain which exacerbates the damage ultimately, and they are for problems that were caused by .gov intervention in the first place, and I'm sure I'm in that database in Utah now.
I just want to get into asset mgmt and help people preserve their wealth with commodities and spread the message of Austrian school. Return of capital will be a big deal, not so much on capital.
I don't think my professor would have ever mentioned the Austrian school if not for my presence in his class. He would have gotten by with Friedman vs Krugman - but I spoke up and continually force him to explain things he would have just glossed over. He gave us a text book that claimed that both houses of congress were under GOP control in 2009! These kids would have thought that if I hadn't pointed out that was wrong.