"Yellow Vest" protests in France

Don M.

Don M.

SF VIP
Location
central Missouri
There have been news reports of protests and riots in France, in recent weeks...once again yesterday....but no reason given for why, on most news I've seen. I looked into it, and it appears that the reason is High Gas Prices. It appears that the French are paying well over $6/gal. for gas, and it is affecting the finances of a large part of the working population....who appear to have a median income of only about $2,000 per month. Gas prices in that range seem to be the norm pretty much all over Europe...and we grumble when our prices approach half that much.

But then, to support the semi-socialist societies of these nations, the money has to come from somewhere...and it appears that gas taxes are the method chosen by these governments....just goes to show that there is No Free Lunch.
 

The money has to come from somewhere or you increase the national debt.

Our national debt per person is almost twice that of the French, let the good times roll.

 
From what I've seen when visiting Europe, they have an efficient system of trains, which we do not have here. In the U.S., we are literally forced to drive nearly everywhere (unless you live in New York.)
 

That's the thing if these countries want to go socialist they sure had better provide a better quality of life. Obscene taxes take away from quality of life especially those who need to drive in this case.

Hopefully they can get all this ironed out before the 2024 Olympics, 5 years isn't that far off and sometimes it takes years if not decades for political unrest to dissipate.
 
Sunny said:
From what I've seen when visiting Europe, they have an efficient system of trains, which we do not have here. In the U.S., we are literally forced to drive nearly everywhere (unless you live in New York.)
Click to expand...

Yes, European nations have excellent public transportation and a great system of trains for travel between major population centers. However, for the millions who Don't live in their crowded Urban areas, cars are still a necessary means for getting to work, etc. Having such high fuel taxes on these people seems quite unfair...to me. It appears that these Protests are showing little sign of waning.'

https://www.yahoo.com/news/paris-stores-looted-yellow-vest-riots-001821136.html
 
TELEMMGLPICT000191670284_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQfyf2A9a6I9YchsjMeADBa08.jpeg

A Yellow Vest protester throws a flag of Europe towards a barricade burning in front of a shop on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on March 16 Credit: AFP
 
Sunny said:
From what I've seen when visiting Europe, they have an efficient system of trains, which we do not have here. In the U.S., we are literally forced to drive nearly everywhere (unless you live in New York.)
Click to expand...

People in the U.S. won't take trains. There isn't a single passenger train in the U.S. that makes money. But may, just maybe, people would take them if they did run more often, efficiently, and more places. But, unless I'm mistaken, all the trains in Europe are also subsidized.
 
Aunt Bea said:
The money has to come from somewhere or you increase the national debt.

Our national debt per person is almost twice that of the French, let the good times roll.
Click to expand...


Which country has the most debt per capita?
List of countries by external debt

RankCountry/RegionPer capita US dollars
1United States58,200
2United Kingdom127,000
3France87,200
4Germany65,600
 
Thank you for reading my post and taking the time to provide feedback.

I really don't know which figures are correct, as the old quote attributed to Mark Twain says: "Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Do Figure."

Even if the numbers I used are wrong it is my opinion that we are in no better position and perhaps a worse position than many other countries when it comes to funding our government. At some point, I'm afraid we will see chaos in our own streets if we don't face up to our spending and figure out a way to pay what we owe.

Here is another set of numbers to ponder, according to the French debt clock they owe approx. $41,029.00/person and according to the United States debt clock we each owe approx. $67,354.00/person or $180,678/taxpayer.

https://commodity.com/debt-clock/france/

http://www.usdebtclock.org/


retiredtraveler said:
Which country has the most debt per capita?
List of countries by external debt

RankCountry/RegionPer capita US dollars
1United States58,200
2United Kingdom127,000
3France87,200
4Germany65,600
Click to expand...
 
Aunt Bea said:
Even if the numbers I used are wrong it is my opinion that we are in no better position and perhaps a worse position than many other countries when it comes to funding our government. At some point, I'm afraid we will see chaos in our own streets if we don't face up to our spending and figure out a way to pay what we owe.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! National Debt can destroy a nation, just as easily as personal debt can drive an individual to the brink. In recent years, the people of nations such as Argentina and Greece have gone through some bad times when their governments have ignored the basic rules of finance. The U.S. ran up a massive debt in the aftermath of WWII, but the people back then accepted tax burdens as high as 92%, and within a few years, that huge debt was paid off, and the nation began a recovery that led to a great economy for much of the latter half of the 20th century. Today, our government is spending without any concern for the future....and it won't be long before we are faced with major financial problems in vital programs such as Medicare and Social Security. These "Tax Reforms" do little for the average person, but line the pockets of the wealthy and the corporations. When, Not IF, the crisis arrives, the most likely response from the government will be to Devalue the Dollar, so as to reduce the Perceived amount of the debt, but all that will do is drive consumer prices to a level such that people will go broke just buying groceries. These Smoke and Mirror tactics that the government uses to mask its irresponsibility will certainly lead to a collapse not unlike the Great Depression of the 1920's.
 
When politicians want to implement one politicaly correct policy and not offer alternatives to those who use and need the old policy/practice in place this is bound to happen. If France wants to eliminate or ban fuel based engines by 2040 is one thing but to take the current users of fuel into oblivion is fool hardy. If Macron isn't careful he'll stall out the French economy and they won't even be able to meet that 2040 deadline.
 
Europe has intercity trains, but their cities are not as far apart as Tampa and Seattle.

You can take a trip to the Grand Canyon by train, but not to Yosemite or Sequoia National Parks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top