Janine di Giovanni, a foreign correspondent/columnist for
Newsweek, takes aim in her newest piece at the declining economic power of
France, her adopted homeland.
Newsweek, takes aim in her newest piece at the declining economic power of
France, her adopted homeland.
Di
Giovanni describes a nation with a lack of entrepreneurship and a poor work
ethic, which has led to a prolonged brain drain. She also bemoans the sky
high tax rates paid by the French to finance the generous government benefits
of the increasingly socialist state.
Giovanni describes a nation with a lack of entrepreneurship and a poor work
ethic, which has led to a prolonged brain drain. She also bemoans the sky
high tax rates paid by the French to finance the generous government benefits
of the increasingly socialist state.
But her
description of the nanny state she discovered in France, compared to the
government’s role in her native England, is startling.
description of the nanny state she discovered in France, compared to the
government’s role in her native England, is startling.
Here’s
a taste:
a taste:
“As
a new mother, I was surprised at the many state benefits to be had if you
filled out all the forms: Diapers were free; nannies were tax-deductible; free
nurseries existed in every neighborhood. State social workers arrived at my
door to help me ‘organize my nursery.’ My son’s school lunch consists of three
courses, plus a cheese plate.… The
French state also paid for all new mothers, including me, to see a physical
therapist twice a week to get our stomachs toned again.
“I had friends who
belonged to trade unions, which allowed them to take entire summers off and
collect 55 percent unemployment pay. From the time he was an able-bodied
30-year-old, a cameraman friend worked five months a year and spent the
remaining seven months collecting state subsidies from the comfort of his house
in the south of France.
a new mother, I was surprised at the many state benefits to be had if you
filled out all the forms: Diapers were free; nannies were tax-deductible; free
nurseries existed in every neighborhood. State social workers arrived at my
door to help me ‘organize my nursery.’ My son’s school lunch consists of three
courses, plus a cheese plate.… The
French state also paid for all new mothers, including me, to see a physical
therapist twice a week to get our stomachs toned again.
“I had friends who
belonged to trade unions, which allowed them to take entire summers off and
collect 55 percent unemployment pay. From the time he was an able-bodied
30-year-old, a cameraman friend worked five months a year and spent the
remaining seven months collecting state subsidies from the comfort of his house
in the south of France.
Another
banker friend spent her three-month paid maternity leave sailing around
Guadeloupe – as it is part of France, she continued to receive all the benefits.
Yet another banker friend got fired, then took off nearly three years to find a
new job, because the state was paying her so long as she had no job. ‘Why not?
I deserve it,’ she said when I questioned her. ‘I paid my benefits into the
system.’ Hers is an attitude widely shared.
When you retire, you are well cared for. There
are 36 special retirement regimes – which means, for example, a female hospital
worker or a train driver can retire earlier than those in the private sector
because of their “harsh working conditions,” even though they can never be
fired.”
banker friend spent her three-month paid maternity leave sailing around
Guadeloupe – as it is part of France, she continued to receive all the benefits.
Yet another banker friend got fired, then took off nearly three years to find a
new job, because the state was paying her so long as she had no job. ‘Why not?
I deserve it,’ she said when I questioned her. ‘I paid my benefits into the
system.’ Hers is an attitude widely shared.
When you retire, you are well cared for. There
are 36 special retirement regimes – which means, for example, a female hospital
worker or a train driver can retire earlier than those in the private sector
because of their “harsh working conditions,” even though they can never be
fired.”
Janine di Giovanni, a foreign correspondent/columnist for Newsweek, takes aim in her newest piece at the declining economic power of France, her adopted homeland. anti anxiety medication