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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stan_hughes who wrote (86791)	9/24/2007 8:01:41 AM
From: John Vosilla	Respond to of 110194

'One day there will be a movement in America that will outdo the French Revolution because of this kind of stuff' Local taxes have tripled on average for J6P this decade while in DC and the Larry Kudlow types in the ivory tower talk of lower taxes. Another Boston Tea Party coming to a local courthouse near you?

To: stan_hughes who wrote (86791)	9/24/2007 4:29:59 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Respond to of 110194

Speaking of 1789, are they going for Round II? AP Debt-Ridden France Faces Spending Cuts Monday September 24, 1:01 pm ET By Emma Vandore, AP Business Writer After Decades of Lavish Spending, France Struggles to Face Its Debt PARIS (AP) -- France, its prime minister says, is bankrupt. The head of the European Central Bank, Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet, is no less damning, scolding his nation as Europe's "No. 1 spender." That the country has been living beyond its means is hardly news -- the last time France balanced its books was 1974. But now, President Nicolas Sarkozy's government insists, the extravagant spending has to stop. As eyes turn toward his first budget, to be announced Wednesday, economists predict the job of righting the nation's finances may be more difficult than the president expects. "The French have got their work cut out," said James Nixon, an economist with Societe Generale in London. "What we are seeing is political maneuvering to prepare French people for what's necessarily going to be a tighter budget than the French government anticipated." Prime Minister Francois Fillon's controversial statement last week that France is "in a state of bankruptcy" was followed Monday by warnings that the country's public finances are in a "critical state." Ahead of the overall budget announcement, the social security budget was unveiled Monday, showing a record deficit for 2007 of around 12 billion euros ($16.7 billion) instead of the 8 billion euros ($11.1 billion) previously forecast. In a bid to cut that to under 9 million euros ($12.7 million) in 2008, the government said patients will have to pay more for their health care next year. Sarkozy is planning other cutbacks in public services. He wants to end special benefits enjoyed by some state workers, such as retirement as early as age 50 for employees at the state-run railway operator. He also wants to cut the wage bill by not replacing all of the civil servants who retire. France's powerful unions have announced strike action starting Oct. 18 over those plans. As well as spending cuts, Sarkozy had been counting on economic growth to fill the hole in his budget made by measures designed to stimulate the economy and create jobs. Already this year, parliament has legislated a bundle of tax breaks including financial incentives for employers to allow overtime hours and tax cuts for home owners. A measure reducing the tax burden on high-income taxpayers will cost 13 billion euros ($18.35 billion) alone, making it virtually impossible for France to balance its budget by 2010, as it had promised its European partners as recently as April. After his election in May, Sarkozy argued for extra time to balance his books, irking others in Europe. Earlier this month, finance ministers from the 12 countries that share the euro currency with France demanded the economic reforms be accompanied by sound fiscal policies. "France's ambition doesn't really go together with our expectations," said Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. The economy is making the job more difficult for Sarkozy. Global economic instability stemming from credit-market turmoil in the United States, the euro's seemingly unstoppable rise against the dollar, and record oil prices have been weighing on the French economy. In recent weeks, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Commission have all cut their growth forecast for France -- to 2 percent, 1.8 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. The French government is sticking -- for now -- to its forecast that puts growth within a range between 2 percent and 2.5 percent for both 2007 and 2008. For 2008, the prime minister said Monday that the government is expecting growth of "around 2.2 percent." Societe Generale predicts French economic growth will slow to 1.6 percent in 2008 from 1.7 percent this year, making it difficult for the government to keep its promise of reducing the deficit to 2.3 percent next year from 2.4 percent. For the past three decades, successive presidents from all political persuasions have let spending balloon. Insee said the debt level last year reached 64.2 percent of gross domestic product compared with 20 percent in 1980. "France has a credibility problem," said Philip Whyte, a researcher at the Centre for European Reform in London. "It is constantly postponing the day of fiscal consolidation." Associated Press Writer Emmanuel Georges-Picot contributed to this report. biz.yahoo.com When you're bankrupt, what's your plan? Skip town? You sound like you were cheering on the "free ride" bandwagon. Well, it's time to feed the horses. What are you going to do. BTW, France's mere 64.2% doesn't sound that bad. We're up around 75%.