Posted on 06/07/2012 6:36:02 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
New socialist president Francois Hollande says it's a matter of "social justice." As for lowering the retirement age to 60 in the midst of a fiscal crisis, it is more a matter of insanity than justice.
Workers who entered employment aged 18 will be able to retire at 60 rather than 62, under the decree agreed at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The reforms will cost the state billions of euros a year but can be afforded through higher worker and employer contributions, according to the government.
"We committed to put this measure in place quickly for social justice for those who started working early," said Social Affairs Minister Marisol Touraine.
The decision follows pre-election promises from the new president Francois Hollande to reverse the rise in the retirement age introduced by his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010.
It is absolutely amazing what can be justified under the rubric "social justice." Raising taxes on the young so that the old can retire early is a ponzi scheme. Given the state of government debt in France, do the young people who have to pay the increase in taxes realize that by the time they are 60, that retirement age will probably be 70, or older?
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Hollande’s jealous of all the attention Greece and Spain are getting... What else could it be? /s
Einstein’s definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result each time.
Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland......France.........
“Social justice” for the poor souls who had to work till age 62. Imagine, they would actually continue to contribute to their pensions, etc.
That it is, but it also relies on 'the young' having jobs to begin with, and in ever increasing numbers, just like a true ponzi scheme. Once the jobless rate hits a tipping point, the whole system collapses..........
RE: Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland......France.........
HOW CAN WE INSERT the LETTER ‘F’ in the ACRONYM : P.I.I.G.S?
Here is the problem with social justice.
Some define it as taking food from one persons mouth and give to another.
Some define it as you don’t work, you don’t eat.
The latter of course implies if you offer nothing to your society, you get nothing back. The former naturally is you offer nothing to your society and others have to feed you.
A different perspective: If you have structurally high unemplyment and lifelong unemployment benefits, what difference does the retirement age make? It only changes the reference on the check from “unemployment” to “pension.”
Of course, in a healthy economy, workers are hard to find, and the ratio of productive to unproductive workers matters. But, once the load on the productive becomes too high (thru early retirement pensions, high taxes, corporate uncompetiveness, etc), you get permanently higher unemployment. A delayed retirement age only increases the number of unemployed.
Here is the problem with social justice.
Some define it as taking food from one persons mouth and give to another.
Some define it as you don’t work, you don’t eat.
The latter of course implies if you offer nothing to your society, you get nothing back. The former naturally is you offer nothing to your society and others have to feed you.
Guys, I am no lover of the left, but this is blind hatred on the thread I see and it is not healthy for us to behave this way. Look at the details - its fair to cut the retirement age for people who start earlier than others. IF you started at 18 and have been contributing to your pension fund all your life, why should someone who starts at 25 be able to retire at the same age as you when he would have paid 7 years lesser in contributions?
What I will also add is that it is fair but foolish. Instead of cutting the retirement age of people that start at 18, Hollande should have increased the retirement age of the others.
This may be a lot more insidious than it sounds. They may be calculating that by eliminating those over 60 from the workforce, they will open up entry level jobs and reduce unemployment.
At the same time, I would hazard to guess they will start “nickel and dime-ing” their *health* system to reduce and eliminate life extending medical treatments.
Socialists dislike the elderly, and put youth on a pedestal, which is why they are so in favor of euthanasia.
So the bottom line is that older people in France should watch it, as the socialists might seem to be doing them a favor, but actually intend to kill them off at a younger age as well.
“HOW CAN WE INSERT the LETTER ‘F’ in the ACRONYM : P.I.I.G.S?”
F the PIIGS ?
It’s a terrible, terrible decision. Absolutely insane.
Once you’ve actually started guillotining your 1% your outlook permanently changes, I guess.
I need to get the F out of Europe.
How about not basing retirement on age but on the amount of funds contributed/accumulated?
Oh, that would be “unjust,” I guess, as people with higher incomes would reach the target faster.
In an ideal world, people would be responsible for their own retirement savings, and would be able to retire whenever they feel they are capable of doing so. A safety net could be in place only for those who were truly indigent or disabled.
Put the "fn" F in front...
as in F.P.I.I.G.S.
“France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country. France has usually been governed by prostitutes.” —Mark Twain
“The French are a smallish, monkey-looking bunch and not dressed any better, on average, than the citizens of Baltimore. True, you can sit outside in Paris and drink little cups of coffee, but why this is more stylish than sitting inside and drinking large glasses of whiskey I don’t know.” —P.J O’Rourke (1989)
“You know, the French remind me a little bit of an aging actress of the 1940s who was still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn’t have the face for it.” —John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona
Nothing good ever comes from Hollande-aise sauce with w(h)ine. Look for France to go the way of Greece which brings up an interesting gastronomic question: Can one make Hollandaise sauce using grease?
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