Why can’t the US become more like France to improve its economy?
These are some suggestions that could help the US economy grow much faster:
1) Consider making French one of America’s official languages.
2) Impose a Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods, but also increase income tax to 45%
3) Sharply increase US funding towards the National Endowment for the Arts
4) Thicken the melting pot by allowing more Arabs, and West Africans to immigrate.
5) Change the work week from 40 hours to a 35-hour work week.
6) Impose a tax on gasoline to encourage walking and exercise, and local developments.
7) Put less restrictions on the price of goods and services and teach consumers to negotiate prices with vendors and sellers.
8) Make healthcare universal and free for all.
9) Eliminate the use of troops around the world. Instead, allow all countries occupied by US forces to become automatic US citizens if they choose to do so.
10) Eliminate air conditioning systems to cut costs. Instead, use moats and architectural designs that keep cool.
Wouldn’t these things at an artistic component to American life?
Also, replace the two-party election system with a multi-party parliamentary system so more extreme viewpoints can be debated when passing legislation.
God what a flake!
bcuz people are too busy trying to blame bush instead of helping themselves.
That sounds like the typical French recipe for failure.
You stole the DNC Platform !
Why don’t you just move to France?
well if the french system is so great……..you are free to purchase a one way ticket to france……..au revoir
Why would we want France’s economy? We’ve had the number one economy for 15 years. France is ranked 25th. So, what your saying basically is that you want our economy to keep going in the toilet?
Read the link and learn something.
Because the US government, for the most part, has a Laissez-faire (heh, how ironic, that’s french) approach to economics. That is, let businesses do their thing and working people will flock to good paying jobs, and low pay jobs will be saved for those who cant succeed in getting a good jobs, and that’s been working since 1787, when the Constitution was signed, so why fix what isn’t broken? And by the way, why make french a national language when few people here speak it in comparison to English? And everything else, in my opinion, goes against what we should be moving towards, a watch after yourself society
1. That would do nothing
2. That would cripple not help the economy
3. That would do nothing to improve the economy
4. Too much of a security risk and would do nothing to improve the economy.
5. Lowering production by reducing the work week would cripple not help the economy.
6. There is already a huge tax on gasoline and would do nothing to improve the economy.
7. That is already happening
8. Taxes would have to be increased dramatically to get the “free” healthcare.
9. Would not improve the economy
10. Would not work OR improve the economy.
1. Would cost too much to switch everything over to French.
2. Would drive people to poverty and create even more bureaucracy, corruption and people cheating on taxes, plus even more work under the table.
3. If people are interested in the arts they will pay for it themselves.
4. Huh?
5. change it all you want, people will still work more than those hours.
6. We already have a tax on gasoline.
7. You can negotiate prices, just most people accept the sticker price. Anyways French find it offensive to haggle on prices that already have a set price. So I have no idea where you got that idea that this is some norm in France.
8. France can barely pay for it as it is, no thanks.
9. France does use troops around the world. France was in the Ivory Coast Civil War not long ago and gets involved in former colonies affairs. Check out Comoros
10. France does have air conditioning. Where did you get that idea?
all of those are excellent points, although i think an official language policy would take away from america’s meltingpot society. your idea to increase funding for the arts is a good one, and andrei zhdanov would agree that a nation without art is no nation. as for healthcare, as a canadian i couldn’t imagine not being covered for free. taking away my healthcare would be like taking away my life. what if i break my arm? i shudder to think. so good idea there. your idea for a gas tax is good too. as less people drive it will be easier for the government to commit to international legislation like the kyoto accord. this can only serve to bolster america’s reputation abroad. want a war on terror? stop terrorizing people! and that goes hand in hand with your point about the armed forces. instead of conquering people you can use it for peace keeping. again, only gonna make people like america more.
good thinking
Wow, that’s sounds like a country that is lead by Barry H. Obama.
Ignoring the healthcare issue, where the US could learn a lot from France over, the French economy is no where as good as that of the USA.
And the French electoral system is fairer and more representative than that of the USA. You have more than one presidential candidate in the first round of elections, and the second round is between the top two from the first round assuming that the winner of the first round took less than 50% of the vote. The winner having to take more than 50% of the second round vote.
And you have more than two parties with a say in how the country is run.
I’m French and our economy is not going well these days, so keep yours! About the French being an official language, why would you want such a thing? The only thing that Americans should really learn from us is the Health covering insurance, it’s such a shame in the U.S. that you can just die if you don’t have enough money. And maybe being a little more pacifist that you actually are. War is not a good thing no matter what. And we have air-conditioning, there’s just a law about it that says that you don’t have the right in public places to go more than 8 celcius degree under the outdoor temperature, because it’s not good for health.