You're probably tired of hearing the Obamacare talking point in which lefties cite a World Health Organization statistic that ranks France's Sécurité Sociale national health care system best in the entire world while the USA's hither-to-fore fully privatized system is in 37th place. In other words, the answer to the question WHO's on first? is France.
While WHO's ranking criteria and the Obama administration's propagandizing thereof may be questionable, it is safe to concede that the French are at least among the healthiest people in the world and that their life expectancy is as long or longer than Americans'. My Italian-American cardiologist advocates for more France-like vino consumption as a way to improve heart health. Of late, however, French whine is getting more media coverage than French wine.
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The French unionists' sign has nothing to do with gourmet gravy. Gréve Générale means General Strike. |
Healthy French people with their optimized life expectancy are demanding that the national retirement remain at an incredibly early 60 years of age. To these malcontents a mere two-year sacrifice for the sake of their country's economic health is unthinkable.
French "workers" whining is making a lot of us health-inferior Americans sicker than ever. We're sick to our stomachs over the looming threat of ever-bigger government and its wealth-redistributive spending that will be built on the very same kind of entitlement programs that are already up and running -- and breaking the banks -- in Europe.
“Only in France would 15-year-old schoolchildren go on strike. We love our country but people have to be responsible, and realize we cannot go on like this," one anti-protestor is quoted by the AP. French people with a social/fiscal conscience like this speaker are particularly appalled at the move by trade unions to pressure schoolchildren into joining their current series of nationwide work stoppages in the name of ditching work as early as possible. What an exemplary work ethic these so-called workers portray to the future workers of France.
Scarier still, what an example this kind of news coverage portrays to our own students who, similarly, have been ginned up by the Obama administration, the mainstream media and their progressive educators to believe that the world owes them benefits, if not the living that goes with them.
It isn't just the pro-entitlements mentality that our kids have learned by osmosis. It is also the need to demonize every American industry from mining and oil extraction to insurance to banks to retailing for the failings of the government just as their progressive teachers (the lecturer-in chief included) spend so much of their time doing.
Going on the assumption that the French government will kowtow to the protesters and, at worst, will split the difference with them and add only one year to their work lives, what will the ingrates' next demand be? Two-hour workdays? Expenses-paid vacations on the Riviera? Free rides on the gravy train?
Until the strikers have their demands met, French productivity is on hold and the economy of France will continue to suffer needlessly. Once they return to work it will be escargot again, as usual.
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