French Economic Woes

Last week, I described the French economy as “antiquated” and many people pondered “how could this be, France is a G-8 country, they must have one of the most sophisticated economies in the world?” Erroneous! The economic potential of France is significantly hindered most palpably on two fronts: their conception of “vacation entitlement” and their uncompromising observance of the Christian day of rest. Though the French are not the most egregious offenders in the work-reprieve department (this distinction belongs to the Swedes who take by far the most vacation days a year with a legally-mandated 32 days off), with an average of 30 (!) vacation days per annum, virtually the entire country takes the month of August off, absolutely paralyzing the economy (except for the services sector who are catering to the myriad tourists). France is lulled into a false sense of security concerning their excessive vacation because their neighbors, Spain, Belgium, Germany, and even economically driven Switzerland all have more than 20 days paid vacation a year, whereas economic powerhouses Japan and U.S. and A have, on average, a paltry 18 and 12 days, respectively. One of Sarkozy’s economic initiatives is to revitalize the economy by diminishing the number of mandatory paid vacation days in order to increase France’s efficacy in the global marketplace. Advocating less vacation time, no wonder he’s unpopular! In addition to their addiction to beach-bummery, France’s economy lags behind their G-8 counterparts because (once again, except tourist-related industries) the economy is nonexistent on Sundays. Obviously, financial sectors are closed throughout the world on Sunday, but in countries like America, Sunday is primetime for consumption: malls are teeming with teenagers eager to purchase the latest fashions; car dealerships are packed with prospective buyers; and restaurants are filled to the brim with hébdomadaire brunchers and sporting enthusiasts. While 21^st century American cities and villages are bustling, Sunday in modern France feels like the Antebellum South: nothing, from malls, to restaurants, to car dealerships, is open. The first Sunday I spent in France during this adventure was in Megève, an admittedly small town, so it was not all that shocking that the majority of the boutiques were fermé à clé. But, silly me, I presumed that in Lyon, France’s second city (anyone who tells you that Marseille is France’s second city eats babies) would not embrace such an archaic attitude towards the concept of the modern weekend. Wrong! For example, one of France’s largest malls, the Centre commercial à Part Dieu, with the lone exception of its métro entrance, was closed in its entirety (the real reason why I’m so pissed off about this was the OL Store was closed at 11 am on Sunday and I could not buy new jerseys for me and my bro). This is clearly a detriment to France’s economy when consumer spending outlets are closed on the days when consumers actually have the time to spend! I wouldn’t take so much issue with this predicament if France was still a country with a populace that actively practiced religion. Catholic mass attendance has dropped substantially in the past two decades, and the Huguenots aren’t faring much better. The only religion in France whose base is actually increasing is Islam, but Team Allah’s holy day isn’t specifically Sunday (theoretically, Islam’s holy day would be Friday, but practicing Muslims plus ou moins treat every day as a holy day, so it’s not really pertinent to the economic argument). Obviously, on religious grounds, the argument for omni-shut down is tenuous. Though traditions like Sunday libre and month-long summer vacances are quaint and admirable, these semi-utopian ideals prevent the French from competing with firms from places like China, Germany (where the concept of a non-festival-related day off is truly preposterous), Japan, and the United States. The French adore deriding the consumer-obsessed Americans, but if the French aren’t careful, blooming American acolytes like the Indians and the Brazilians (at least economically) may leave the French in their wake.

Jerome Kerviel= Giant Douche

The other news development that I no me gusta-ed were the reports coming out of France that a “rogue-trader” (what an awesome word by the way!) almost single-handedly brought down the entire European economy, racking up 4.9 billion Euros of debt for French bank Société Générale. That’s utterly terrifying! With the promulgation of sovereign funds and super-empowered individuals (to use a Friedman-ism), single human beings are able to control disproportionately large sectors of the economy. Prior to this week, I assumed that only people like Murdoch, Gates, or Soros had the financial clout to manipulate the markets so drastically, but, because it’s in their best interest to maintain a robust economy, it never bothered me that individuals such as those mentioned above brandished so much economic prowess. However, with what transpired this week in Paris, I’m petrified. This week proved that a wacko (granted a very intelligent one) without any real power can bring down the global economy.

First Article in the Blogosphere Pertaining to Both Heath Ledger and the ECB

My mom comes in to my room this afternoon, visibly distraught, and looks at me, and sees that I’m a frowny panda as well. Mommy exclaims “I can’t believe Heath Ledger is dead!” I exclaim, not a second later, “I can’t believe the Fed cut the interest rate by .75%!” We’ll get back to Heath in a minute, but I can’t believe the European Central Back right meow. The ECB is threatening to RAISE interest rates in this time of economic crisis because it claims its “mandate is to stave off inflation.” What?! So, after the economic crisis depletes the European economy, and everyone’s stocks have plummeted, I’m sure all the members of the European Monetary Union will be ecstatic that the ECB was able to effectively combat inflation. It’s as if the European Central Bank is deliberately ignoring a basic principle of 21^st century globalization: every economy is inextricably linked to one another. If the devaluation of the Thai Baht in 1997 singlehandedly caused the global economy to nose-dive, what the FUCK do you think is going to happen when the UNITED STATES economy starts to plunge? Un-fucking-believable. Let’s hope that this month’s Davos World Economic Summit will beat some sense into the Euroconomists. This is not meant to imply that Europe is entirely to blame. No, culpability resides firmly on the shoulders of the U.S. and A. But Europe cannot afford to ignore the writing on the wall much longer. Lord knows the US took their sweet time developing a solution. Seemingly every megabank had a post-subprime, 11 digit write-down two months ago. If that’s not a harbinger for impending economic doom, I’d like to know what is. THAT is when this 145 billion USD stimulus package should have come into effect. At least, in that scenario, this strategy would seem at least remotely premeditated and not just an emergency stop-gap solution that all but screams “ruh-roh!” If you’d like a doomsday SOSbrog investment recommendation: invest in wine. At least if our currency becomes worthless, you can drown your sorrows with booze that is simply delish.