The farmers of Corsica want more money from the government, but Francois Fillon turned out his empty pockets and let them know that their government was bankrupt. Not a sou for vous, he insisted, not from a government that had not balanced its budget in over twenty-five years. Nothing better to report for 2008, either, as the planned budget is EU41.5 billion in arrears. So don't ask for more, Corsican farmers, because it's not there.
The opposition blames Mr. Sarkozy, of course, for cutting taxes. Cutting taxes is a good thing, actually, from an economic standpoint, but it must be matched with spending cuts. Just ask Alan Greenspan, or anyone else from the University of Chicago school of economic theory.
Mr. Fillon has some spending cuts in mind, starting with state pension reform. The unions are very much against any change that would reduce government spending on their members' pensions, which are quite generous. One can afford to be generous if said generosity is borrowed and left to future generations to pay. That future generation isn't voting right now, is it?
Reform is urgently needed, because borrowing to live beyond one's means cannot go on forever. You only have to look at the sub-prime lending market, and the world-wide impact of massive mortgage defaults, to see what might happen if the money well should run dry. Mr. Sarkozy would prefer to make small cuts now, rather than sit back and watch France choke to death on debt.
The Corsican farmers have felt the first nick of the knife. Sooner or later, the unions will have to accept less, or there may come a time when there's absolutely nothing at all left to give.
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