Despite the fact that France enjoys a strong quality a life, there is a very clear French malaise. This malaise comes from the fact that countries that were 30 years ago 20% poorer than us are now richer on a per capita basis (e.g UK) and the gap is set to continue. The sense of stagnation has triggered a "Brain Exodus" towards more flexible systems - the scientists leaving for the US and the financiers for London.
Besides, France finds itself in an unsustainable economic position as the social reforms of past governments (e.g the 35 hrs week) have failed to deliver their promises (i.e. reduce unemployment) and have only increased further the public deficit. Several long term problems (e.g. pension reform) also need to be addressed.
With the current presidential elections, there is a big sense of delusion, particularly among the youth, as it's ONCE AGAIN about voting for the least weak. Much of the population doesn't feel represented, and I have personally heard many people saying " I will vote for X but really by default, for lack of somebody else"..
Many insatisfied were also brought to the extremes (and esp. the far right, with Le Pen). France, unlike the UK and the US, hasn't been able to turn its massive immigation flows into a positive resource. Immigrants in France are increasingly seen as a burden to the country. the UK, in the meantime, would have never flourished so well without immigration..
In my view, the reasons why the UK is doing so well and the Old Europe (france, italy, germany, spain) is now lagging behind are clear:
1. in pole position, the difference in legal system.. the UK has a common law and the rest is a cvil law system. a civil law system is extremely non flexible, it doesn't encourage innovation, and therefore economic growth etc.. the civil law system is the reason why the administration is so heavy in continental europe.
2. still too many state companies: I am a big believer in private ownership. In economist talk, it is the most efficient reducer of moral hazard issues. Public companies lack incentives to perform well, as they know that whatever happens, they will be bailed out. Therefore, the sense of achievement isinexistent, and employees lack motivation. I am a big believer in incentives schemes to motivate the staff, and this just doesn't exist in public corp. this results in public companies that don't function well and destroy capital. Let's privatize as much as possible, only leaving primary education and healthcare in the hands of the state. the university system and the rest should be all private.
3. IMMIGRATION, SOCIAL SYSTEM: like I said before, immigration in france is seen as a burden, although it is a positive phenomenon in the UK. Why this difference? In my view, it's pretty simple.. In France, the very welcoming social system encourages immigrants to exploit the system: very high unemployment benefits, social aids etc.. which is basically an incentive for immigrants not to do anything. This means that france is losing a lot of money on immigration, which in turn makes locals unhappy, and therefore creates conflicts between the two (with a net loss of cash). In the UK, meanwhile, the social system is tougher: low unemployment benefits and social aid. In short, they welcome immigrants, but the latter will have to WORK HARD. this creates a lot of money for the country, satisfies locals, and essentially everyone is happy.
4. POLITICS: the whole political system needs to be reformed. there is an increasing (and justified) feeling that politics is a game on its own, fully detached from reality and doesn't serve its population. When I watched debates in the Assemblee Nationale, it amused me because it was like watching teams of egocentric clans of animals fighting against each other, but never have I felt that their (EXPENSIVE) time was put to good use. With all these so-called brains in this country, and the self-proclamed great education system, isn't it a little sad that we haven't managed to come up with a decent politician for the last 20 years? Well, it's actually the current political system that doesn't set the right incentives..The whole idea of someone becoming president of a country beacuse he has the right political and communication skills, but no legal and economics background to back it up horrifies me. We have excellent economists in France, and it should be up to those people to decide of the right economic direction of the country.
5. BANKING system: easy access to LOANS is an essential part of a flourishing nation. there is just nothing wrong in borrowing if a borrowed dollar can create more than a dollar in value. this is an important part of risk taking. Instead of having shitty public universities, wouldn't it be better to have paying private universities, where poor students are not discriminated against by having easy access to loans and scolarships? Entrepreneurship is also the key behind the economic strenght of a country and it cannot function without the right banking system to back it up. In a context of globalization where it's increasingly easy for unhappy french citizens to move elsewhere, we need a competitive banking system, with easy access to loans which will promote entrepreneurship.
Of course, we can relativize.. despite its problems, France is still a wealthy and leading economic nation. The basic necessities are essentially catered for: all have the minimum of food and healthcare etc.. but it still drives me crazy to think of all this waste of cash due to an inefficient economic system. all this cash could actually have been put to much better use in helping developing countries. Hong Kong makes a profit every year, why Can't we? We have a privileged geographic position, and are not in a position to help those who aren't.
Now the elections.. and the least weak is obviously Sarkozy
He is sadly the only one with a real willingness to change the country and make it more flexible, capitalism friendly (although he is very self-contradictory when he wants to defend french companies from foreign takeovers). He also has enough character to implement change. The problem is that once again, he is not an economist, and like the Financial Times said recently, this worries me a lot about his ability to take the right decisions. He is also extremely self-centered, and gives somewhat of a dictator feeling that is really not welcomed. And he doesn't speak english (no comment).
Segolene Royale.. is catastrophic
she is just seen at the Renouveau (the Change) given that she is a female in this political world, mainly dominated by men. she brings a new face, younger, peaceful, and inspires trust. Other than that, absolutely nothing. It should be illegal for politicians to announce plans/promises without backing them up, which is what she's done from that start (i'll do this, that, and give you this blablabla, never saying where the fcking cash would come from, but..). she is just much better in the role of the Playboy bunny:
ohh and Bayrou.. well, stupid BUT he spoke English!!!!!!! amazing!!
but just too stupid.. he is out.. ;)
comments are welcome ;)
interview of monica by Oliviero Toscani, the great photographer behind the very provocative Benetton advertising campaigns. I also talked many times about him in this blog as he is very critical of the italian economic system, Bocconi, and Milan.
here, much of the interview is frankly not interesting, but it's just funny to hear two italians talking to each other in french. an interesting part though about italian women in france that are depressed because in france, nobody looks at them.. (or so it seems)
“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both.”
nat sta arrivando a napule ed e troppo felice!!!
big time salto di gioia ... just listen to this music.. that's my man here, pino daniele, this music makes me jump all around, and we all know you need a lot to get a Boublil to dance.
la pizza de la stazione mi sta aspettando
e tutti che mi danno gia il grande rispetto, da ischia alla stazione centrale.
lo sanno gia tutti, don natale e di ritorno! e non scassate o suo cazz'!
The more I travel and the more I realise that every country has its pros and cons. like I said before, although there are several places on this planet that I really appreciate, I can't seem to find the right place to live. In fact, on the long run, every place starts showing its negative sides.. My ambition is to actually move around several times a year to benefit from all positive aspects of different countries. I was dreaming.. if you could create your own country, what would it be like?
MY DREAM MIX WOULD BE..
- hong kong capitalism (open a business in less than a day - no personal tax - ridiculous corporate tax - but state still makes a yearly profit... so many healthy businesses that it just works!!)
- canadian optimism ( it's great, hey!)
- italian culture and monuments (we can take pleasure just by walking around the streets)
- french wine and champagne (just the best)
- the eiffel tower (for some reason, tourists love it and it gives us something to show them and generate some cash with)
- brazilian weather (hot enough all year long to forget the ridiculous concept of coat, but not too humid)
- middle-eastern food (this is where Tasty was invented)
- italian dolce vita (i think this is pretty clear)
- italian women with brazilian open-mindedness (so this one is REALLY dangerous!!!!)
- "new yorkian" cosmopolitanism (you can literally change country by simply taking the subway: bensonhurst, chinatown, black harlem, spanish harlem etc..)
- german efficiency (ok, they're not very funny, but they get things done)
- "netherlandian" freedom of thought and action (just smoke weed if you feel like it, let's stop wasting cash on an activity that we can't stop from happening. and is it really more harmful than alcohol? the same is true for brothels. let's take these activities away from criminal gangs, make them safe, and generate a lot of cash from it).
- japanese sense of innovation (always something new happening)
- a fijian sea (transparent.. and we'll take away the sharks that hang around in there, I don't like them)
- new zealandian take-it-easy spirit (these people are just cooool)
- swiss mountains and lakes (skiing is fun)
- napoletan mafia (a mafia is needed to counter balance every government, and to inspire the rest of us. it also gives newspapers something to talk about).
- chinese hard work mentality (that's what i call motivation)
- english/london humor (they're so funny with their queen.. i like self-depreciating humor)
- a language that would be a blend of italian, napoletan, portuguese, french and english
I tried really hard but couldn't find the right politicians to run this wonderful place.. the truth is that wherever you go, the common denominator is that the politicians are always full of shit.
;)
to all of you, cosmopolitan freaks, let me know what your ideal mix is!
too many things to say really. it started with sightseeing around firenze, lots of naps, and ended with a walk in the mountains, wasted at 4 am. miss danni rosner, met at long lake camp 7 years ago, was the host:
Note: Danni, as you'll probably get to discover.. is as self-centered as one could possibly be. It's therefore crucial to follow her wonderful country's ideology (the triple A): Always be the best, Always be seen, Always let them know that you're there.
Hence the obligation to put her alone, right at the middle of the post, while she is enjoying her pasta. I hope you'll understand.
Obviously, Firenze is full of very beautiful streets and monuments etc.. but it can get a little too much really and very easily resembles a disneyland amusement park, especially on an easter weekend ;) Following a way too long conversation with Fanlun Gong fanatics, we decided it would be safer to escape the crowd and go BBQ in a fantastic house on the hills of firenze...
So, once again, it started very soft, by getting introduced to a great cosmopolitan crowd of international firenze fanatics, drinking, and eating.
It continued with the creation of italian acronyms. VFC = vafanculo CV = cazzo vuoi? ..
Then, the wasted mexican lady decided that my lips deserved some Yves Saint Laurent red lipstick and decided to get to work. she regretted when I kissed her all over her cheeks. but is there any other way to get rid of it? ;)
It ended up with the creation of an official Pass-Out room, and a coming back home by foot, through the mountains, and with danni screaming, half passing out etc.. we even dared stopping in a bar half way through, with our blankets, that was majestic!
all my life, I will wish I was the one to invent this. water sports have always been my first passion but SADLY as I have never lived close to the sea, I get to practise too rarely !!!! I always dreamt of introducing new ways of practicing extreme sports. hydrofoil, even it is still at a very early stage, is a revolution in surfing and windsurfing, since it almost completely cancels the frictions between the board and the water. this innovation should allow windsurfers to reach new speed records (above 100 km/h?) and to even ride without much wind, as the board is now using the energy below the waves. This is going be incredible. just watch the video by yourself.. like riding on a cloud..
It is inevitable that surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing will melt into one sport. rush randle, along with laird hamilton are the most respected inventors in this field. here is rush talking about the hydrofoil:
needless to say, this has influenced my whole life ;)
I just love Dov Charney. It's not the first time I talk about him, but my admiration for him just keeps on growing.. He re-launched american apparel 5 years ago and has grown it to a $400 millions empire that just went public. He is by VERY far my biggest inspiration. All those hypocretical striped-suits CEOs that speak well while ripping off workers and consumers really got on my nerves.
Dov Charney is the evidence that it's possible to be capitalistic while doing good for society, be an excellent businessman while keeping a sense of humour and some creativity !!!!
He is in my view, the leader of our generation. Just look at him..
