Authored by Thomas Kolbe via American Thinker,
Tax-advantaged bonds reserved for French citizens, a debt write-off at the ECB, or shifting part of the bill onto the Germans -- France's approach to its national debt is at times creative, at times brazen. Above all, this curious collection of ideas reveals complete helplessness in dealing with public finances.
When societies drift toward central planning and state-run economies, only nuances separate political clownery from its disastrous real-world consequences.
Political initiative turns into permanent intervention -- and eventually, the resources run out.
At the moment when fiscal reality hits, political elites appear overwhelmed and helpless.
France, in particular, has taken its state-run economy and welfare system a long way. The latter has settled over society like a sedative. In its naïve belief in the omnipotence of the state, the country has spiraled into a debt trap.
In an effort to create some financial breathing room, the parliamentary LIOT group (Libertés, Indépendants, Outre-mer et Territoires) presented an unusual proposal. It wants to raise a kind of citizen loan worth 50 billion euros, financed through government bonds available exclusively to French citizens. An interest rate of 3.5 percent is supposed to channel French savings into this financing vehicle, which would also guarantee tax-free interest payments.
With a maturity of ten years and an inflation rate that has now climbed above three percent in France
