Incentives Matter: Sad Anecdotes From a Sapped France

The French “lost
generation” story has become a
journalistic (and
cinematic) genre onto itself, as the population of
funny-accented expats swells in more dynamic places like New York,

London,
Los Angeles, and
Hong Kong. This big Newsweek take
on the topic, by a Brit named Janine di Giovanni who moved to
France with her Gallic husband a decade ago, provides a valuable
snapshot of what it looks like on the inside of a country slowly
but surely leaking its energy. 

Though it rests on anecdotes from unnamed locals, the piece (for
me, anyway) contains the strong ring of familiarity, while also
providing a cautionary tale of what might happen if certain
American polities decide to
go more French. Excerpt:

As a new mother, I was surprised at the many state benefits to
be had if you filled out all the forms: Diapers were free; nannies
were tax-deductible; free nurseries existed in every neighborhood.
State social workers arrived at my door to help me “organize my
nursery.” My son’s school lunch consists of three courses, plus a
cheese plate. 

But some of it is pure waste. The French state also paid for all
new mothers, including me, to see a physical therapist twice a week
to get our stomachs toned again. […]

When I began to look around, I saw people taking wild advantage
of the system. I had friends who belonged to trade unions, which
allowed them to take entire summers off and collect 55 percent
unemployment pay. From the time he was an able-bodied 30-year-old,
a cameraman friend worked five months a year and spent the
remaining seven months collecting state subsidies from the comfort
of his house in the south of France.

Another banker friend spent her three-month paid maternity leave
sailing around Guadeloupe – as it is part of France, she continued
to receive all the benefits.

Yet another banker friend got fired, then took off nearly three
years to find a new job, because the state was paying her so long
as she had no job. “Why not? I deserve it,” she said when I
questioned her. “I paid my benefits into the system.” Hers is an
attitude widely shared.

It’s a pretty comfy system for non-ambitious people who are able
to find work. The problem is that the number of those people

continues to shrink, while the potentially job-creating
ambitious seek a meaningful life elsewhere.

Whole thing
here.