A Brilliant Idea: Introduce More Taxes
Obviously, Shinzo Abe is not the only economic genius populating the global political scene. There is one man in Europe who has become known for both his perpetually slightly confused mien and his astonishing (for a politician) propensity to keep electoral promises, especially when they concern tax hikes that invariably worsen his country's economic contraction.
We are of course referring to Francois Hollande, as the title of this post already indicates, whom Gaspard Koenig once characterized so trenchantly as “the ultimate – and probably also terminal – embodiment of the European-style Welfare State”.
One can always hope on that 'terminal' point.
Hollande is – similar to many of his predecessors – apparently very concerned about keeping France's unique cultural heritage alive and kicking, even if that means he has to invent and/or raise a few more taxes here or there. Some people might of course be inclined to allege that he has found yet another justification for extending the State's rapacious claws further into its citizens' pockets. Naturally only people who don't understand the urgency of defending France's embattled culture from the onslaught of evil free markets with any and all means at the government's disposal would say such a thing.
How to Guarantee “Cultural Exception”
As the Guardian reports, ubiquitous electronic gadgets of US and Asian provenance are henceforth to be taxed by the French government as part of its culture war:
“The French president, François Hollande, is considering a tax on smartphones, laptops and tablets to finance the country's celebrated "cultural exception".
The money raised from a 1% tax on all devices that connect to the internet, estimated at around €86m (£73m) a year, would be spent on supporting French music, images and film.
This latest proposed tax rise was among 75 suggested measures presented to Hollande on Monday by a special culture committee that has spent nine months examining ways to "protect the cultural exception… in the face of digital innovation".
(emphasis added)
That's right: it took a 'special culture committee' nine months to come up with this brilliant idea. Who knows what else they might come up with if they had the opportunity to stretch their deliberations out by a few more months? As you will see further below, they have actually also managed to propose at least one really good idea, but we'll keep that for last.
