Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 2
things are just fine in France and Europe.
Is this report factually inaccurate? Thank you.
" France's Fiscal Death Spiral: A Nation Incapable Of Reform
Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
Saturday, Dec 13, 2025 - 05:10 AM
Submitted By Thomas Kolbe
What is now unfolding in France may soon drag the entire Eurozone into deep turmoil. The country is staggering through a fiscal crisis while locked in a political stalemate that seems impossible to break. In the bond market, the clock is ticking loudly as France’s public debt spirals out of control."
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/frances-fiscal...
No. of Recommendations: 0
Does this sound like another country we know and love? Does either party care? 💕☮️” This decision exposes the deep political denial embedded in France’s leadership: they continue living at the expense of future generations, consuming economic substance that no longer exists. France has become fundamentally incapable of reform and is drifting straight into a severe fiscal crisis.
This year’s budget deficit is roughly 5.6% of GDP. The government’s wildly optimistic projection for next year is 5%. With huge gaps in the social accounts, no one can explain how this number could be reached. It is pure fantasy. A far more realistic expectation is a deficit between 6% and 7%.”
No. of Recommendations: 1
“ The U.S. federal budget deficit as a percentage of GDP was around 6.4% in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, with estimates showing it hovering near that level (around 6.2-6.3%). Projections for FY 2025 suggest a similar range, though estimates vary slightly, with some forecasting it around 6.2% of GDP. This follows a period where deficits have been elevated, exceeding 5% of GDP in many years since the 2007 recession, notes USAFacts. “ Good luck to our kids and grandkids.
No. of Recommendations: 39
It's true that the French are notoriously difficult to govern. The fiscal situation is certainly poor, and there is a lot of debt. I would say offhand that it's a pinch better than that of the US financial situation in a few ways. The two exceptions are that (a) the debt is not issued in a currency they control, so they can't inflate/debase it away and (b) tax at all levels of government is already fairly high as a percent of GDP. Fairly steady for 40 years at around 43%. The US is around 25-26%, so modest tax increases would fix things fairly quickly.
A cynic might overgeneralize that, from a very great distance, the financial bonus from the end of the cold war was reallocated to social benefits in Europe (which now can't be taken away even if the military budget needs to be reinstated), whereas in the US it was reallocated to rich people, largely through tax cuts (which now can't be taken away because they have a lot of power).
Jim
No. of Recommendations: 1
...ahem... Greece 2009 anyone?
What is now unfolding in France may soon drag the entire Eurozone into deep turmoil.
No. of Recommendations: 1
This time it's all about the FIGs (France, Italy and Germany)
