Crowds filled the streets in France: cheering, waving flags, playing music, shouting. Passions suddenly soared; festive shouts turned into angry ones. Cars were set on fire, police threw tear gas at groups of students, mobs reacted in random displays of violence. This scene has been the chaotic state of France during the past few weeks. Why the protests? The French government has been planning a reform to increase the retirement age from 60 to 62, which means retirees must wait two more years before they can claim their pensions. Entitlement programs - like these pensions - have caused the French to become dependent on their government, making even necessary reforms next to impossible.
The change caused an uproar among union members and the public at large. Massive protests shut down the nation's schools, businesses and public services the week preceding and during the voting period. Additionally, massive gas shortages plagued the country and compounded the gridlock.
But this reform is necessary and in fact does not go far enough, according to The Economist. The Eurozone economy has already experienced significant complications during the current economic crisis. The Eurozone, which includes France, already had to pay a hefty sum when Greece defaulted on its debt earlier this year. Portugal and Ireland also came close to defaulting. The Irish government had to pass substantial austerity measures, thus slashing large portions of its budget. The French government, meanwhile, like those of many wealthy countries, is plagued with high spending and massive debt. These countries must fund massive entitlement programs with lacking or nonexistent funds.
Faced with these pressing issues, the protests in France are ridiculous; they are shutting down the country because of dismay about only two more years of work. This is why creating substantial entitlement programs is so problematic. Once created, they are incredibly hard to reform or eradicate. The French are heavily dependent on government for almost everything they do: health care, education, retirement and even leisure time. For example, the French government mandates that every worker is entitled to at least five weeks of paid vacation annually. In compariison, the American government does not issue any mandated vacation period and its citizens are perceived as workaholics. The problem with maintaining generous entitlements and mandated leisure time is, of course, sustainability. Someone has to pay for these benefits, but the task becomes increasingly difficult with an aging population and a work force that often does not hold jobs.
The French have become dependent on these benefits and feel entitled to them. The protests in France were not only in opposition to the additional two years, but also out of fear that politicians may reduce other entitlements, as well, French journalist Bernard-Henri Levy said. The French people feel that their representatives are ignoring their wishes and possibly destroying their livelihood. This is not, however, the case. Politicians know the government will not be able to support these entitlements. In fact, the pension program already has a 32 billion euro deficit. The French want generous benefits without putting in the time to pay for them, which is a dangerous course of action that could lead to default and cause significant economic turbulence.
We face similar problems in the United States. An enormous deficit, considerable debt and entitlement programs - such as social security, Medicare and Medicaid
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