So, at least the French still understand social and fiscal responsibility

[Cain]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/daily-mix/please-tax-us-french-super-rich-tell-government/article2138404/

Some of France's richest people, including the billionaire heiress of L'Oreal SA and the head of oil major Total SA, urged the government to tax them more to help solve the country's financial problems.

In a petition published on the website of weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur on Tuesday, 16 company executives, business leaders and super-rich individuals called for the creation of a "special contribution" that would target wealth without forcing the rich to quit France for overseas tax havens.

The petition, whose signatories included L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and Total chief Christophe de Margerie, follows a call by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett for U.S. authorities to raise taxes on himself and other ultra-high earners to contribute to austerity efforts.

In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy is already planning to axe some tax exemptions that benefit the wealthy as he seeks some €5-billion ($7.2-billion) to €10-billion in extra revenue in the 2012 budget following a market rout that has highlighted concern over French public finances.

Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse said this month the government was working on a new contribution from taxpayers earning more than €1-million a year.

"We are conscious of having benefited from a French system and a European environment that we are attached to and which we hope to help maintain," said the petition, signed by chief executives including Maurice Levy of advertising company Publicis Group SA, Frederic Oudea of bank Société Générale and Jean-Cyril Spinetta, president of Air France KLM SA.

I'm becoming more and more convinced that, so long as I can remove my sense of smell, France is a place I could live in, and would serve my long term prospects better than Britain or Australia.  There are other contenders, of course, but France has the benefit of being close and a place I can speak the language of.

[Jenne]

This, among other things, is why the GOP calls them "Freedom Fries"...they HATE hearing stories like this. 

"Socialism" is a dirty word to Tea Baggers and GOPers.

[Adios]

This, among other things, is why the GOP calls them "Freedom Fries"...they HATE hearing stories like this. 

"Socialism" is a dirty word to Tea Baggers and GOPers.

Socialists? More like Patriots I think.

[Jenne]

Yes, but rightwingers see ANY redistribution of funds from the rich as socialism.

TAXES are socialism.

Taxes.

[Salty]

Wait...you mean they don't want to suck out every last drop of vitality that keeps their economy going so they continue to benefit from it in the long term instead of sitting on piles of worthless paper underneath a drained and broken host?

Will the French never learn?!

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

This, among other things, is why the GOP calls them "Freedom Fries"...they HATE hearing stories like this. 

"Socialism" is a dirty word to Tea Baggers and GOPers.

Socialists? More like Patriots I think.

What kind of Patriot actually helps his country? A true Patriot thinks only of his free market obligation to fuck over as many people as possible.

[Cain]

To be fair to the USA, some of your ultra-rich, in particular Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, have said similar things.

On the other hand, it's not like either party has actually listened to them, like they seem to be doing in France.

[Adios]

To be fair to the USA, some of your ultra-rich, in particular Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, have said similar things.

On the other hand, it's not like either party has actually listened to them, like they seem to be doing in France.

Nor will they.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

Here in America we protect our wealthy from such mundane and common things like taxes.  We wouldn't want them to feel they weren't the chosen ones..... 

[P3nT4gR4m]

The French aristocracy have experience of what happens to them if they don't do something to help in this kind of situation. Call it protection money. If you pay it upfront there may be a reduced risk of an angry mob sticking your head on a bloody spike. The US aristocracy, oto, have no experience of this kind of thing so their default choice is likely to be much more lulzy and guillotine-based 

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

I can think of more than a few of America's rich who wouldn't even miss their heads.....

[PopeTom]

The French aristocracy have experience of what happens to them if they don't do something to help in this kind of situation. Call it protection money. If you pay it upfront there may be a reduced risk of an angry mob sticking your head on a bloody spike. The US aristocracy, oto, have no experience of this kind of thing so their default choice is likely to be much more lulzy and guillotine-based 

The The US aristocracy were the ones to ferment rebellion so they wouldn't have to pay taxes in the first place.

[Bruno]

I think it's very American of us to give proportionate representation for taxation.

I mean, the government should be working for the rich, right? They're the ones paying for it!

In other words; it's their country, we're just living in it.