October 21, 2010

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Believe it or not, the French continue to riot in the streets, shutting off refineries (closing 50% of the gasoline supply), and various forms of destruction because the government has the audacity to lengthen the pension benefit age from 60 to 62 years old. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, one protester named Pascal said, "I've not even started working yet, but I will now have to work longer-that is, if I can find a job." The youth of France then cannot find jobs and are free to protest for pension reforms while at the same time companies cannot afford to create jobs because of the cost of current pensions that is overwhelming them. The protests and riots that we are seeing in France, England (as Mr. Osborne, the youngest English Treasury chief, cuts government spending), Greece, Spain, and even Ecuador is a direct result of government programs and pensions gone haywire. We can watch from our vantage point and nervously laugh, but until we address our own ominous government costs, we may be viewing our future in real time. Stocks finished higher today but only after giving up much bigger, earlier gains.