The French government just announced a modest reform to its lavish welfare system. Because it can no longer afford the generous benefits being paid to retirees, French politicians showed some courage and raised the retirement age from 60 to 62 years old as the Washington Post reports:
The French government abandoned a sacred totem of its generous welfare system Wednesday to combat mounting deficits, announcing that workers soon will no longer have the right to retire at age 60 but will have to wait until they are 62.
Labor Minister Eric Woerth, who unveiled the long-debated change, said the move was made inevitable by Europeans’ lengthening life expectancy, the global economic crisis and an accumulation of government debt. His ministry has forecast a deficit of nearly $40 billion in the pension program this year as more people take payments and retirement taxes shrink because of the slowed economy.
Germany, Italy and Great Britain already have announced increases in their ages to 67 and 65 respectively. So it may seem as if the French still are behind the curve. However, raising the retirement age in France even two years is more than just symbolic. It is evidence of a seismic shift in entitlement spending as the article explains:
the political symbolism of retirement at 60 has remained particularly strong in France. Along with the 35-hour workweek, it was one of the main heritages of the Socialist government headed by President François Mitterrand in the 1980s. Since it was introduced in 1983, retirement at age 60 has come to be seen as an inalienable right, in the same category as paid vacations and health insurance.
True to form, French advocates of big government are threatening to repeal the increase in 2012.
For now, MAD is envious of the French because their elected officials have the courage to make hard choices that is so lacking from our members of Congress.
A big thanks to a MAD fan who sent me the link to this article. If you have an article that you think MAD readers and fans would enjoy, please send the link to amy@i2i.org.
Raise the social security retirement age? Perhaps a good idea but at least social security would be paid for if the politicians didn’t make it into a Ponzi scheme. The real problem is public unions and the military and their “unfunded” mandates. With the police, fire, military, etc you often retire at the age of 45 forcing others to pay for benefits that make social security look like a great investment. These retirement bonanzas are not funded in any way by the benefactors and make slaves of those that receive nothing.
June 20th, 2010 at 8:44 pm