I think you also need to throw the higher rate of taxation into the mix. The French accept that paying more taxes results in greater benefits across the board - more "free" healthcare, with government coverage for dental care and medical prescriptions , more money to fund schools and daycares, an efficient and comprehensive system of public transit, more funding for home improvements and energy-efficient cars....... the list goes on and on. And of course, paying more taxes funds a more generous government pension plan.
There's a sense of common purpose and equality of status, whatever your profession or earning capabilities, that is taken for granted in France, even with the constant grumbling aimed at whichever government is in power, and more importatnly there's a belief and trust on both sides that the French government's responsibility to act for the benefit of French citizens to improve their daily lives. I don't feel this contract still exists in Canada.
In Canada there are two opposing sides, with the government holding all the aces. I hear a sense of helplessness -"Well, but what can you do?" - that I haven't heard here, where history instructs everybody that things can really be changed, and change quickly, Power to the peoplr is a reality.
Government's sense of responsibility in France is a big factor. But honestly, do you think Canadians would ever consent to the much higher taxes people pay at all income levels in France, whithout which none of the benefits of better healthcare, schools, infrastructure and social safety nets would be possible? There's a trust here that life is better with higher taxes, but there's no trust left in Canada. And rightly so.
I think you also need to throw the higher rate of taxation into the mix. The French accept that paying more taxes results in greater benefits across the board - more "free" healthcare, with government coverage for dental care and medical prescriptions , more money to fund schools and daycares, an efficient and comprehensive system of public transit, more funding for home improvements and energy-efficient cars....... the list goes on and on. And of course, paying more taxes funds a more generous government pension plan.
There's a sense of common purpose and equality of status, whatever your profession or earning capabilities, that is taken for granted in France, even with the constant grumbling aimed at whichever government is in power, and more importatnly there's a belief and trust on both sides that the French government's responsibility to act for the benefit of French citizens to improve their daily lives. I don't feel this contract still exists in Canada.
In Canada there are two opposing sides, with the government holding all the aces. I hear a sense of helplessness -"Well, but what can you do?" - that I haven't heard here, where history instructs everybody that things can really be changed, and change quickly, Power to the peoplr is a reality.
Government's sense of responsibility in France is a big factor. But honestly, do you think Canadians would ever consent to the much higher taxes people pay at all income levels in France, whithout which none of the benefits of better healthcare, schools, infrastructure and social safety nets would be possible? There's a trust here that life is better with higher taxes, but there's no trust left in Canada. And rightly so.