This excellent article by Ellie Krasne-Cohen for the Daily Signal (yes, full disclosure a conservative-leaning publication) highlights the high taxes, “social charges”, and fines that underpin the French “socialist model” and “free stuff by government” society.
“An oft-repeated phrase among those favoring taxpayer-funded health care, day care, and pensions is that such programs are “free.” However, I recently moved to France, and paying my social charges and taxes proves these services are anything but.
I expected taxes to be higher, but I was unprepared for the limitations that France’s system places on individual choice.
In reality, France’s “free” social programs cost more than higher taxes. There’s a non-financial cost when it comes to access and control. Health care and child care are extremely personal choices, and Americans may not realize the degree to which Europeans sacrifice control to government bureaucrats.” writes Krasne-Cohen to begin the piece.
But the best parts, and most closely tied to MoCo’s present-day situation, are here, where she discusses childcare:
If you live in an area rife with housing projects (France requires that cities allot 25% of residencies to public housing), your child may not get into the day care center because low-income families get priority. If that’s the case, you must find another day care center or pay out of pocket for child care, even though you paid social charges [an additional mandatory fee that the author says is about $1,400 per month for her].
And also here where Krasne-Cohen discusses “off the books” labor, incentivized by ridiculous taxes and regulations that crush the working class and simply make tax avoidance a must for far too many people.
France’s onerous labor laws and employment taxes push workers into “off the books” employment, and consumers tend to gravitate toward cheap labor. That’s especially common in industries where people pay other people directly, like for domestic work.
Imagine Marianne, a housekeeper. If Marianne does so as a “full employee,” the family employing her pays 28-40 euros ($30-$43) per hour, of which she keeps roughly 12-15 euros. ($13-$16). If Marianne is “off the books,” however, she charges what she wants and keeps every cent. As such, some workers, especially immigrants and refugees, work “off the books.”
Each of these examples sounds pretty much like what occurs in Montgomery County, right now. We may not have county-run or “provided” day care, but the school system operates much like this. Some “choice” is introduced in various regions or school ‘clusters’ but if your family desires a certain program, like say a language-immersion program, and the slots are all filled up and you miss in the “lottery”…well too bad. You are on the outside looking in. Your property taxes will still be hiked. You will still pay – you just won’t get the public services you thought the taxes were supposed to be supporting. Unless you “know someone” who knows someone. Wink wink. Or you are an aspiring Councilmember with some time to burn and can threaten a lawsuit to get your kids into your preferred program… lottery be darned.
When it comes to “off the books” labor and tax avoidance — nobody, not even the County Council nor the central planners at the MoCo planning board, can deny this is occurring daily in Montgomery County right now. Despite the millions spent on “Day Laborer Sites” all across this county.
Go to (nearly) any Home Depot in the county and look and see the men waiting outside on the grounds of the store, waiting to be picked up for a quick daily job site. They certainly aren’t filling out W-2s or getting instructions on tax withholding by human resources. They are working off-books and keeping every penny. Seems unfair to the person / small business trying to offer landscaping, house painting or basic carpentry the right way and with the correct taxes filed and with-held. Why even bother?
The politicians and the ‘chief administrators’ of MoCo? They don’t really have to navigate these issues. They get paid, in some instances, 600% more than the median income of a Montgomery County working class person. They have all the options available to them – public, private, etc.
Comme on fait son lit, on se couche.
“You’ve made your bed, now lie on it.”
