Vive La France (Jul 14 - Bastille Day)_... And Its High Taxes (75%!) On The Wealthy

WNYC ^ | July 14, 2012 | Eleanor Beardsley

[Innovative]

As the French people celebrate their revolution on Saturday, Bastille Day, the founding principles — liberte, egalite and fraternite — seem to be alive and well.

New President Francois Hollande embraced equality on the campaign trail this spring. To reduce the French deficit, he proposed raising taxes on large corporations and the super-rich.

Hollande's proposal would slap a 75 percent tax rate on anyone making more than 1 million euros a year, a huge jump from the current rate. It would also reinstate some wealth taxes Sarkozy got rid of.

Many wealthy French have already gone abroad.

[Innovative]

Let's have "egalite" -- make everyone equally poor. What great idea.

And what happened to the "liberte" part?

[ILS21R]

Hollande's proposal would slap a 75 percent tax rate on anyone making more than 1 million euros a year, a huge jump from the current rate.

What could possibly go wrong?

Many wealthy French have already gone abroad.

Oh.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

Bastille Day...... I believe that’s the day the mobs broke into all the jails and let the criminals out who then proceeded to drag anybody connected with royalty or wealth to the guillotine and proceeded to cut their heads off and display them to the cheering crowds. Now there is a day to celebrate!

[IronJack]

Yeah, that was the start of it. But the real horror show began when the Jacobins and Robespierre launched the Reign of Terror.

[expat2]

But the top rate in the US was 90% in Kennedy’s first year (1961). He was smart enough to cut it to 70%.

[Verginius Rufus]

No, the mob just attacked one prison in Paris which had in previous times been a place political prisoners were held (but the 7 criminals there in 1789 were there for ordinary crimes). They wanted the ammunition stored there because of rumors that Louis XVI was going to attack Paris (the king was living in Versailles). The commander of the Bastille initially resisted and something like 98 people were killed before the place was overrun and the defenders killed.

Already one year later the anniversary was celebrated--the king and other adherents of the Old Regime were forced to pretend they were happy to celebrate the occasion.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the murder of Marat in 1793 by Charlotte Corday--Fox News ran a little piece on the anniversary. There is a famous painting by David honoring Marat. Marat was a virulent journalist (who would appear nightly on MSNBC if he were alive today, if he spoke English) who had voted for the execution of the king--Corday was an adherent of the more moderate Girondins.

[Slings and Arrows]

Rush - “Bastille Day”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekoxIb85rww

[RedMDer]

Click

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[Dr.Deth]

And how about that Republican Calendar... Nothing like giving pointy-headed academics unlimited power to implement their utopian ideals to remake society.

[Slings and Arrows]

It could be worse - we could be eating Lobster July.