France General Discussion III: Tout doit disparaître

[dead0man]

wait wait wait....there is a law in France saying all motorists must have a yellow safety vest?  Yeah, I'd riot too.

[dead0man]

and what's the punishment if you get caught without spare light bulbs or towing line?  Are these things checked for every time you get pulled over?  Part of a regular inspection?

[dead0man]

I'm usually against overregulation, but I definitely think the US should also introduce something like this, since the Deaths/100,000 Cars ratio is greater than in developed EU countries, so it could maybe help, and it probably wouldn't have any large drawbacks.

Three things I think that would make this hard to pull off in the US:
A.we like freedom more than Europe
2.this seems like it would be an excuse to hassle poor people
III.would give cops a legit reason to look in trunks (triangulating the first two)


I believe most (all?) states have a law saying vehicles must be kept in good and safe working condition, but I think it's usually only applied after an accident caused by whatever it was that wasn't in good and safe working condition.

[dead0man]

I definitely understand the difference, and you're right, maybe this type of regulation is not suited for the States, although I feel like some things, like the driving rules on the interstate should be changed to those of the Autobahn, i.e. go to the left lane only if you are going faster than the other cars or overtaking, and stick to the right lane if you are driving the same speed as others. I watched a lot of close call and accident videos where lane switching for no reason (or however it's called) caused accidents.

These rules make it safe even when the speed limit (or no speed limit at all) is higher than in the US since it's a more controlled and predictable way of driving overall.

The sad part is, that IS the rule here in most states.  The amount of time we waste sitting in traffic we wouldn't have to if people just used proper lane discipline is huge.

[dead0man]

However, the better "discipline" in EU countries is most likely due to mandatory driving lessons. In Austria (and even Bosnia), you can't just go do your test and be on your way. You need to pay a driving school for mandatory lessons, including theory and practice (16 Driving hours minimum), where your instructor must take you to drive on the highway and in the city, basically drilling in the rules.

When it's all said and done, a driving license will end up costing you $1600+, but I guess that's the price for more discipline on the roads.

I'd have no problem with making it harder to get here, but not that expensive in costs.  Just make the test hard and more often, as it should be anyway.

I'm 45, have gotten many speeding tickets (at least 25, if not 35) and haven't taken a driving test since I was 16 and haven't taken a written test since I was 21.  I've not been in an accident that was my fault since I was 17, so that might help (and why my insurance is still reasonable), but still, crazy they haven't tested me in the last 24 years and 4 states.

[dead0man]

whoa whoa whoa.....60% of the cost of fuel in France is tax.  On top of all the other taxes you pay, no wonder regular folk are pissed.  A gas tax doesn't really hurt rich folks living in cities too much, but the "sans dents" take it in the gut.  They take in the gut enough, eventually they'll come for the ones punching them.


The French need tax relief and loosened economic rules.

Well, that's effectively killed any movement toward a nationwide carbon tax here in the United States if there ever was one.  What Democratic trifecta wants to deal with a taxpayer revolt? 

see, there is some good news!

[dead0man]

The problem, again, is that the anger of common people is fully justified when there's no solidarity in the effort. In other words: the rich must pay more taxes than the poor, by an amount proportional to the wealth they possess.

they don't?  Rich people in France don't pay the vast majority of income taxes?  Did they learn this from the Greeks?  Sure, regressive taxes like sin and gas taxes should be axed or at least greatly reduced, which is what the protesters are protesting about, no?

[dead0man]

The problem, again, is that the anger of common people is fully justified when there's no solidarity in the effort. In other words: the rich must pay more taxes than the poor, by an amount proportional to the wealth they possess.

they don't?  Rich people in France don't pay the vast majority of income taxes?  Did they learn this from the Greeks?  Sure, regressive taxes like sin and gas taxes should be axed or at least greatly reduced, which is what the protesters are protesting about, no?

He "reformed" the wealth tax, which in practice meant a massive tax cut for the richest - that, the fact that Macron is considered as being the "president of the rich" is one of the underlying factors driving the protests.

But otherwise, yeah, the petrol tax in particular hurts lower income people who tend to live outside the major cities - and are more car reliant.

For me at least, ideologically speaking, climate change is a massive problem; but it is a problem that is mainly caused by the rich - so passing the cost of it on to the poor at the same time as giving tax cuts to rich people is outrageous.

is wiki lying to me when it says people that make more than €72k pay 41% of it to the govt in income taxes?  That ain't even rich!