As usual, the government budget deficit for 2023 is turning out to be worse than expected, at 5.6% of gross domestic product, instead of 4.9%.
As usual, we're told that we'll do better next time.
But during this debate, a statement by the President of the Republic—which was not intended to be made public—deserves attention.
Our president did indeed state that this latest budget shortfall was not due to excessive spending, but to insufficient revenue.
According to this line of reasoning, the problem to be solved would therefore not be to adjust spending, but to adjust revenue.
However, there are only three ways to influence revenue:
- raise taxes and social security contributions
- increase debt
- accelerate economic growth
Yet, on a global scale, France stands out as the country with the highest per capita taxes and social security contributions, and as one of the countries with the heaviest debt burdens, resulting in interest payments equal to the education budget.
All that remains is to boost economic growth—a promise that has been made for nearly 15 years, with no results.
The harsh realities of international competition—particularly from China—mean we can no longer afford to daydream about this.
As for spending, we all know full well that, for many years now, additional resources have been needed for health care, education, housing, and so on: but France is also the country with the highest ratio of public spending to GDP (57%), with results that satisfy neither users, nor civil servants, nor elected officials, nor the budget.
It is up to each of us to answer the political question that cannot be avoided today:
Should France continue to pour money into the bottomless pit of increasingly inefficient public spending, or should it thoroughly overhaul a social model that has long since failed—a failure that has come at the expense of the most vulnerable and the future of the entire country?
To ask the question is to answer it.
Maurice Laouchez
