davefoc
Philosopher
Originally Posted by CBL4:
Originally Posted by FLO:
Of course it isn't that simple, but there is something to what CBL4 has said. Unfortunately, democratic governments often pander to the economic theories of the less informed.
The unintended consequences of legislation aimed at promoting economic justice can be severe. France has implemented poliicies that guarantee high unemployment rates. And high unemployment rates encourage employers to discriminate. And in this case employers discriminate against a section of the population they judge to be more risky, i.e. muslims and particularly recent immigrant muslims.
Milton Friedman, in this book, Capitalism and Freedom, talked about something exactly like this when strong union protection was instituted in the US. Employers which had routinely hired blacks then found it advantageous not to do so. Per force, unions raised wages above market rates which created a surplus of workers. Employers which had routinely hired blacks now found it advantageous not to do so. Unions needed to reduce the pool of workers because there were now more workers than jobs and unions decided that the blacks were in the group to lose their jobs.
Of course, Flo was right that it isn't this simple. The US has had some very severe riots and the overall US unemployment rates are much lower than France's. On the other hand some of the most severe riots have occurred in Detroit, a town that unions have almost destroyed.
Originally Posted by FLO:
Of course it isn't that simple, but there is something to what CBL4 has said. Unfortunately, democratic governments often pander to the economic theories of the less informed.
The unintended consequences of legislation aimed at promoting economic justice can be severe. France has implemented poliicies that guarantee high unemployment rates. And high unemployment rates encourage employers to discriminate. And in this case employers discriminate against a section of the population they judge to be more risky, i.e. muslims and particularly recent immigrant muslims.
Milton Friedman, in this book, Capitalism and Freedom, talked about something exactly like this when strong union protection was instituted in the US. Employers which had routinely hired blacks then found it advantageous not to do so. Per force, unions raised wages above market rates which created a surplus of workers. Employers which had routinely hired blacks now found it advantageous not to do so. Unions needed to reduce the pool of workers because there were now more workers than jobs and unions decided that the blacks were in the group to lose their jobs.
Of course, Flo was right that it isn't this simple. The US has had some very severe riots and the overall US unemployment rates are much lower than France's. On the other hand some of the most severe riots have occurred in Detroit, a town that unions have almost destroyed.
