

France's birthday gift to 18y-olds: A subscription to the newspaper of their choice - daviday
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jMYtLJV_oGyGm7De9_uOKj0W2IKgD95SVKVO1

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tjic
It's not a gift to 18yr olds. It's a gift to the newspaper industry.

~~~
numair
Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion, but most significantly wealthy people I
know read the newspaper (usually, several newspapers), and I think keeping up-
to-date on the world around you is an important part of being a successful
member of society (regardless of whether we define that as monetary,
intellectual, etc). As such, I would have to say that this is really a gift to
the 18 year olds.

I often try to explain to my friends in Northern Europe (who are in their late
teens, early 20s) that the average American doesn't read the newspaper. They
really don't believe me, but then they start to think about it and realize
that this is one of the reasons we have such a ridiculous political system.
When you have a large populace that doesn't read, their source of news is
entirely through sound bites; thus, everything becomes dumbed down and
sensational (for example, Howard Dean yells at an event and is suddenly no
longer a viable political candidate? WTF?).

You can't have a working democracy in a land of illiterates.

~~~
Tichy
\- why not read newspapers on the internet?

\- newspapers are not in the business to inform, they are in the business of
selling newspapers

\- often newspapers are owned by entities with their own interests, who by use
of the newspaper try to manipulate public opinion

~~~
yummyfajitas
Newspapers are in the business of selling ads. They only require you to buy
the newspaper as a filter to make sure you don't take a newspaper without
reading it.

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simon_kun
Does a state that shores up an ailing media form because of personal links and
dresses it up as a "present for the children" not bother anyone a tiny bit?
Newspapers are dead, get over it.

~~~
run4yourlives
Well, given auto-bailouts, what state _isn't_ shoring up ailing businesses
these days?

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gravitycop
Automobiles still serve useful purposes. What useful purpose does print media
serve?

~~~
bk
Reach. You'll reach people who otherwise wouldn't (have) access (to)
comparable information.

I'd even go as far as arguing that informed citizens on public transportation
are better than uninformed ones in cars.

This is besides the politics behind this particular decision.

~~~
simon_kun
Yeah, but 18yr olds?! come on!!

~~~
gravitycop
The idea is to foster lifetime media-consumption. From the article:

 _That initiative appeared designed to assuage industry fears that young
readers don't share the same appetite for print media that their parents and
grandparents have, denting current and future revenues.

"The habit of reading the press is learned very young," Sarkozy said_

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dhimes
Let's see. How can I get the press to write nice things about me? Oh, I have
an idea....

~~~
bingaman
Still, not a bad idea (shit, it's working!)

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friism
We have have a similar thing in Denmark, it's called "stamp-support" (due do
the cost of distributing). The logic goes that print media still serves as
feeder for stories that eventually gets published online and therefore
newspapers should get special support.

I remain unconvinced.

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jerf
This doesn't matter.

I have a "free" subscription to my local paper. In this case, this means my
"free" subscription is tossed like so much litter on my driveway every few
days and if I could stop it, I would. I certainly don't _read_ it; it simply
goes in the trash. About once a month, a headline catches my eye and I read it
as far as I can without taking it out of the bag (too much work), _then_ toss
it.

Newspapers aren't dying because nobody can afford them... or lack access in
any other way. This solves the wrong problem. 18yos are _very aware_ of the
state of newspapers and are unlikely to change their minds as the result of
_more_ information.

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jobeirne
The joke's on French taxpayers!

~~~
icey
How funny, I came in here to ask about French taxes. Is there anyone here who
can tell us what the French generally pay annually in taxes? I'm paying almost
40% of my annual income in taxes in the US, and in exchange I don't get health
care, I don't get paternity leave paid for by the government, and I sure as
hell didn't get a newspaper subscription when I turned any age.

~~~
Xixi
It's not that easy to calculate (and most French people probably don't even
know), because it's quite obfuscated...

For healthcare, retirement, various helps for unemployed people and other
social benefits, companies are paying roughly the equivalent of your net
income directly to the state. The so called "charges".

Then according to your revenues you will pay between 0 and 50% of your net
income in tax (it's maxed out to 50%). For your average software engineer with
a master degree, probably around 30%.

So that's a total of 65%. Hardly ever less than 50%, and hardly ever more than
75%.

Now the real obfuscation comes from the so-called "charges". They are payed by
companies so some people consider them part of company tax. I don't, because
"charges" are tied to an employee... fire him/her and you won't have to pay
them.

The double obfuscation on "charges" is that only a part of them is showed on
the payroll... so most people tend to see them as lower than they actually
are.

And then the VTA is 19.6%... So yes, French people pay an incredible amount of
tax. And wages are not even high to begin with (much lower than in the United
States, at least NYC where I used to be working).

Then again, nearly free education and nearly free healthcare is nice too...
the "Grande Ecole" I went to, top tier, was 800 euros a year. Books and all
materials included in the price. Definitely affordable.

~~~
Zev
I'm assuming VTA is really VAT? And if so, isn't that an EU tax, not a French
one?

~~~
baltoo
VAT is for each member state. There are common rules on how to handle things
when products cross borders in different ways, but the taxes themselves are
lifted by each member state and the actual percentage differs between product
groups and member states.

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mynameishere
_In a speech to industry leaders, Sarkozy said it was legitimate for the state
to consider the print media's economic situation.

"It is indeed its responsibility ... to make sure an independent, free and
pluralistic press exists," he said._

...he then ate a baby and declared his responsibility to not corrupt children.

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helveticaman
Awesome...I mean, sure, a part of me dislikes government anything, but if they
have to promote education, this is a pretty sweet way of doing it.

~~~
corentin
What in hell makes people think that reading a French newspaper is in any way
"education"?

We're not talking about "The Economist" here...

~~~
galactus
I almost never comment on this forum, but reading this just made me
laugh/cringe. I lived in France for seven years and I now live in Canada
(where I read mostly american magazines/newspapers). One of the things I miss
from France is the quality of mainstream newspapers and magazines compared to
what I get here. "The Economist" is such a superficial magazine compared to,
say, Alternatives Economiques, which you can find in any, _any_ french "tabac"
(well, it's not exactly the same kind of magazine, but using "The Economist"
as an example of a good magazine that the french could not produce outraged
me).

Fortunately there is always Harper's and The Atlantic on this side of the
ocean.

~~~
gaius
Then, umm, why is the French economy in such a poor state?

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galactus
uh... the french newspapers can not be good because the french economy is "in
such a poor state"? I dont quite follow your reasoning.

Anyway, let me quote Krugman on the french economy:

"let's ask how the situation of a typical middle-class family in France
compares with that of its American counterpart. The French family, without
question, has lower disposable income. This translates into lower personal
consumption: a smaller car, a smaller house, less eating out. But there are
compensations for this lower level of consumption. Because French schools are
good across the country, the French family doesn't have to worry as much about
getting its children into a good school district. Nor does the French family,
with guaranteed access to excellent health care, have to worry about losing
health insurance or being driven into bankruptcy by medical bills. Perhaps
even more important, however, the members of that French family are
compensated for their lower income with much more time together. Fully
employed French workers average about seven weeks of paid vacation a year. In
America, that figure is less than four. So which society has made the better
choice?."

~~~
gaius
Altho' your French economics magazine may be appear to be of a high quality,
perhaps it is printed on very nice paper, clearly that doesn't necessarily
translate into high quality thinking behind it. It is like a French pastry,
regardless of the quality, it is all air. Give me an English pudding any day.

~~~
corentin
You're right about the magazine but you're dead, dead wrong about the pastry.
Come on...

edit: I don't know if you're talking about the real french pastry you can buy
in any village in France or what passes for french pastry anywhere else in the
world. It's not the french name or the tricolor flag on the packaging that
makes the quality.

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gojomo
Related idea: maybe we should stop collecting sales tax on books.

TV and the internet are great but long-form books seem to play a special role
in the development of 'human capital' -- competence, expertise, and civil
values.

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corentin
To start with, in France, you'd have to remove price control on books...

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pclark
worthy of simplyhappynews.com - what an inspiring and ingenious idea.

~~~
pclark
sorry, I'm not sure why I thought I'd write that comment. /headslap :)

