If stupid is as stupid does then it’s clear Forrest Gump is running France.

Today the French government proposed a budget that includes a 75% tax rate on income assessed against the “super rich.”  Robbing Peter to pay Paul is utterly pointless and is a reminder of Margaret Thatcher’s wonderful comment about Socialism.  To paraphrase:  The problem with Socialism is eventually you run out of other people’s money.

This latest round of French economic ignorance harkens back to their solution for the unemployment problem.  Goodbye 40 hour workweek.  Hello 37.5 hour workweek.  Employers are dumb after all.  They’ll just hire more workers to get that extra 2.5 hours of work.  Wrong.  Employers closed up shop and left France.  French unemployment skyrocketed.

Do the French truly believe a 75% income tax rate isn’t going to have a similar result?  Such a tremendous economic disincentive will drive one of the largest brain drains ever witnessed.

With TRA 1986 Ronald Regan showed the path to increased revenue – cut rates and broaden the base.  Do the French not know or do they not care?

On a related point what does this say about President Obama’s proposals to raise rates on the “rich?”  Election Day is a bit more than a month away.  I sure hope I don’t have to learn to speak French.