Ln March 26, INSEE revealed the amount of the public deficit for the year 2023: 154 billion euros, or 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). Every year, the debt grows, and each new crisis makes it jump. The debt-to-GDP ratio thus rose from 69.7% to 84% between 2008 and 2009 following the subprime crisis, then from 97.9% to 114.9% between 2019 and 2020 following the Covid-19 pandemic. .
It is time to take courageous steps to reduce this debt. How can we achieve this without compromising growth and increasing inequalities? Preserving growth means not resorting to tax increases, as they would reduce the incentive to work, educate and train, and risk leading to a flight of talent abroad.
France is already one of the countries in the world where taxes are the highest and where the number of hours worked is the lowest. But in terms of public spending, France’s downgrading in education and health does not argue in favor of a new budget reduction. In the current geopolitical context, the same goes for defense. Who then must repay what has not been paid?
We propose to make greater contributions to retirees, for reasons of economic efficiency and social justice. Let us remember that current retirees have been the main beneficiaries of the public debt contracted over the last fifty years, and of the recent “whatever it takes” intended to preserve their health.
The poverty rate in France decreases with age
As the State lived on credit, they benefited more from public spending over this period than they contributed. This allowed this generation to build up significant wealth, while property prices and real interest rates were particularly low. For economic efficiency, placing the effort on retirees rather than on workers will preserve the incentive to work and support growth.
On the inequality front, it should be noted that the poverty rate in France decreases considerably with age. It stands at 22.7% among those aged 18-24, which corresponds to the average for European Union countries, compared to 8.6% among those aged 65 or over, one of the lowest rates. of Europe. In 2019, Emmanuel Macron made the promise “for each euro contributed, the same pension right for everyone”.
However, if we compare the contributions paid and the pensions received over a lifetime, we see that the return for each euro contributed is around 2.5% for the generations born in the 1950s, compared to only 1.75%. for cohorts born after 1970. The social security code stipulates that “insured persons benefit from fair treatment with regard to the duration of retirement as well as the amount of their pension, whatever (…) the generation to which they belong”.
You have 39.34% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.