apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

In America, it's easier to get credit than it is to demand a fair wage, and the corporations like it that way.

married to debt- the American way...

It's also very hard to start a business, even a small one, in France. Working for the government or in a state-protected job is so much easier that most people settle for that.

But don't kid yourselves about the French economy. From the piece linked above:

"France's rate of growth is horribly sluggish - this year it looks set to hover around just 1%, meaning its likely to be way off target for meeting its promise to the EU to bring its budget deficit back under control by 2012. "

France's economy will collapse when the number of pensioners exceeds the number of people working and paying taxes. Then they'll either need to grow the economy or people will learn to pinch a lot tighter.

So basically it isn't that they're smart spenders, they are restricted from living beyond their means by outside forces.

There was just an article today about Sarkosy and the Brits dealing with their economic woes... just skimmed it, but we are definitely not the only ones.

But we're Number One!!!

Plus your economic woes create economic woes for other major markets

Nice to be #1 at something, just not having the largest debt per capita. Eventually the price has to be paid.

No one here (in France) is totally reassured, even if we try not to think about it, and there are several rumors concerning leading French banks.

No question Americans are addicted to debt in order to fuel a consumerist lifestyle...and no doubt it's bad for the country. But restricting access to debt slows growth, as the French exemplify. We need a happy medium.

well we could slow down some and they could speed up some.

To be honest, if we did things like the French, we won't have AT telling us every other post, "here, another thing you can buy!" Credit--it hurts so bad, but feels so good.

Before we do the "our America lifestyle is (something negative)", we need to realize that we have a lot to learn from the French and vice versa. Yes, we are now paying for our dependence on credit, but the French have been paying for their overregulation for quite some time now: slow economic growth, budget deficits, high taxation, overreliance on government support, and inability to change (remember those student protesting two years ago about a new law that allows businesses to fire them without cause for their first two years?). The French knows a thing or two about important things, but they aren't perfect.

Not just in France but for instance in Switzerland where I live you have to put up at least 20% of the cost of a house or apartment you want to buy, so that alone keeps a lot of people from buying property. About 50% of people here rent their homes.
As far as credit cards, it is not as easy to get one, you need a steady job and a certain amount of income (and yes, they check) to get a credit card. As a student you can get a credit card, but it is basically a debit card.
There are more and more places that offer loans or buying something and paying it in installments but most people do not spend money they do not have.
I think this is the key, if you can not afford it, you just don't buy it.
And I can tell you I am glad we have more regulations. The only thing is that the US-economy crisis is affecting everyone. And there were warnings, early on, but nobody in Washington or Wall Street wanted to hear them because I guess greed (the next big bonus) is more alluring then regulations.

So, if you want to do it the European way, just don't spend money you do not have right now and try to but something aside each months.

They save money by not buying deodorant, conserving soap, conserving water and not installing/using air conditioners.

I think it is true that generally Americans have an acquisitive nature, and the idea and habits of being thrifty have been fading away over generations, but I do not think that everything is lost and that the average American won't adapt in a positive and constructive way to adversity.

What I don't like is the continually greedy nature of banks and corporations that never seems to change over time. Even if you are someone who pays their bills on time and credit cards in full, saves money, put a reasonable down payment on a morgage - no matter what your credit rating, all banks now act as bad as loan sharks. They change your card rates with mulitple revisions to your card agreements, selling your private information to other companies unless you say no through a convuluted process, charging fees for services they would not have charged for 5 or ten years ago, etc. Unless you are reading the fine print carefully ALL THE TIME, you are bound to get dinged by them no matter what.

You cannot compare social democracies to the United States. Remember that the Europeans were devastated after World War II. The Marshall Plan revived their economy because there was fear that the local Communist Parties, the partisans against the Nazis, would gain power. The 1953 East German uprising against the Soviets scared the European powers also. Once the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union fell, European workers started losing strikes. They have not had their PATCO yet.

Renting in Europe does not mean living in drug ridden neighborhoods. Schooling is standardized nationally. Your neighborhood does not determine your children's educational opportunities. Europeans can be so sanctimonious. Remember, Europe has a colonial background. It was not pretty: France in Algeria, Italy in Ethiopia. When Belgium gives reparations to the Congo, then they can criticize the US.

"Europeans can be so sanctimonious."

*rolling eyes*

so can some americans. can we leave the generalizations? i guess every country has things to be ashamed of, and others to be proud of.

One aspect of French living that I've always admired is the emphasis on quality over quantity. This pervades French fashion and French cuisine.

I'll bet it extends to home design, as well. Not that there probably aren't French "Levittowns" or shoddily-constructed McHouses there, as there are here, but I doubt you'll find the emphasis on get-everything-cheap so you can fill your oversized house focus that pervades our culture.

In my current blog posting, Counter Intelligence, (http://jgkitchens.blogspot.com/2008/10/counter-intelligence.html), I spotlight some quality countertop options and give their pros and cons.

Countertops, cabinets and fixtures should last a lifetime. (That's why those old marble counters in historic French brasseries are still around hundreds of years later.) They won't if you opt for cheapest vs. best.

France is run by Socialism. It isn't pretty. It's economy is awful.. America is becoming more and more Socialist-- with the Democrats taking us there. Now, because of Freddie Mac & Fanny Mae loans, the laws of which were put into place with Bill Clinton's help and other Liberal Democrats-- our economy has come to the brink of disaster. Did you know that because of these laws, home loans were given out to people who could not afford them, even to illegals? And Barak Obama who got lots of money through this, wants to become our President? He believes in the redistribution of wealth--stealing from Peter to pay Paul. THAT is Socialism!

margiefriend, i don't think its at all fair to blame the state of our economy solely on bill clinton and democrats. clinton may have signed it into law but who WROTE the bill? phil gramm. and who is phil gramm? a republican AND he was john mccain's chief econcomic advisor until recently (stepping down after making some controversial comments) and still is his unofficial financial advisor

The question to ask is, why did Billy sign a law he did not like?
You need to go back to CRA and Jimmuh Carter in 1977 designed to make available mortgages to those in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The law you mention was put forth by Gramm, but compromised by Dodd and Schumer, coincidence, that put more banks under CRA control.
The democrats stood in the way of any reasonable standards of traditional mortgage lending in 2002, 2003 and 2005 such as 20% down and 25% debt of gross income.
And what's wrong of Gramm to say that Americans have become "whiners", eh?
Just because we cannot afford a house we should have one?
BTW you neglect to mention Raines(100Mil bonus), Jim Johnson (50Mil bonus) and Jaime Gorelick(30Mil bonus), all Obama advisors.
The housing debacle was caused by people getting mortgages with no money down and 65% debt ratio.