Kind of. They're paying danegeld.
ROUNDUP French PM announces raft of measures for riot-hit poor suburbs - Forbes.comSo the precedent's been established. Want government concessions? Riot - and you'll get them. This'll guarantee more riots down the line. France may think they're solving problems, but they're buying time - and the cost is going to be a lot higher than they think.But he added that 'the reestablishment of public order is a prerequisite' to the measures being implemented -- something he admitted would 'take some time.'
The intiatives are:
- the creation of an anti-discrimination agency with special officials appointed to be in charge of certain regions, and making the fight against discrimination a national priority;
- 20,000 job contracts with local government bodies or associations paid a minimum wage would be reserved for those in the suburbs struggling to find work;
- an extra 100 million euros (120 million dollars) for associations that work in the neighbourhoods;
- 5,000 more teaching assistant posts in the 1,200 schools in districts designated as troublespots;
- the creation of 15 more special economic zones that provide tax breaks to companies that set up inside them as an incentive to boost local employment.
IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,Kipling had it pegged. I wonder how many of the leaders of France ever heard of Kipling's Danegeld?
To call upon a neighbour and to say:—
“We invaded you last night—we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away.”
And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:—
“Though we know we should defeat you,
we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to says:—“We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!”
J.
Comments (3)
The problem here is that the danegeld isn't just some foreign state, or some foreign leader. The problem is the danegeld is 15-20% of your country's population. I have always maintained that we (the majority of Americans) are the slaves of the rich, which is fine, so long as the rich treat their slaves well.
If they start treating the slaves badly, or if the slaves have less opportunity to improve their lot, or if the slaves THINK they have less opportunity, then the rich are in danger, and MUST pay or provide opportunities, or risk having the peasantry revolt.
If the cost of bread goes above what the poor can afford, then the poor will revolt. Similarly, if they can't find jobs and perceive no opportunities, RIGHT OR WRONG, they will revolt. So don't associate this with paying the danegeld. Becuase it's very different. This is more like making sure your serfs don't try to take over the feudal manor.
Posted by rawb | November 9, 2005 2:46 AM
Posted on November 9, 2005 02:46
Now what they, and what every first world nation, should do, is STOP letting more people INTO the country than they can afford to keep at a middle-class lifestyle. If you can only use x number of workers, then only allow x in, and make sure all are gainfully employed. If you can't employ them, DONT LET THEM IN!
Otherwise you risk letting a large unemployed population grow and grow until they reach a critical mass and begin to cause problems.
Posted by rawb | November 9, 2005 2:48 AM
Posted on November 9, 2005 02:48
I think you've got your definition of 'slaves' mixed up, Rawb. You might want to recheck that.
And are you advocating (gasp) restricting the rights of people to move to where they think they've got the chance for a better life? How unfair of you!
Re France - sigh. I don't think the rioters are really looking for assimilation into French society. They're looking to change French society into what THEY think they want. Attempts to appease them aren't going to cure the problem - it's going to make it worse.
J.
Posted by JLawson | November 9, 2005 9:36 AM
Posted on November 9, 2005 09:36