One funny thing: every second week I receive a phone call from a company proposing to help me pay less taxes and I enjoy their stupefaction when I answer I'm glad to pat taxes!
From the experience I have gathered by helping administrations to implement the working time reduction(35 hours), I agree partly with oldfrog: there are a lot of improvements to be made in the French administrations. However, you cannot take it as a whole: some administrations are very efficient and productive (and even lack personnel), others are bloated and inefficient.
In my view, improving the productivity of public services is a republican duty and it doesn't necessary mean less civil servants. It can mean better service in volume and quality with the same number of civil servants. "Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Yes!
This is a key point, I think. Instead of laying people off--unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, problems with families, in schools...etc...
Instead of that, just find the unproductive people and...give them new, more-productive tasks. Always thinking in terms of projects: What is the aim? Who do we need to do it? What can we get those who we don't need for this project to do instead?
Maybe there'd be some slack in the system, but overall I think some slack is good... Gives people a chance to regroup, retrain... You have their support (because they're not being threatened with losing their jobs), and you have people in place for the...next task(s). Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
Something like that... Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
