How realistic is Hamon's leftist social policy?
France's Socialist presidential candidate Benoît Hamon wants to reduce working hours and backs policies for an economy that doesn't rely on growth. His main project is a basic income guaranteeing all French adults 750 euros per month. French media discuss whether such policies are viable.
Basic income is not a revolution
Hamon's proposal for a universal basic income is far from utopian, economist Jean-Eric Hyafil explains in Le Monde:
“The basic income is financially viable, it's not complicated and it won't create a society dependent on the welfare drip. Perhaps it's time to stop all the arguments aimed at discrediting it. The basic income doesn't mean 'the end of employment', it doesn't guarantee universal autonomy, it won't solve all our economic and social problems: it's simply a social and fiscal reform aimed at making the redistribution system clearer and more efficient.”
Boosting buying power won't help France
The social policy presented by the Socialist's presidential candidate Benoît Hamon is completely ridiculous, Le Figaro scoffs:
“Benoît Hamon tells us with a perfectly straight face that he wants to get France back on track by introducing a 32-hour week, scrapping employer-friendly provisions in the labour law and taxing machines. But also by distributing - with what money is anyone's guess - an income for everyone, in a country where any boost to buying power above all fuels the purchase of imported products. Any other great ideas?”