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Comment by rasz | Hacker News Reader

"fun" fact: average earner in France can buy ~2K liters of diesel with one months salary, average earner in Poland ~600 liters. Half both numbers for minimum wages. French started this protest over expensive diesel ...

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No, the tax on diesel was the final straw on the camel's back. People are poor, struggle to make ends meet, and felt unheard by the politicians; that's why the 2 historic parties completely failed at the last election, people wanted to see actual change. With very little effect, of course. When Macron added yet another reform that penalized those poor slices of population, that was the good moment for everyone to mobilize against a government they feel doesn't care about them.

In France employers pay 50% social security taxes, then employees 20% on what they receive... plus income taxes and 20% sales tax (VAT).

In Poland the social security taxes are 22%, then 14% for the employee, plus income tax and 23% sales tax.

This is why the French are protesting. Very little money ends up in the hands of the worker.

Social security taxes are pernicious and should be replaced completely with income taxes. It should be clear to employees how much tax they are paying, and it should be as simple as possible for employers to pay employees.

Is it truly about diesel or is it like how the American revolution was about tea?

It is looking very much like the beginning of US tea party. A lot of retired people because their pensions diminished by 2-3%. Single parents who are really struggling because of housing prices. And then add to it all kind of extrems right, left etc. It just started about diesel.

The economy in France has been anemic and never really recovered since the last crash (high unemployment). Lots of hard working french people are struggling. They feel that they are not being listen to.

France has only 479 cars per 1,000 people [0]. Only 13% of Parisians commute by car. [1]

Drivers are a minority of the population, whose choices cause immense harm to everyone else. Their getting steamrolled by national policy seems completely reasonable. Their attempt to hold the rest of the country hostage does not.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicle...

[1] https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/01/the-automotiv...

Number of cars per person is not a reasonable metric. In a family of four with a single working parent the driver is the minority but brings home 100% of the income. People in Paris can commute without cars because they have alternatives, unlike many people living in other parts of the country. (in other words, those who have to drive a car are those who cannot afford to live in Paris)

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