Re:Why France Has So Many 49-Employee Companies
by wlievens on Thursday May 10, 2012 @11:11AM
(#3953900)
I think the argument here is not that it's a bad idea to create a safety net state. The argument is that as long as no law is broken, there is no such thing as "exploiting a loophole". Politicians should just learn to design better laws with less loopholes.
Re:Why France Has So Many 49-Employee Companies
by briandon on Thursday May 10, 2012 @11:57AM
(#3954179)
A: So you have three 49-person companies ... That's odd.
B: I employ no more than 49 people in each of my companies and start new companies as necessary to avoid sharing profits with my employees, having to deal with worker councils, and the like.
Playing corporate twister to evade the clear intent of laws sure seems like loophole exploitation to me.
In addition to working around the intent of laws that empower workers, organized groups of business owners are constantly trying to overturn those laws and, in the meantime, discourage enforcement.
Re:Why France Has So Many 49-Employee Companies
by wlievens on Thursday May 10, 2012 @12:23PM
(#3954317)
I think the problem is with "intent of laws". Laws should minimize the degree to which intent plays a role, because intent is subjective, and therefore subject to very expensive and wasteful litigation.
If you would like to see the terminal state of a laissez-faire society, you can visit Hong Kong. More luxury cars on the road than anywhere else you'll ever see and plenty of the toothless, recyclables-scavenging senior citizens that I referenced earlier as well. Hundreds of thousands of people living in literal wire mesh cages because that's all that they can afford. A wealth gap that yawns like a chasm.
It's easy to advocate policies when you think that you'll never have to actually submit yourself to living in the society that those policies will ultimately create.