CPE?

For anyone not really keeping tabs on international goings-on, the CPE (Contrat Premiere Embauche, or First Employment Contract) is the new youth labor law that the French government has been trying to push through, in the face of massive student and union strikes. This story first broke a bit ago, so there's links all over to stuff about it; here's one of the more recent stories. To my understanding, the French employment system is far different from the Anglo model that you find in Britain, the US and Canada, in that there are far more restrictions governing the hiring and firing of workers. I believe the German model is similar to the French, though I don't know a whole lot of specifics. The CPE allows companies to hire employees under 26 and fire them at any time in a 2 year period, for any reason. At the end of that period, if the company wishes to retain the employee, their contract becomes the same as any other French worker's, with the attendant protections.

An economist or globalist would probably look at the law and say it's a good thing; they would attribute soaring youth unemployment in France (50% in underprivileged areas, over 20% nationally as per the linked article) to the fact that companies cannot easily terminate new employees. Since they are hamstrung in firing employees when things don't work out, companies are far more conservative in their hiring practices and in seeking growth, since hiring a whole lot of employees as you grow, not growing as much as you had hoped and then being saddled with a whole lot of superfluous payroll is a really quick way to go bankrupt. In America, this is not seen as a bad thing per se; while the human cost is regrettable, the economic gains made by rapid company turnover are deemed a greater gain. Economists are great at ignoring the human cost.

The unavoidable critique of the law, however, is that while there will be companies who will adhere to the spirit of the law, taking chances and hiring these younger employees, there will almost certainly be a large number of companies who will hire people under 26 with every intention of firing them when they hit the 1 year and 364 days of employment mark, then running out and hiring some other poor kid to replace them. Having read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, I find myself growing increasingly cynical of big business and the actual benefits of globalization.

It's clear that something has to be done in France to address the high levels of youth unemployment; it also seems clear that the CPE will not work in its current form. Where is the answer? Are we ever going to find a path that allows for both economic growth and social stability? And even if we do, how long will it be before big business finds a way around that?

On an unrelated note, I'm more than halfway through The Fountainhead, so now I feel comfortable saying what I had been thinking about 100 pages in, but wanted to give it a bit more of a fair shake before I really solidified my opinion: Ayn Rand was an annoying bitch. I will likely elucidate that at a later time, when I finish the book, but for now an illustration will suffice. You know that bit in Dirty Dancing? When the annoying, egotistical guy working at the resort who actually got Penny preggers - Neal? We'll call him Neal, even if that isn't his name. Ok, so when Neal is talking to Baby, right? And he whips out the book, tells her to read it and says, "Some people are worth more than others," or something to that effect? That's the kind of person who would want to make hot, sticky love to Ayn Rand.

I know, it makes me wanna puke too. She was really not an attractive girl. And besides - nobody puts Baby in a corner!