A few ideas to get out of this crisis

Constituante

30 years of societal evolution

1986 2013

The return of the pendulumAfter the Conseil National de la Résistance …

… here comes the time of Thatcher and Reagan

An eroding democracyBelgium is ranked after Jamaica, Costa Rica and Namibia. France, the country of the « libres penseurs » ranks 37th Politics and Europe are dismissed

A much too financial world

Growing financial assets Share of the financial companies in the total corporate profit

An asocial Europe Unemployement at 10% does not bother the European Commission

People are to be blamed for the public debt

A financial sector out of controlA surge of the assets located in the tax heaven over the last 10 years

Loans given by banks to themselves and the private sector have increased by more than 100% from 1997 till 2010. In the meantime, the GDP growed by less than 20%

Biased economic dogmasDebt has not a negative effect on economic growth unlike some economists have argued

US public spending are higher than Belgium regarding social transfers

Degressive taxation in place of progressive one for individuals and corporates

A society prone to inequalities

Coefficient de GINI sur base des déclarations fiscales – Belgique – 1990/2007Source : INS.

The richest 1 % of the population owes more than 20% of the national wealthSource: Piketty

A few solutions • 1) Increase the purchasing power through a wage increase• 2) Get out of the NATO (C. de Gaulle, R. Debray)• 3) If the ESM is not a bad idea, it must not be conditioned to an involvement of the IMF neither to structural

adjustment mechanisms• 4) No taxation on households with an income < 25.000€/year• 5) Taxation of 10% on households with an income of 25.000-50.000€/ year• 6) Upper marginal tax rate of at least 35% • 7) Fobidden financial flows between European banks and non European tax heavens. (proposition de loi

Assemblée Nationale Française)• 8) Minimum corporate tax rate of 20% (P.Maystadt)• 9) Tax the corporate in the countries were they are making there real business not where they book there

accounting profits, suppression of the transfer price (P.Maystadt)• 10) Forbidden the CDS (adopted)• 11) Split the deposit bank activity from the investment bank activity (P. Krugman) (P. Volker) (Sir John Vickers)

(P.Maystadt)• 12) Launch pan European investment projects selected by independent experts and financed by EIB project

bonds (Initiative de la Commission Européenne)• 13) Replace at maturity state loans by euro bonds. That will put an end to discussions regarding which country to

help and what conditions would be required before giving any help (proposition think tank Bruegel)• 14) Accept the idea that GDP growth is not the only measure of economic health (S. Latouche)• 15) Require that all country taking part to the WTO adopt a floating currency.

A few solutions (to be continued)• 16) Launch a people loan (K. Geens, ministre des Finances)• 17) Modify the ECB status in order to make her responsible not only of low inflation but also

af a minimum purchasing power level• 18) Settle a minimum European wage (P. Magnette & B.Tobback)• 19) Settle rules in order to establish a « fair » trade (P. Magnette & B. Tobback), Europe must

at least have some minimal customs barriers (E. Todd, J. Sapir, Commission K. De Gucht,D. Cohn Bendit)

• 20) Ability of the ECB to buy state loans.• 21) New banking supervision architecture (J. de Larosière)• 22) Help cooperative banks to be launched• 23) Reallow a European industrial policy (P. Magnette)• 24) Taxation of financial transactions, Tobin tax. (adopted by 11 european countries)• 26) Meditate the following sentences: « L’économique étend sa domination préoccupante et

devient le nom même du rapport entre l’homme et le monde » Pascal Blanqué and « L’économie a pris la place du sacré en ce qu’elle est sommée de « contenir », dans les deux sens du terme, la violence humaine » Jean-Pierre Dupuy

• 27) Put in place a carbon tax on all industrial goods imported by Europe.