A post from a French author has gone viral, garnering more than 2.2 million views on X, after he issued a warning to Americans who are planning to vote for Democrats. "I’m French. I want to talk to Americans who are about to vote Democrat. Not to insult you. To warn you. I come from your future," Brivael Le Pogam began.
His post comes as France is facing weeks of riots, thousands of arrests, arson, and mayhem in what began as student protests seeking better conditions for education. Those riots have spread to unions and teachers and on into Belgium.
He said that France bought into the "progressive politicians promise" of free everything, including "healthcare, free college, generous welfare, strong unions, heavy regulation, high taxes on the rich, a state that takes care of everything." As a result, he said the costs and spending rose to nearly 60 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, "one of the highest on the planet."
While acknowledging that "on paper, it's the dream," he said that "from the inside," things are crumbling. Massive debt is threatening to bankrupt the nation, and the services so generously provided are not working.
"France hasn’t passed a balanced budget since 1974," he wrote. "Our debt is above 3,300 billion euros. Interest on that debt is becoming one of the biggest items in the national budget. Our hospitals are collapsing despite record funding. Our schools rank lower every year. Young people with degrees can’t afford an apartment in the city they were born in. Our best engineers leave for London, Zurich and San Francisco. And the rich you wanted to tax? They left too, and took the jobs with them. The promise was protection. The result is stagnation."
The French voted for great things, he said, "Every single step sounded generous, compassionate, reasonable. One more program. One more regulation. One more tax to fund it. Each step alone makes sense. Fifty years of them, and you wake up in a country that can no longer build a nuclear plant on time or keep its streets safe."
He said that he loves America "because it's the one place on earth where people still believe they can build something from nothing. I came to Silicon Valley as a self-taught kid and it changed my life. That spirit is the most precious thing your country has. Before you vote, ask yourself one question: is the program you’re voting for making America more like America, or more like France? Trust me. You don’t want to be France."
In a follow-up post, he addressed critics who said to him that "Democrats aren't socialists. America will never be France." He walked through his claims, backing them up with data.
"Start with a simple observation. Look at what has gotten cheaper in America over the last 25 years: TVs, phones, software, clothes, toys. Now look at what has exploded: college tuition, healthcare, childcare, housing. What separates the two lists? The first lives in competitive markets. The second is exactly where government is most involved: subsidies, mandates, licensing, zoning, regulation," he noted.
He went on to say that those items that are horrendously, prohibitively expensive are the ones "where the market has already been replaced by the state. And the solution you're being offered is more of the same."
The big free programs, he said, are just making things worse. "Then the failure of that program becomes the argument for the next one. People who lived under communism in Poland learned to recognize the lie and the mask the lie wears. The lie never presents itself as a lie. It presents itself as compassion," he said.
"In France we are at the end of that road," he said in conclusion. "Debt we can never repay. Young people who can't afford a home. Our best people leaving. And every few years our cities burn. Nobody voted for this. They voted for one more generous promise, fifty years in a row." The bill on those promises is now coming due, and France can't pony up the cash.
"If you're a Republican," he urged, "share this with the Democrat in your life. Not to win an argument. To start a conversation. If you're a Democrat, I'm not asking you to switch teams. I'm asking you to look at the pattern. Wherever the state took over, life became unaffordable. Don't fix the failures of government with more government. Stay American. Ask for less state, not more."
His post comes as France is facing weeks of riots, thousands of arrests, arson, and mayhem in what began as student protests seeking better conditions for education. Those riots have spread to unions and teachers and on into Belgium.
He said that France bought into the "progressive politicians promise" of free everything, including "healthcare, free college, generous welfare, strong unions, heavy regulation, high taxes on the rich, a state that takes care of everything." As a result, he said the costs and spending rose to nearly 60 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, "one of the highest on the planet."
While acknowledging that "on paper, it's the dream," he said that "from the inside," things are crumbling. Massive debt is threatening to bankrupt the nation, and the services so generously provided are not working.
"France hasn’t passed a balanced budget since 1974," he wrote. "Our debt is above 3,300 billion euros. Interest on that debt is becoming one of the biggest items in the national budget. Our hospitals are collapsing despite record funding. Our schools rank lower every year. Young people with degrees can’t afford an apartment in the city they were born in. Our best engineers leave for London, Zurich and San Francisco. And the rich you wanted to tax? They left too, and took the jobs with them. The promise was protection. The result is stagnation."
The French voted for great things, he said, "Every single step sounded generous, compassionate, reasonable. One more program. One more regulation. One more tax to fund it. Each step alone makes sense. Fifty years of them, and you wake up in a country that can no longer build a nuclear plant on time or keep its streets safe."
He said that he loves America "because it's the one place on earth where people still believe they can build something from nothing. I came to Silicon Valley as a self-taught kid and it changed my life. That spirit is the most precious thing your country has. Before you vote, ask yourself one question: is the program you’re voting for making America more like America, or more like France? Trust me. You don’t want to be France."
In a follow-up post, he addressed critics who said to him that "Democrats aren't socialists. America will never be France." He walked through his claims, backing them up with data.
"Start with a simple observation. Look at what has gotten cheaper in America over the last 25 years: TVs, phones, software, clothes, toys. Now look at what has exploded: college tuition, healthcare, childcare, housing. What separates the two lists? The first lives in competitive markets. The second is exactly where government is most involved: subsidies, mandates, licensing, zoning, regulation," he noted.
He went on to say that those items that are horrendously, prohibitively expensive are the ones "where the market has already been replaced by the state. And the solution you're being offered is more of the same."
The big free programs, he said, are just making things worse. "Then the failure of that program becomes the argument for the next one. People who lived under communism in Poland learned to recognize the lie and the mask the lie wears. The lie never presents itself as a lie. It presents itself as compassion," he said.
"In France we are at the end of that road," he said in conclusion. "Debt we can never repay. Young people who can't afford a home. Our best people leaving. And every few years our cities burn. Nobody voted for this. They voted for one more generous promise, fifty years in a row." The bill on those promises is now coming due, and France can't pony up the cash.
"If you're a Republican," he urged, "share this with the Democrat in your life. Not to win an argument. To start a conversation. If you're a Democrat, I'm not asking you to switch teams. I'm asking you to look at the pattern. Wherever the state took over, life became unaffordable. Don't fix the failures of government with more government. Stay American. Ask for less state, not more."
