A recent survey in France among the 18 to 29 years old shows one in four wants to leave the country to start their business. Estimates say that in 2012 a record 5,000 entrepreneurs left. Not to be surprised when we see the sclerotic labor and tax laws, the inefficiency of governments, the corruption, the vested interests, the monopolies with their strong lobbies in countries such as France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Greece, … Then people wonder why the high unemployment, why the Chinese want to come over and buy companies. As explained in Toxic Capitalism, we cannot improve the environment and society if those countries do not completely overhaul their system. It does not look promising at all as the old guard refuses to abandon their privileges (among them, the labor unions, the farmers, …). You must be ”weird” to start in business in those countries, or completely crooked. A good friend in Belgium is trying to expand his factory over there but bumps into the most cumbersome and irrational obstacles. And oh yes, the guy in the administration who needs to give him an approval is away on a ski vacation.
Sometimes I wish the Chinese would take over those countries, and get things going. Chinese being oh so socialist the first thing they’d do would be to shut up the labor unions and make people work. As they did in a port in Greece – that part of the port is now doing very well, thank you.