It’s later than he thinks.

This picture of President François Hollande of France comes from Townhall, illustrating an article by Daniel J. Mitchell, with the caption:

Compared to his foolishness on tax policy, Hollande is a genius when it comes to determining what time it is.

The author has been so bemused by watching European countries taking all the wrong steps to save themselves from bankruptcy, that he “endorsed the explicit socialist [Hollande] over the implicit socialist [Sarkozy] precisely because of a morbid desire to see a nation commit faster economic suicide.”

“Well,” he writes, “Monsieur Hollande isn’t disappointing me.”

He gives examples of the idiotic steps the new president is taking to ruin his country by raising taxes.

And here are some highlights from the article (which is worth reading in full):

While France is driving into a fiscal cul-de-sac, Italian politicians have constructed a very impressive maze of red tape, intervention, and regulation. …

But let’s not forget our Greek friends … the country that subsidizes pedophiles and requires stool samples from entrepreneurs applying to set up online companies. …

Thanks to the International Monetary Fund, the rest of us are helping to subsidize these Greek moochers.

And speaking of the IMF, I never realized those overpaid bureaucrats (and they’re also exempt from tax!) are closet comedians. They must be a bunch of jokers, I’ve concluded, because they just released a report on problems in the eurozone without once mentioning excessive government spending or high tax burdens.

The tax-free IMF bureaucrats do claim that “Important actions have been taken,” but they’re talking about bailouts and easy money. …

Even though the problems in Europe are solely the result of bad policies by nations governments, the economic pyromaniacs at the IMF also say that “the crisis now calls for a stronger and more collective effort.”

By which they mean –

Let’s translate this into plain English: The IMF wants more money from American taxpayers (and other victimized producers elsewhere in the world) to subsidize the types of statist policies that are described above in places such as France, Italy, and Greece.

Greece, Spain, and yes, France and Italy too, and not omitting Ireland and Portugal, are like beggars intent on getting enough alms to keep themselves alive for one more day.

Like beggars, did we say? They are beggars. They have reduced themselves to beggary. The beggar-nations of Europe. To give them alms is to sponsor beggary.

The IMF and the World Bank – both of them institutions in the UN system – are the charity-workers who come to your doors, Americans,  rattling their collection boxes, to support the poor … what?

“Pedophiles? Early retirees? Muslim immigrants? Biannual vacation-takers? National health service patients?”

“Yes. Just put the coins in the box and don’t be judgmental!”