Just heard something interesting about the French Revolution

[mick063]

21. The French Revolution word game

This game converts a wiki entry to modern times to show how close we really are.



From Wiki: French Revolution: Financial Crisis.

Quote:
Louis XVI ascended to the throne amidst a financial crisis; the state was nearing bankruptcy and outlays outpaced income. This was because of France’s financial obligations stemming from involvement in the Seven Years War and its participation in the American Revolutionary War. In May 1776, finance minister Turgot was dismissed, after he failed to enact reforms. The next year, Jacques Necker, a foreigner, was appointed Comptroller-General of Finance. He could not be made an official minister because he was a Protestant.

Necker realized that the country's extremely regressive tax system subjected the lower classes to a heavy burden, while numerous exemptions existed for the nobility and clergy. He argued that the country could not be taxed higher; that tax exemptions for the nobility and clergy must be reduced; and proposed that borrowing more money would solve the country's fiscal shortages. Necker published a report to support this claim that underestimated the deficit by roughly 36 million livres, and proposed restricting the power of the parlements.

This was not received well by the King's ministers and Necker, hoping to bolster his position, argued to be made a minister. The King refused, Necker was fired, and Charles Alexandre de Calonne was appointed to the Comptrollership. Calonne initially spent liberally, but he quickly realized the critical financial situation and proposed a new tax code.

The proposal included a consistent land tax, which would include taxation of the nobility and clergy. Faced with opposition from the parlements, Calonne organised the summoning of the Assembly of Notables. But the Assembly failed to endorse Calonne's proposals and instead weakened his position through its criticism. In response, the King announced the calling of the Estates-General for May 1789, the first time the body had been summoned since 1614. This was a signal that the Bourbon monarchy was in a weakened state and subject to the demands of its people.

Now I will exchange a few terms.

Replace the following:

Louis XVI with Barack Obama
throne with presidency
France with US
Seven Years War with Iraq War
American Revolutionary War with Afghanistan War
May 1776 with November 2008
finance minister with Treasury Secretary
Turgot with Henry Paulson
Jacques Necker with Timothy Geithner
Comptroller-General of Finance with Treasury Secretary
a foreigner with a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
nobility and clergy with wealthy elite (1%)
country with middle class
36 million livres with 7 trillion dollars
restricting the power of the parlements with enacting finance reform


And it converts to:


Quote:
Barack Obama ascended to the presidency amidst a financial crisis; the state was nearing bankruptcy and outlays outpaced income. This was because of the US financial obligations stemming from involvement in the Iraq War and its participation in the Afghanistan War. In November 2008, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was dismissed, after he failed to enact reforms. The next year, Timothy Geithner, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, was appointed Treasury Secretary

Geithner realized that the country's extremely regressive tax system subjected the lower classes to a heavy burden, while numerous exemptions existed for the wealthy elite (1%). He argued that the middle class could not be taxed higher; that tax exemptions for the wealthy elite (1%) must be reduced; and proposed that borrowing more money would solve the country's fiscal shortages. Geithner published a report to support this claim that underestimated the deficit by roughly 7 trillion dollars, and proposed enacting finance reform.

So...... What happened in France four year later?

The "Reign of Terror"