Abran Shaffer's List: Economist

• peasants rented their lands from wealthy lords and had to pay them significant taxes to have the right to grow crops.
• • Corruption became a major problem for the Monarchy as the deficit grew out of control, this weakened the economy further. 
• The lords were then supposed to turn over part of these taxes to the King, but they often kept the biggest part for themselves.
• As the cost of flour began to rise people were left to starve, unable to afford bread anymore.
• The nobility opposed the king's decision. By a clever game of persuasion, they even rallied part of the third estates at their side to denounce the power of the King. This marked the first stage of the revolution.
• He couldn't raise more taxes and didn't have the power to find the money he needed to govern. His last chance was to call for the meeting of the Estates-General.

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• years of bed financial decisions made by previous rulers and their advisors.
• The Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution were both devastating to the French treasury, especially with the large armies required for each conflict.
• • Sun King is Louis XVI
• did not have a group of legislators or advisors that had any real power and thus the finances of France were left to the decisions of the monarchs and nobility.
• the national debt was quite large
• King Louis XVI built a giant palace called Versailles
• Estimates suggest that over 7 to 10 percent of the national treasury was spent on the palace.
• corruption among minor and regional authorities was a rampant problem, especially considering that the tax system wrung money out of the peasantry
• and went into the hands of nobles rather than back into state funds.
• first of all, it drained needed resources from the country and made a number of aristocrats very rich. Secondly, this did little to improve the opinion peasants had toward nobles and the common people, who saw themselves as well as their country in general growing poorer, were beginning to mobilize.
• Louis XIV appointed
• Charles de Calonne
• as the controller general of the France’s finances.
• • Assembly of Notables met 1787 - Colonne's proposal would have cut government spending and levied universal land tax on the Clergy and Nobles...needless to say it was ill received and Louis XVI dismissed him. 
• Calonne told these nobles that either they would have to agree to much higher taxes on the peasantry or else they would have to give up their status as non-taxpayers.
• Without the release of Calonne, the French Revolution might not have taken place as he was advocating more sound policies and fiscal responsibility.

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• • Explore the Resources Tab for specific information for your assigned roles...There is a lot here so pay attention to notes and highlighted content.
• • Click on Topics to find good info for your role; Explore the documents section, there may be insightful primary source material worth noting. 
    Use the Who's Who link to learn about the important people involved.
• • Read this selection first 

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• • Economist - play attention to the graphs and issues relating to taxation.