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It's helping Germany offset an ageing population and declining economic productivity. If age distribution in your population is becoming unbalanced and you can'

It's helping Germany offset an ageing population and declining economic productivity. If age distribution in your population is becoming unbalanced and you can't encourage the current residents to increase the birth rate, what other option is there? https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/migration-drives-german-population-record-high-2022-2023-01-19/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/migration-drives-german...

progx 3y ago
I can't see where it help us declininng economic productivity. Other options: family friendly politic, better education, investments in schools, better care in schools (full day care), consistent politic where you can plan your future,.... Today we can read in the newspaper, that 25% of our children in school can not read. Elephant in the room.
- richeyryan 3y ago
  If the people don't exist, they can't produce. You can make all the policy decisions you want, but the economy will stagnate if you don't have people working in fields or factories or wiring up houses. Sure, better education might make higher-value workers that produce more economic value. Providing better support for families will help people interested in having children potentially have more children and be economically productive while doing so. If your current citizens don't want to have children, then it doesn't matter.
knallfrosch 3y ago
What good is a population high when the new people aren't net contributors to the economy?
- pjc50 3y ago
  Ironically, immigrants are usually net contributors (not eligible for welfare, have to work) while children are not (until they reach the age of majority).
  - llampx 3y ago
    Big difference between immigrants as the US sees them and the way Germany sees them. The US doesn't have a social safety net to speak of for immigrants, Germany does for refugees. Nobody is complaining about the Indian IT workers or EE truck drivers when they say "immigrants."
scotty79 3y ago
The solution is not to rely on workers to finance your schemes. Most of our economic development is captured by the wealthy. Do you need to sustain the elderly? Have 100% wealth tax at age 60 and use it to pay equal retirement for everybody above 60. Let elderly sustain elderly. 100% too much? Ok, let's say it's only for the money above 10 million. Or 50, or 100, whatever.
- generic92034 3y ago
  I sympathize with the idea in principle, but do you really think people who are that rich will not find ways to evade the tax? Most likely they can prevent such a tax being installed at all. Money = power.
  - scotty79 3y ago
    You are right of course. What I'm opposed to is when poor people (by which I mean everybody except billionaires) claim that there are no other solutions instead of saying that there are plenty of other potential solutions but billionaires won't let us have them.
ur-whale 3y ago
> what other option is there? Cloning?
zorrotorro 3y ago
> can't encourage the current residents Can't or won't? What are companies doing: training people or just hiring externally and expecting those new hires to hit the ground running? The same strategy is applied everywhere.

progx 3y ago

I can't see where it help us declininng economic productivity. Other options: family friendly politic, better education, investments in schools, better care in schools (full day care), consistent politic where you can plan your future,.... Today we can read in the newspaper, that 25% of our children in school can not read. Elephant in the room.

richeyryan 3y ago
If the people don't exist, they can't produce. You can make all the policy decisions you want, but the economy will stagnate if you don't have people working in fields or factories or wiring up houses. Sure, better education might make higher-value workers that produce more economic value. Providing better support for families will help people interested in having children potentially have more children and be economically productive while doing so. If your current citizens don't want to have children, then it doesn't matter.

knallfrosch 3y ago

What good is a population high when the new people aren't net contributors to the economy?

pjc50 3y ago
Ironically, immigrants are usually net contributors (not eligible for welfare, have to work) while children are not (until they reach the age of majority).
- llampx 3y ago
  Big difference between immigrants as the US sees them and the way Germany sees them. The US doesn't have a social safety net to speak of for immigrants, Germany does for refugees. Nobody is complaining about the Indian IT workers or EE truck drivers when they say "immigrants."

scotty79 3y ago

The solution is not to rely on workers to finance your schemes. Most of our economic development is captured by the wealthy. Do you need to sustain the elderly? Have 100% wealth tax at age 60 and use it to pay equal retirement for everybody above 60. Let elderly sustain elderly. 100% too much? Ok, let's say it's only for the money above 10 million. Or 50, or 100, whatever.

generic92034 3y ago
I sympathize with the idea in principle, but do you really think people who are that rich will not find ways to evade the tax? Most likely they can prevent such a tax being installed at all. Money = power.
- scotty79 3y ago
  You are right of course. What I'm opposed to is when poor people (by which I mean everybody except billionaires) claim that there are no other solutions instead of saying that there are plenty of other potential solutions but billionaires won't let us have them.

ur-whale 3y ago

> what other option is there? Cloning?

zorrotorro 3y ago

> can't encourage the current residents Can't or won't? What are companies doing: training people or just hiring externally and expecting those new hires to hit the ground running? The same strategy is applied everywhere.