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> One mistake the US did was switching from defined benefit pensions to individual retirement savings. Depending on how the pension system is setup, it could b
by KRAKRISMOTT 2y ago
> One mistake the US did was switching from defined benefit pensions to individual retirement savings.
Depending on how the pension system is setup, it could become an indefinite pyramid scheme. You end with countries like Canada (and many in places like Europe) constantly importing immigrant labor just to prop up the older generations' retirement. It kicks the ball down the road.
- littlestymaar 2y agoEurope isn't importing immigrants to prop up the pensions…
- diordiderot 2y agoYes it is.
- KRAKRISMOTT 2y agoI am sure Merkel accepted the Arab Spring refugees out of the goodness of her heart.
- geysersam 2y agoNot out of goodness of heart, but out of ideological conviction and obligation to international refugee conventions
- immibis 2y agoPlease. Powerful countries ignore international conventions at their leisure. Germany included.
- inglor_cz 2y agoShe desperately wanted to avoid "bad scenes" at German borders. IDK if the book of journalist Robin Alexander "Die Getriebenen" (the driven ones, meaning top German politicians driven by events) was ever translated to English, but that guy had daily access to the Chancellory and describes the situation to a T. Merkel built her career on media appeasement and an illusion that Germany is in such good hands that nothing untoward can happen to it. It sort-of worked until 2015, when the outside world could not be kept at bay anymore.
- de_layer 2y agoAngela Merkel built her career in the GDR under Soviet rule, in case this fact or the eviction of hundreds of thousands of families from their homes in Germany to house those immigrants is of interest to you.
- littlestymaar 2y agoEven if the will to have younger blood to fuel the economy is a driver for such a move, it has nothing to do with propping up pensions: in an aging population you'll need people working in your country if you want to keep things running, no matter how your pensions are being paid…
- faeriechangling 2y agoI think she actually did, that and her Christian beliefs. Not all of politics is cynical, sometimes politicians are selfish and unreasonable and act on their principles. There were more fiscally prudent ways for Germany to increase its population for various political and economic ends if Merkel so chose to use them.
- concordDance 2y agoHow do you know?
- rlf_dev 2y agoPortuguese here, yes we most definitely are. It’s been of the arguments to support immigration by the previous government since they usually are always net contributors to Segurança Social (Social Security).
- littlestymaar 2y agoIt's not because a politician say something that it's true, you should know better ;). The reason why governments promote immigration is because they want to increase the workforce (and in the case of Portugal, replace all the emigrants from Portugal). As the population is aging, if you want to keep cheap labor you need new arms to work, no matter who pays for the pensions.
- lupire 2y agoWorkers pay for pensions. What distinction are you trying to make?
- littlestymaar 2y agoIf you have pension funds that invest on the global financial market, then pensions are being paid by workers worldwide through the companies profits. So the amount of money you get for pension can remain or even increase even if your national population collapses. But the supply of workers needed to provide the basic goods your aging population needs (including healthcare) shrinks and if you don't accept immigrants you end up with labor shortage (Or you raise the salaries for these jobs, but then the rest of your economy disappears because there's no one working there anymore).
- geysersam 2y agoNo idea what you are talking about. Europe has a wide variety of different pension systems, many are based on stock market investments. Very few countries in Europe takes in significant numbers of migrants, generally Europe is very anti-immigrant.
- reisse 2y ago> Very few countries in Europe takes in significant numbers of migrants Yes, but that's the biggest EU countries and they take a lot of migrants. Wikipedia says 18% of Germany population are first-generation immigrants. In comparison, in US it's only 14%. For the whole EU the number is around 11%. > generally Europe is very anti-immigrant. From what I know about "how to legally immigrate to US" vs "how to legally immigrate to Europe", the latter is much easier. The public sentiment might be there, but the laws say the other way.
- fifilura 2y agoWhat are the numbers if you compare Germany to California, including people moving in from other states of the US? Remember that EU has a free flow of work force, so I expect lots of those 18% will come from Netherlands or France. In Sweden at least, immigration was always biggest from neighboring countries (e.g. Finland/Norway)
- biztos 2y agoIn Germany when one talks about “migration background” one is not talking about fellow EU citizens, nor about immigrants from the US, Australia, etc. But if you take the broader, official definition then you get something like 30% apparently: https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61646/bevoelkerung-mit-migrationshintergrund/ https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situ...
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- matthewdgreen 2y agoThis happens in any pension system you design. If you invest your retirement savings in stocks, you're not magically wealthy: you're just finding another mechanism to have younger workers pay for older retirees. And if the stocks you buy are heavily invested in foreign countries with authoritarian governments and low birth rates, you're trading one problem for different ones.
- billfor 2y agoIt is not the pension system per se, but the national debt that is the pyramid scheme requiring a growing population.