>Because immigration at this level only managed to keep the workforce constant. It did not grow it. Why is the number of the imported workforce relevant and no

>Because immigration at this level only managed to keep the workforce constant. It did not grow it. Why is the number of the imported workforce relevant and not their added value? What are you gonna do with millions of unskilled immigrants if the workers you're loosing are experienced doctors and engineers? 200 unskilled workers can't replace a retired doctor you need right now to care for your medical condition. Unless Europe's economic goal is to compete with India and Bangladesh on being the sweatshop of the world, then this strategy makes sense. >You're probably right, immigrants from Syria and Afghanistan won't found microchip companies ... and we all know who does do that ... European immigrants. Actually Taiwanese immigrants in this case, but don't focus on microchip companies, that was just an example I was using to make the point that Europe needs more skilled immigrants that create high value industries like the US does, rather than more kebab shops. >almost exclusively to the US I don't think the EU emigration to the US is that big of an issue. The bigger issue is the collapsing healthcare and welfare system including state pensions that draws ever nearer to us like the Titanic to the iceberg, as the massive bottom of the population pyramid approaches old age sickness and will need A LOT of care. You can't just throw unlimited unskilled bodies at the problem and expect it to solve itself while ignoring the additional problems this also creates. Plus you now also need to care for the illegal immigrants you took in who are sick and can't work because you didn't vet them. The core issue is that Europe's welfare state and asylum system without any caps, have been badly engineered from the get-go by the boomer generation, who wrote cheques their kids and grandkids now have to cash, which is unsustainable no matter how you try to jerry-rig and duct-tape it today with unskilled immigration, it's still gonna collapse eventually without a ground-up economic reform that the Eastern European countries went through after the fall of communism, as no country can support the infinite population growth required to support the healthcare and retirement lifestyle that boomers engineered for themselves of living till 85 but stop working at 65 resulting in a 20 year vacation funded by the next generations. Retirement was meant to care for you when you're too sick and old to work, not to be a 2 decade long jet-set holiday. >you are acting as if being in power actually gives you a choice, actually gives you the power to change things You definitely can change things for the better if you're willing to be tough. However nobody in EU politics has the balls to call a spade a spade, so we're just slowly heading towards that Iceberg in a managed decline.