Via the WSJ: Europe Faces Pension Predicament
[So? Let's take a good look at 40 years of Magic Thinking / "Democratic" Socialism.]
State-funded pensions are at the heart of Europe’s [Democratic] social-welfare model, insulating people from extreme poverty in old age. Most European countries have set aside almost nothing to pay these benefits, simply funding them each year out of tax revenue. Now, European countries face a demographic tsunami, in the form of a growing mismatch between low birthrates and high longevity, for which few are prepared.
Europe’s population of pensioners, already the largest in the world, continues to grow. Looking at Europeans 65 or older who aren’t working, there are 42 for every 100 workers, and this will rise to 65 per 100 by 2060, the European Union’s data agency says. By comparison, the U.S. has 24 nonworking people 65 or over per 100 workers, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which doesn’t have a projection for 2060.
hile the problem has long been building, it is gaining urgency as European countries’ debt troubles, growing out of the 2008 crisis, push governments to reassess their priorities. Greece, the worst off, has had to reduce the generosity of its pension system repeatedly. Though its situation is unusually dire, Greece isn’t the only European government being forced to acknowledge it has made pension promises it can ill afford.
“Western European governments are close to bankruptcy because of the pension time bomb,” said Roy Stockell, head of asset management at Ernst & Young. “We have so many baby boomers moving into retirement [with] the expectation that the government will provide.”
Even the U.S., with a Social Security trust fund of $2.8 trillion, faces criticism for promising more than it can afford. That is because the fund—which is mostly in the form of IOUs from the Treasury—is projected to fall short of the sums needed to cover all benefits in a dozen years or so, and run out in 2035. Europe’s situation is much worse.
The demographic squeeze could be eased by the influx of more than a million migrants in the past year. If many of them eventually join the working population, the result could be increased tax revenue to keep the pension model afloat. Before migrants are even given the right to work, however, they require housing, food, education and medical treatment. Their arrival will have effects on public finances that officials have only started to assess.
[A peek into the mind of a Social Democrat]:
“You have to take care of people, of their dignity, not finances,” said Krzysztof Jurgiel, agriculture minister in the current Law & Justice Party government.
--o--
Of course, this is where the "Refugees" come in. See? The idea was they'd come and work and pay tax and that tax would be used to pay for the past generation (mainly The Baby's) retirement benefits. But, this is the thing: Why work? For many, only a sucker would work, when you can instead have 10 children and live off generation donations from "The State".
From Frontpage Mag: 80% of Turkish Muslim Settlers in Germany Live Off Welfare
Turks came to Germany as 'guest workers'. They were supposed to provide some "necessary cheap labor" and then leave. But it didn't work out that way. And the topic has obvious implications for our own Gang of 8's guest worker plan, which is going to lead to non-workers bankrupting the social welfare system even further. Three million Turks live already in Germany already, while 2.5 million of them have German nationality, and the majority of them are conservative Muslims.
Very few Turks in Germany have a regular job; about 20%. The other 80% live on the so-called Hartz IV (state social benefits). 70% of their children have no GCSE; they left school before they finished their basic education. According to the German state benefit system, every adult citizen who possesses the German nationality, unemployed and cannot find an appropriate job, is entitled to get monthly 482 € ($627). Additionally, parents get for each child under 18 years old, 200 € ($261), plus all their monthly expenditures in terms of rent, heating, power, health insurance, and public transport.
"Amazingly enough some Turks who live on the generous state benefits can afford to buy a house or an apartment and drive luxurious cars like Mercedes or BMW." Says Klaus, a SlumLord whose tenants are a case in point.
--o--
Anyway, if we're lucky, B.Sanders will usher in our own European Utopia right here in the U.S.S.A. Won't that be nice? Free University. Free Healthcare. Free Free Free and a bit more Free
Hope and Change cometh!
[So? Let's take a good look at 40 years of Magic Thinking / "Democratic" Socialism.]
State-funded pensions are at the heart of Europe’s [Democratic] social-welfare model, insulating people from extreme poverty in old age. Most European countries have set aside almost nothing to pay these benefits, simply funding them each year out of tax revenue. Now, European countries face a demographic tsunami, in the form of a growing mismatch between low birthrates and high longevity, for which few are prepared.
Europe’s population of pensioners, already the largest in the world, continues to grow. Looking at Europeans 65 or older who aren’t working, there are 42 for every 100 workers, and this will rise to 65 per 100 by 2060, the European Union’s data agency says. By comparison, the U.S. has 24 nonworking people 65 or over per 100 workers, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which doesn’t have a projection for 2060.
hile the problem has long been building, it is gaining urgency as European countries’ debt troubles, growing out of the 2008 crisis, push governments to reassess their priorities. Greece, the worst off, has had to reduce the generosity of its pension system repeatedly. Though its situation is unusually dire, Greece isn’t the only European government being forced to acknowledge it has made pension promises it can ill afford.
“Western European governments are close to bankruptcy because of the pension time bomb,” said Roy Stockell, head of asset management at Ernst & Young. “We have so many baby boomers moving into retirement [with] the expectation that the government will provide.”
Even the U.S., with a Social Security trust fund of $2.8 trillion, faces criticism for promising more than it can afford. That is because the fund—which is mostly in the form of IOUs from the Treasury—is projected to fall short of the sums needed to cover all benefits in a dozen years or so, and run out in 2035. Europe’s situation is much worse.
The demographic squeeze could be eased by the influx of more than a million migrants in the past year. If many of them eventually join the working population, the result could be increased tax revenue to keep the pension model afloat. Before migrants are even given the right to work, however, they require housing, food, education and medical treatment. Their arrival will have effects on public finances that officials have only started to assess.
[A peek into the mind of a Social Democrat]:
“You have to take care of people, of their dignity, not finances,” said Krzysztof Jurgiel, agriculture minister in the current Law & Justice Party government.
--o--
Of course, this is where the "Refugees" come in. See? The idea was they'd come and work and pay tax and that tax would be used to pay for the past generation (mainly The Baby's) retirement benefits. But, this is the thing: Why work? For many, only a sucker would work, when you can instead have 10 children and live off generation donations from "The State".
From Frontpage Mag: 80% of Turkish Muslim Settlers in Germany Live Off Welfare
Turks came to Germany as 'guest workers'. They were supposed to provide some "necessary cheap labor" and then leave. But it didn't work out that way. And the topic has obvious implications for our own Gang of 8's guest worker plan, which is going to lead to non-workers bankrupting the social welfare system even further. Three million Turks live already in Germany already, while 2.5 million of them have German nationality, and the majority of them are conservative Muslims.
Very few Turks in Germany have a regular job; about 20%. The other 80% live on the so-called Hartz IV (state social benefits). 70% of their children have no GCSE; they left school before they finished their basic education. According to the German state benefit system, every adult citizen who possesses the German nationality, unemployed and cannot find an appropriate job, is entitled to get monthly 482 € ($627). Additionally, parents get for each child under 18 years old, 200 € ($261), plus all their monthly expenditures in terms of rent, heating, power, health insurance, and public transport.
"Amazingly enough some Turks who live on the generous state benefits can afford to buy a house or an apartment and drive luxurious cars like Mercedes or BMW." Says Klaus, a SlumLord whose tenants are a case in point.
--o--
Anyway, if we're lucky, B.Sanders will usher in our own European Utopia right here in the U.S.S.A. Won't that be nice? Free University. Free Healthcare. Free Free Free and a bit more Free
Hope and Change cometh!
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