Spain is Doomed; Youth Unemployment Hits 51%

[Martinus]

I am sure that most parents would disagree with you and tell you that having kids was one of the best decision in their lifes.

I'm sure all the people who praise their past decisions (which they invested a lot of money and effort into, where there is no obvious benefit from and that cannot be reversed without losing the entire investment) as "one of the best decisions in their life" are always 100% truthful.

It's right there with marriage, ENRON stocks and taking a 45 year long mortgage at the height of the real estate bubble.

[Tamas]

I am sure that most parents would disagree with you and tell you that having kids was one of the best decision in their lifes.

I'm sure all the people who praise their past decisions (which they invested a lot of money and effort into, where there is no obvious benefit from and that cannot be reversed without losing the entire investment) as "one of the best decisions in their life" are always 100% truthful.

It's right there with marriage, ENRON stocks and taking a 45 year long mortgage at the height of the real estate bubble.

don't forget suckling on toes

[Grallon]

That's where euthanasia for the old should come into play.

Instead they import cheap labor from the Third World who will end up destroying what will left of the welfare state.




G.

[Eddie Teach]

don't forget suckling on toes

Doesn't seem that would require much of an investment. Heck, if you're limber enough you could use your own toes.

[Valmy]

I think this is happening socially.  There's far more pressure on women to give up their jobs and have their entire lives defined by being or becoming a mother.  That trend along with lauding a certain variety of promiscuity and dressing like a wet dream as sexual liberation make me suspicious that a lot of what people describe as post-feminism looks a lot like pre-feminism mixed with what men would like.  I think we probably need a big dose more of feminism.

Huh?  Women's education and incomes are going up all over the place.  Where exactly is this trend playing out?  Heck more women than ever make more than their husbands.

[Syt]

"This is the generation that will be paying for the welfare state and pensions in the future. If they can't get started with relatively secure, well-paying jobs, start to put away some savings, start to accumulate assets, start paying into the welfare system, where does that leave the rest of us?"

Way to focus on what's important, Mr. Gayle Allard. That, of course, being how are you going to exploit these kids for your nest egg if they have no money.

I saw a political cartoon recently which depicted a bunch of kids sitting in a circle inside a sandbox and one of them saying "I heard they had us so we can pay for their pensions."

An Austrian insurance had an ad campaign that showed a toddler's face with the words "I'm not a 'pension plan'!"

[Valmy]

I'm sure all the people who praise their past decisions (which they invested a lot of money and effort into, where there is no obvious benefit from and that cannot be reversed without losing the entire investment) as "one of the best decisions in their life" are always 100% truthful.

It's right there with marriage, ENRON stocks and taking a 45 year long mortgage at the height of the real estate bubble.

I have no idea what you are babbling about.  People regret bad decisions all the time.

[Valmy]

An Austrian insurance had an ad campaign that showed a toddler's face with the words "I'm not a 'pension plan'!"

Especially since they cannot get jobs.  Sort of hard to pay into the system that way.

Seriously I am baffled how a system with early retirement and low birthrates can have no work for anybody.  Are robots running all of European businesses or something?

[The Brain]

An Austrian insurance had an ad campaign that showed a toddler's face with the words "I'm not a 'pension plan'!"

Especially since they cannot get jobs.  Sort of hard to pay into the system that way.

Seriously I am baffled how a system with early retirement and low birthrates can have no work for anybody.  Are robots running all of European businesses or something?

Robots do industry work, Muselmen do other work.

[Valmy]

  That trend along with lauding a certain variety of promiscuity and dressing like a wet dream as sexual liberation make me suspicious that a lot of what people describe as post-feminism looks a lot like pre-feminism mixed with what men would like.  I think we probably need a big dose more of feminism.

Quiet, you.

I have to admit I do not get the idea women do not want sex and any suggestion they do is just what men want.   Besides last I checked male dominated societies traditionally repress and control female sexuality so I do not get that bit.  I mean the big controversy over here right now is conservative men calling women 'sluts' after all so they do not seem to want it that much.  But I understand feminists tend to disagree with each other on this topic.  I always thought the 'anti-sex' feminists was just traditional American puritanism coming out but maybe not if Sheilbh feels that way.  Not that he speaks for feminism or anything but he seems to keep up with and have an interest in it.

[The Brain]

Feminists belong to the age-old "women's sexuality must be controlled because women are unable to make decisions about sex themselves" crowd. I think society can survive without them.

[Barrister]

Do not underestimate the pressure of society in determining what is good for you.

The real problem is that what is good for the individual and what is good for society are different.  As a society we need more babies.  As an individual I refuse to have any 

Yes, but you are getting a lot of social pressure because of that. Most people brake under it. Some brake too late.

The ones who don't, they are lucky.

I am sure that most parents would disagree with you and tell you that having kids was one of the best decision in their lifes.

Of course. I was just giving a nod to the anti-breaders of Languish, I am not one of them.

"Anti-breaders"?

I didn't know we had any celiacs on Languish.

[Iormlund]

As Larchie says. Unlike older generations few of us have a nice, dependable income. For example, I make about half what either of my parents do, in a job that requires much higher qualification.

The article also leaves out a couple big points: this and the bubble usually mean parents' financial support is critical for our generation. Most people I know needed help from their old folks to get a home, or lived well into their 30s with them.

That introduces another variable: if you just make older people easy to fire now that there's no chance of job creation, you kill the only thing that keeps many households above water. We need 1 to 2% growth before such a deep reform can happen. Things are quiet now because families can help. Cut that, and the only thing keeping riots away is the black market.

[Berkut]

The root of the problem is that many welfare states were set up during a demographically benign period. Ageing populations and increased life expectancy are making the more generous systems unsustainable.

I think more fundamentally than that is that the payment model for the oh so wonderful welfare state is broken.

The reality is that current incomes pay for current pensions (the young pay for the old) but in general pension payment are defined separately from the income that funds them, so you end up with situations where the current income cannot support current payments.

But the old people (or middle aged looking to retire) want security, so they aren't willing to vote for a welfare state system that does not include guarantees of their income, even though such guarantees are not really possible to make for the most part.

Of course, one could take it a level further and say the more fundamental problem is that basic idea that the state should provide this retirement security to begin with.

[Valmy]

Of course, one could take it a level further and say the more fundamental problem is that basic idea that the state should provide this retirement security to begin with.

Traditionally people relied on their kids (or extended family or friends for the childless) to take care of them in their old age.  We might be the last generation for awhile that might not have to do that.  I am already making plans to take in my mother-in-law eventually.