View Single Post
Unread 18 Mar 2012, 11:04   #2
Mzyxptlk
mz.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 8,587
Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.Mzyxptlk has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.
Re: Financial refugees

I am intrigued.

You say we're "used to political and war refugees". I disagree. Economic motives have always been the most common reason for migration to the West. Speaking for the Netherlands, we first had a wave of Spaniards and Italians in the 50s and 60s, and when they became too rich to want to do shitty jobs at minimum wage, and their job prospects in their native countries improved, they went back. We were then forced to switch to the next poorest countries over in the 70s and 80s, Morocco and Turkey. For them, the return phase has not yet come and might never come. More recently we've been seeing an increase in immigration from Poland & co, when some eastern European countries acceded into the EU back in 2004.

What is new, to me at least, is this notion of completely severing the bonds with the home country right from the very start. The usual pattern of economic migrants is that first, the parent with no job prospects come over. Whether that's the dad or the mum seems largely dependent on the culture. They largely live outside of the society of their guest country (very easy to do when you're alone with no responsibilities) and send the majority of their earnings back to the family in their native country. Sometimes It starts with seasonal migration (it is common in India to take a seasonal job in the big city in order to pay off loans, for example) and then develops into permanent residency. Some time later (he said vaguely...), the spouse and children join the lonely parent and only then do they really start to put down roots (the children, especially), beginning the hard process of integration.

In your scenario, the goal is no longer supporting your loved ones back home, but to escape the boa constrictor that is a collapsing economic system. I'm questioning whether the emigrating young generation really would so callously turn their back on their homes. Social bonds come in varying types and strengths. We are much less willing to support random strangers in the street than we are to support our immediate family. The richer we are, the more willing we are to create generous social security structures. In bad times, this willingness slowly withers away.

But even in the poorest of societies, not all social bonds vanish. Loyalty to family seems to be one of those, which explains why there's a direct correlation between poverty and the number of children per family; it's the only kind of social security really poor people have.

So while I agree that mass emigration of the paying generation will put the Greek government in a bit of a pickle, I don't think that will necessarily lead to a collapse of society, because even the most selfish emigrant will not let their family starve back home while they're comfortable in a Nordic heaven.


On a slightly related side note, making future generations pay for your present comfort is hardly a new notion. In fact, that is the whole reason d'être of pension funds.
__________________
The outraged poets threw sticks and rocks over the side of the bridge. They were all missing Mary and he felt a contented smug feeling wash over him. He would have given them a coy little wave if the roof hadn't collapsed just then. Mary then found himself in the middle of an understandably shocked family's kitchen table. So he gave them the coy little wave and realized it probably would have been more effective if he hadn't been lying on their turkey.
Mzyxptlk is offline   Reply With Quote