Speaking of Europe,

[mikebake]

here is an interesting read..........
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=219362005

[Zilch]

To hear the American doomsayers, they'd be better off allying themselves with the EU, for sure.

As for going it alone, "Doing what?" is the question. Running scams on eBay?

The technology lag and the birth rate thing are also red herrings. They're making them up, the first that it even exists, and the second that it matters.

We need more kids so they can support us in our old age? Back to third-world poverty is a solution? Import more Pakistanis?

Less is definitely more, in this case. They need to give up on the Empire, finally. It ain't gonna happen....

[Donald]

Not sure how the birth rate does not matter. The Euro penisons are very generous and the taxes taken are stiff. I would think you need a big base of workers to support the increasing number of retirees.

[Zilch]

Not sure how the birth rate does not matter.The same argument is being used here regarding Social Security, of course. In this case, the alleged answer is to pump the $$ into stocks and give the dwindling resources to big business.

What's needed is a paradigm shift, even a reversal of expectations, in both cases. Having more kids is environmentally unsound, and certainly not the answer. Neither is flooding the society with pittance-paying immigrants to boost the revenue base.

It's right to confront and anticipate the problem, of course. As argument to stonewall the EU, a HUGE stretch. Birth rate goes down with economic development, a classic relationship, and in the larger picture, a good one. Suddenly comes a realization there's not going to be enough hands to drive the oxen?

Allegedly, occidentalism is smarter than that....