Sr. Pessimist

Stop Writing Eulogies for the Dollar

728 million in Europe right now. America has 300 million. Europe is on the decline in population. America is on the increase. China claims their population problem is taken care of by 2030.

I'll add something. I read (if I'm correct) that China rewards rote memory capability over critical thinking skills. America is corrupt as hell, but a lot of different minds can trade equity for thrice the average income. Garbage trap minds are useless in engineering disciplines. I'm about broke right now, but I'm slated to enter the upper class in a couple of years for some work I've done because I encountered an opportunity to choose between focusing on what I was doing or pursue a very risky goal, and chose the path less traveled. Generally, in China, unless you're among that 1% that makes it to the best school (Peking University), either make it to secondary school and accept it, or learn to retread tires.

I can see how a barrista serving coffee should probably earn enough to live on. Triple his or her pay and that's closer to reasonable ($20 an hour or so). Out in Turkey girls work coffee shop jobs and get really reasonable pay- enough to live on. However, they get very comfortable with a stagnant equity development capability. They don't have much incentive to pursue a diverse skill set.

I also heard that in Sweden everything is handed to you. That's my idea of an ideal country. But this is not the first time I've heard that Europe has a rapidly aging population and is facing a severe skilled talent shortage of about 20 million able-minded highly-skilled workers.

Now my understanding is that capitalist expansion carries with it an expiration date on the system. It's a very vicious system, but in so being has a greater capacity to survive among other systems (where you find other vicious systems). My question now is how Europe affords to treat its young people so well yet is able to guarantee its older people such a strife-free retirement.

Italy certainly does seem to need to be schooled on how to do an economy right. 3 hours of ciesta luncheons with a party every night and maybe 4 hours of work during the day is as much as I heard about the Italian work ethic. Switzerland seems to enjoy its influx of Italian migrant workers to do their work for them. As happy as the bowls of pasta and bottles of red wine sound, the party's got to come from somewhere.

What the hell is going on in the rest of the world out there? I thought America didn't have its act together.