The Joys of Socialism Pt 2713

The money quote is the last paragraph.

Five formerly communist states of eastern Germany where deserted factories and blocks of flats already blot the landscape are set to lose another third of their population by 2050, German statisticians said Tuesday.

The figures are based on current birth and death statistics in a region where the economy imploded after the end of communism in 1989. Major industries closed down, young people left for the west and often only old people were left in smaller villages.

The Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said the population was set to decline 31 per cent in Brandenburg, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg West Pomerania and Thuringia. By 2050 there would be 80 retirees for every 100 residents aged 20-65.

The more prosperous German west is also set to suffer a decline in population if Germany does not appeal for immigrants: a 10-per-cent fall in the three city-states and a 14-per-cent fall in the remaining eight western states.

Source: DPA via Expatica

Rather than deal with unemployment and falling birth rates, Germany, like many EU countries, relies upon importing labor in the form of immigration. It's a two-fold benefit for the socialist state. The imported labor is cheaper, less likely to be unionized, and the influx helps dilute the nation state identity. Sovereignty isn't a socialist value; their loyalty is to the socialist system that rewards corruption first, mediocrity second, and political patronage. Why worry about unemployment? All their friends are employed. By the government.

On the other hand, busy German politicians passed a bill that raises the legal age limit for buying tobacco from 16 years to 18. The age of consent for sex in Germany is 14-16. I guess post-coital smoking is out for teens.