Falling Birthrate

Today on the radio they were discussing our birthrate here in Canada; it should come as no surprise to any of you that, like all Western Nations, we’re below replacement levels.

The government’s main concern, of course, is the baby boomer retirement – and there are plenty of damned problems with the children of the Greatest Generation; there’s a lack of skilled workers to replace them (thanks to tenure), the upcoming generation is pathologically obsessed with Bread and Circuses rather than civic virtue, and then, of course, there’s the elephant in the room:

It may well be that people are all inidviduals, but a student of history knows that demographics are destiny.

How bad is it getting?  Let’s talk numbers; the global rate is about 20 births per 1000 people – this is considered medium-low.  South Africa’s at 19; China’s at 12; Chile’s at 15, Mexico’s at 19, and Iraq (thanks to the war) has dropped from 35 to 29.  As for Canada?  Hey, let’s go all out and post a chart!

That’s right… we’re creating Emos, Punks & Pussies at a rate lower than Little Emperors.

You know, maybe it’s my steady diet of Little Red Pills, but I eventually had to shut the radio off.  The Official Ideologues (decent folks in their own right, I’m sure) addressed two possible solutions to the problem: immigration-replacement, and financial incentives, such as the Baby Bonus.

[Goddamn, a little education really is a dangerous thing, ain’t it?  Somebody learns a tiny bit of Econ 101, and suddenly the March of History boils down to the fact that ‘People respond to incentives, LOL!’ I prefer to take a more nuanced approach]

So, let’s dive into this, and see if I can get someone to accuse me of being rassist!

First, the immigration solution – remembering of course that Demographics are Destiny.

As individuals, I love immigrants.  Here in Soviet Canuckistan we have Nazi-esque immigration standards (unlike you poor bastards down in Washington-Corp), and the ones who manage to make it through are almost entirely crème de la crème.  They’re hard working, smart, if they’re Black African they almost never pull the race card, and they get shit done – unlike the many, many entitled, lazy, not-quite-fat Canadians that I’ve met.

To put it in perspective I only Hate about 30% of the immigrants I’ve met; with natural-borns that number is closer to 70.

Economics is not a zero sum game.  While the argument (in the United States) that the exportation of low-wage jobs over-seas, combined with the importation of cheap Mexican labour, is harming the black underclass does have merit to it; however, this is not a comparable case.  A hard-working and skilled immigrant, who displaces a native-born, doesn’t ‘steal his job’ he expands the economy!  We’re expanding our Human Resources as a Country, and until the water runs out, that ain’t a bad thing (though it may result in a brain-drain in their native land).  In this part of the world, the ‘diverse’ companies tend to be the better ones to work for.

But –

[When discussing race, if the person says ‘but’ you can then diregard everything they just said, and accuse them of racism for what comes after.]

But – economics ain’t the whole picture.

For any of you Vancouverites – how does if feel living there if you don’t speak Mandarin?

Some might say that there’s Far Too Much corruption in Chinese-run Vancouver.  Possibly.  I think this is too harsh of a term, however.  Call me culturally ambivalent, but so much of our day-to-day behaviour – interacting with strangers, businesses, and government – is based upon the cultural context we pick up with our mother’s milk.  Why do we tip 15% at restaurants, but not at fast food?  I’ve got no idea – but it’s just how we do things.  There are hundreds of these subconscious protocols, they lube the gears of social interaction, and provide the social unification that lets us all get along.  Start to throw that away, and things go south, fast.

So while the Chinese may be ‘corrupt’ by Canadian standards, I don’t view that as a judgement on their population.  In China, with their own set of mores and traditions, the behaviours make sense, they’re more-or-less fair (as fair as having to pay a 15% tip is, anyway); and in cities without this huge concentration, the Chinese get along fine with everybody else.

When immigrants arrive in small numbers they acclimatize; when they arrive in large numbers they balkanize.  Look at the French – it took us 400 years to pacify them, and even now the Bloc is at danger of re-establishing!  Go ask somebody of low- to middle-income, who’s from a major city, what their experiences are with different immigrant groups.  They’ll complain about the banding together of Filipinos, Muslims, or whomever else is beginning to settle in large numbers; the complaints, largely true, are called racist.

This immigration problem is by no means restricted by differing skin colours; when the Italians, Polish, Ukranians, and the rest from South-Eastern Europe came across, they self segregated; there’s still some history of this in the Eastern half of the country (Wops and Porkchops in Hamilton love to pretend to hate eachother).  But back then, before multi-culturalism, the rate of immigration was restricted – we’re only a few generations in, and most whites can’t tell one another apart (incidentally, East Indians in the GTA seem to be following this pattern closely – your typical Young Brown Male is apt to complain about his parent’s traditional mannerisms, and listen to the same godawful music as everyone else).

Immigration can work, cultural osmosis can improve a culture (Britain and Curry, for instance), but only when it’s done gradually, only when the brakes are put on to prevent balkanization.

The NDP contains members who are advocates of allowing Sharia Law in some parts of Canada.  Need I say more?

Immigration at the levels needed to rebuild our country will destroy it, turning it into something it never wanted to be, as well as engendering the strife and sporadic violence which occurs whenever insular communities bump up against eachother.  Just because we can get along, doesn’t mean we always will.

And that’s not even considering the problem that immigration is supposed to solve – when the immigrants control 51% of the votes, what do you think is going to happen to that Old Age Welfare being provided to people they don’t know, don’t empathize with, and frequently don’t like?

So – problem Number One: Immigrants as Solution – that don’t carry water, no matter how awesome my buddy Sange is.

What about financial incentives?

Oh, ho, ho – we’ll get to that next time!