Mr. President tear down these walls

In 1987 the President of the US Ronald Reagan pronounced a famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and said a phrase that has become history: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”.

Regan was referring to the Berlin Wall. In 1989 the Berlin wall fell.

Today I am saying to the Head of Government in Spain: “Mr. Rajoy, tear down these walls”.

I am referring to the walls that contain the immigration of foreigners into Spain (including the fences of Ceuta and Melilla).

Tear them down, as simply as that.

Why am I saying that frontiers should be open? Well, because Spain faces both a declining population problem and an ageing population PROBLEM.

These are the trends:

• in 50 years Spain will have lost 5.6 Mil of population
• In 50 years the life expectancy will grow by ten years and 30% of population will be 65 or older.

So, there will be both less people and older people.

DECLINING AND AGEING POPULATION

Declining population

The evolution of Spain's population is the outcome of an equation between the number of people who leave the country and those who enter, as well as the difference between births and deaths.

The fertility rate is 1.32 children per woman (a 2.1 rate is necessary simply to replace the current population).

As a consequence, in 50 years, for each birth there will be two deaths (230 K births vs. 560 K deaths).

On the other hand, more people are leaving the country than coming in. There is a mounting out-migration of young people.

By 2060 Spain will be home to barely 35 million people)

 Ageing population

Spain will experience ever-higher proportions of retired people relative to those working.

On the one hand, life expectancy will, in 50 years, be 10 years longer. On the other, there will be not enough newborns.

In 50 years about a third of the population will be in the range of 65 and over.

Presently two workers support one retiree. In 50 years one worker will support one retiree.

Consequence

So, a country with a shrinking population and a declining number or young workers, will somehow have to work out a plan to pay the pensions and healthcare costs and, at the same time, pay down a national debt that is rapidly approaching 100% of GDP.

Capitalism requires constant growth (K Marx)

Capitalism is based on reinvestment of today’s profits in the belief that they will generate more profits in the future, which implies that there will be growth. On the other hand, credit is the fuel that makes the economy function. And credit is based on the hope that the borrower will have future profits on the money invested to repay both the loan and the interest.

Economic reasons are important, but there also humanitarian reasons FOR TAKING ACTION

Immigration barriers are an offense to humankind. People should have the right to live where they choose. We, the developed world, have the moral obligation to host our brothers and sisters of less developed countries.

In Spain, as a first measure, we will open the borders. We will tear down the fences of Ceuta and Melilla. Mr Rajoy, tear down these walls!

The tragedy of all these Africans living in unbearable conditions in the Moroccan mountains, close to the Spanish border, should stop. We will welcome them; they are our brothers and sisters in our Lord. They should be allowed to freely enter the Spanish territory and, therefore, the EU. This will be the ultimate solution to this old problem of declining and ageing population.

At the beginning, there will be an invasion, I recognise this fact, but slowly the situation would normalise.

Solution 

 We need to encourage immigration and deter out-migration. To maintain a constant working age population (15-64 years), an average of 260.000 immigrants a year would be needed.