It depends on what your aim is. Since you ask about "my country": in Germany the only sensible policy would be if the state forces people to produce more children, since our social security and pension system weeps over an increasing number of elderly and less and less young people due to declining birth-rates.

There are years with more births, but in general population is on a decline. If the government was to increase birth-rates I do not think a birth-control policy would work, but rather provide more kindergarten and a family-friendly environment. As it is now, both parents often have to work full-time because of living expenses and are troubled to find places that take care of their children while they are at work. How would you "force" people under those circumstances to produce even more children but at the same time you are reluctant to provide good schooling by employing more teachers?

Teaching is one of the pressing issues at the moment. For years teachers have been treated badly, less and less employed, whilst extending class-sizes, also mixing up schools caused a lot of stress on teaching personnel. No wonder the number of students who aimed for becoming a teacher declined. Just one example.

As you can see, birth-control policy is one thing, local circumstances and conditions another. There is a reason why in many countries without proper security system people tend to raise more children: their children are their social security system. If a government wants them to produce less children one way to go would be to provide a social security system, instead of depriving them of the only net of security they have. In some places, however, it is the other way around.

It depends on what you're trying to achieve. More births? Less? Freer choices? The UK approaches it as a choice issue primarily. Provide access to contraception and abortion. Educate on the importance of contraception. Make sure the very young 13+ can access free contraception if they are sexually active, reality not false hope.

Christopher NOCK

It depends on what your aim is. Since you ask about "my country": in Germany the only sensible policy would be if the state forces people to produce more children, since our social security and pension system weeps over an increasing number of elderly and less and less young people due to declining birth-rates.

There are years with more births, but in general population is on a decline. If the government was to increase birth-rates I do not think a birth-control policy would work, but rather provide more kindergarten and a family-friendly environment. As it is now, both parents often have to work full-time because of living expenses and are troubled to find places that take care of their children while they are at work. How would you "force" people under those circumstances to produce even more children but at the same time you are reluctant to provide good schooling by employing more teachers?

Teaching is one of the pressing issues at the moment. For years teachers have been treated badly, less and less employed, whilst extending class-sizes, also mixing up schools caused a lot of stress on teaching personnel. No wonder the number of students who aimed for becoming a teacher declined. Just one example.

As you can see, birth-control policy is one thing, local circumstances and conditions another. There is a reason why in many countries without proper security system people tend to raise more children: their children are their social security system. If a government wants them to produce less children one way to go would be to provide a social security system, instead of depriving them of the only net of security they have. In some places, however, it is the other way around.

Ah Stephan, that fatal German flaw! Surely, those supplying your pension don't need to be pure bred Aryans do they? Naturalise a few more young Turks. Problem solved?

NOCK

There is the rub Christopher Nock, immigration does not solve the problem. That just won't do. As for the Turks: if they were born here, or have lived here long enough, there is no problem for them to gain German citizenship, but not all of them want it. As things are now, 18,6% of your gross income goes into the pension system (btw.: plus 2,5% into the nursing care insurance, 3% into unemployment-system and 14,6% into health-insurance - based on total gross income of course. )

There are more than 2,85 Mio people of Turkish origin in Germany (2015), of which the half kept the Turkish passport, roundabout 530,000 Turks in Germany actually own both passports and the majority of Turks are in favor of double-citizenship. Only 27% of people of Turkish heritage in Germany oppose the idea of double-citizenship. That means, a lot of those who ar eligible to receive German citizenship refuse it.

Anyhow, you do not need German citizenship to contribute to German pension-system. All you need is a job! A job in Germany of course! The main issue, however, might be, that the whole system is exclusively based on dues, which means if the ratio of those contributing and those profiting from it is uneven, we get a dynamic unbalance. The solution might be to change the system and either base it completely on taxes as they do in Denmark or to sum up dues and taxes.

Having said all that, the initial question, I believe, had more to do with birth-rate and state-induced birth-control than with immigration. You incite me to come up with grand explanations and the most elaborate posts, Christopher Nock, only to later on complain about me being text-heavy in my replies. (^_^)

It's probably not a complaint, more of a tease....

But it does get you to provide nice, but long, explanationneed.

NOCK