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| Europe |
| France riots sparked in part by cradle-to-grave entitlements; EU neighbors, US face similar dilemma |
| 2026-10-31 |
| [Just The News] Europe's vaunted social welfare network is now cracking under the weight of high debt and massive immigration. Here in the U.S. there’s growing debate over how much the government should give to its citizens. In Europe, one of the continent's proudest achievements has long been generous cradle-to-grave welfare. But today, it’s cracking under the weight of high debt and massive immigration. There’s simply not enough money to fund all the benefits and there aren’t enough resources to go around. That imbalance is partly what’s sparked the current protests and riots in Europe. In France, when the government announced freezes on public pay, pensions, and budgets, activists organized protests that turned violent. Similar tensions are playing out in multiple European countries. In Spain, net migration has hit record highs. In late July, an estimated 70,000 illegal immigrants surged into a small Spanish territory in northern Africa. Spanish authorities deployed the military and extra police to send many back and turn away others. Across Spain, the numbers are staggering. The foreign-born population is now about 19%, or 9.4 million people. Meanwhile, there’s a housing shortage of more than 700,000 units. Upfront costs for immigrant housing, healthcare and integration are rising. Judith Arnal is a financial expert who’s worked in the Spanish government and studies the economy. "So, basically I think that the welfare state is really, really strong," she told Full Measure during an interview in Madrid. When asked whether she can summarize some of the benefits that Spanish citizens are entitled to when it comes to social welfare assistance in healthcare as well as immigrants, she replied: "We pay our taxes and the return coming from those taxes is that there's free health, free education. “ |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
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| Posted by: swksvolFF 2026-10-31 09:53 |
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| Posted by: Procopius2k 2026-10-31 07:23 |
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| Posted by: Besoeker 2026-10-31 06:25 |