VOA常速英语2008年-Europe Ponders Ways to Counter Population Drop

By Nina Maria Potts
Brussels
11 February 2008
 

Europe is facing a profound demographic shift because of low birth rates and an aging population. European Union statisticians warn that Europe's workforce¹ could start shrinking by the end of this decade, prompting calls for an urgent public policy debate over how to tackle the demographic crunch². Nina-Maria Potts reports.

The old are getting older, and the young are not having enough children, put off by financial pressures and inflexible³ employers -- the EU estimates 30 per cent of adults will be over 65 by 2050.

Policy makers⁴ are looking for new ways to tackle an aging society supported by fewer taxpaying workers. Recent EU reports warn that a shrinking workforce will make state pension funds unsustainable.  They call on governments to discourage early retirement⁵ and give older people greater workplace flexibility⁶.

Jos Berghman is professor of social policy at Belgium's University of Leuven. He says, "If all those on the labor⁷ force would be able to work and do their working life up to 65 years it wouldn't be that [big] a problem."

Another solution is immigration. The EU estimates 56 million migrant workers are needed over the next 40 years to counter falling population levels. The European Commission has proposed an EU work permit, a so-called Blue Card to lure⁸ skilled workers to Europe.

Philip Bushill-Matthews sits on the European Parliament's Employment Committee. He says immigration is not a long-term solution. "It doesn't help the underlying⁹ problem, that some old people want the facility to work, and some younger people want the opportunity to have more children."

But not everyone agrees that asking people to have more children is the business of governments. Corinne Maier is a French author and mother of two. Her book, "No Kid: Forty Reasons Not to Have Children," caused a controversy¹⁰ in France, for challenging what she calls baby propaganda.

"I am not sure that we have to pay more taxes in order for young women to have more children,” says the author. “If we need more people to work, I think we should think about opening the doors and saying to people from other countries, 'Come to us, and come to work in Europe.'"

EU plans to attract skilled workers coincide with a crackdown on illegal immigrants. But even if the birth rate rises, Bushill-Matthews says it will still take two generations to make up the demographic shortfall. And the European Parliament is set to debate whether attracting more migrants is inevitable¹¹.

1 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

2 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

3 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

11 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。