This week’s essay of the week is not really an essay per say. Rather, it is a slide show on the demographic changes in Europe. If you have been following Europe’s demographic situation, these slides might not tell you anything you do not already know. But even if that is the case, I still think that these charts will bring the reality of the crisis home.

For example, I already knew that the number of people over 65 had overtaken the number of people under 14 in Europe. But to see a chart comparing the growth of the number of the people over 65 with the fall in the number of people under 14 since 1980 really brought home to me how rapid this change has been. Makes you really think about what the next 25 years are likely to bring.

It is like seeing a train wreck in slow motion. Those under 14’s are the only ones who can have the children of the future. Not only are that, but those under 14’s are the ones who are going to have to pay for the retirement of their elders. It’s not going to be pretty.