The Brain Drain Story

“There is a brain drain. If young, healthy men leave their homeland, they weaken its economy. The brain drain, which is sometimes a muscle drain, may condemn such countries to permanent backwardness, because they lose an important part of their workforce – perhaps even millions of people – which is also my argument against illegal and economic migration.”

-- Czech President Milos Zeman

It was an address to the EU and discussing the EU strategy ahead on migration and asylum.  It was a blunt message, which even the intellectual crowd has to pause over and admit that he is correct.

After the 2008 economic situation....Greece fell apart in rapid fashion with unemployment a major problem for educated crowd and skilled craftsmen.  Greeks who had something to offer....ended up packing up and moving north....in a great extent, to Germany. 

You see the same brain drain occurring today with Iraqis and Syrians....moving into Germany.  You see the same issue beginning to start up with Turks migrating into Germany. 

What happens in twenty-five years?  No one really sits there and speculates on the condition of the countries losing workers.  You would think some university or foundation would pick up this topic....but there's virtually no interest to explore where this is going.

If you were looking around Syria for people to be teachers in the next 20 years?  There's a problem brewing, because I think most of the qualified young people who would have been in such a profession....have left.  The same can be said for Iraq. 

As part of the intellectual argument?  Intellectuals don't typically stand around and admire how nations exist because of certain amount of collected wit, inventiveness, and talent.  Why is Silicon Valley that significant today?  They found ways to attract smart people into the region.   If you've rigged the system so that you create the inverse (the opposite) of Silicon Valley....in Iraq and Syria....or dozens of other third-world countries....what is the result in twenty-five years?

It's worth a moment or two to ponder this direction of society.