The whole of liberal, Western Europe is almost exclusively the only countries in the world with broad infrastructures of welfare, and almost the only ones to abide by the Human Rights Conventions - meaning you pay a whole lot to non-contributors for a lot of nothing.
I don't want to jump into politics here, but I wouldn't say that's a Net Positive when it's done after a certain point. Overdoing it brings negative effects.
So keeping it on economics, promoting complacency doesn't breed a well functional society in the long run. People learn to expect the state to bail them out for every little problem they face.
But it's still better than not having this.
Oil states have the luxury of having oil money and little to no migration, the latter meaning a net loss of finances.
The West doesn’t have that.
Oil states actually are reliant on migration because someone has to do the work.
Not that dissimilar from western Europe where someone has to do the (dirty) work.
The difference is what you consider a low quality job.
Oil states pay better than most of Europe and it's also easier, as in cheaper and with a higher average of quality standards, to live than major urban areas or western Europe.
In western Europe you can have a lifestyle you cannot afford, that's where the key difference lies, and people today take that for granted because they all feel they're entitled to "cool stuff". At the end of the day, I doubt the average networth per capita is higher in western Europe than the poorer south or east, which are getting poorer due to EU and domestic policies.
Because the west lacks the fundamental quality of owning land.
I find it wholeheartedly hilarious for a Balkanite to laugh and point fingers at the infrastructures of other countries, but it is what it is.
True
Wanna see bad infrastructure and things that don't make sense, check out central Athens... At least the rest of the Balkans have the excuse of having being warzones in the recent past.
Oh, and Slovenia isn't in the Balkans. They just share cultural traits with some of the Balkanites.
Had to say it even if no one asked