New York’s retired and near-retired public employees, who (like top corporate executives) have been among the few people becoming better off over the past two decades, just decided to make future generations of public employees worse off to pay for what they have seized for themselves by enacting a Tier V. They will now claim this is their share of “shared sacrifice,” which is of course a lie, because they have sacrificed nothing. You will see who is sacrificed, as public services are cut and taxes continue to rise. Which is why I don’t vote for Democrats in New York City, or any incumbents in New York State. They are the parties of the exploitive over-privileged.
In Washington, meanwhile, some members of Generation Greed are prepared to face the reality of what they have done. They know if the cost of the Medicare program for those over 65 isn’t cut, and it continues to be paid for mostly by borrowing (only hospitals are paid for by the Medicare tax), Medicare will not be available for younger generations when they themselves become old. And unless the federal government is willing to do something, other than subsidize employer-provided insurance for those who have it with a regressive tax break that is worth more they more you earn and the more you get, younger generations may not make it to 65. The national Republicans, the official political party of the divorced deadbeat dad, have jumped in to defend unlimited and unquestioned spending on today’s seniors, and oppose doing anything for those coming after, which is why I won’t vote for them, either. So what will be the result? My odds: Generation Greed is Generation Greed because it’s greediest members have won every time.
It is time for those younger to think about their obligations to their own parents. Those obligations vary widely. Some were sacrificed and cared for when they were children, as their parents stayed in less than perfect marriages (like all marriages) to ensure their well being. Others, the majority of those raised by Generation Greed, had parents who broke up the family to pursue their own well being, or just deposited sperm and left. As the TV show Thirtysomething put it: “What about my needs?!”
If government, across the board, is going to be an institution of, by and for Generation Greed, not only providing senior benefits that pro-tax cut Generation Greed was unwilling to pay for when working, but also that will be radically diminished after it has bankrupted the country, you have to ask why pay should those coming after pay for it? Couldn’t the children of the less greedy members of Generation Greed take care of their own parents, cutting out the middle man, and to heck with the rest?
Individual obligations aside, collectively we owe them nothing.
At the state and local level, there is little that could be done to today’s retirees that could be considered unjust. For New York State, there is no reasonable alternative to collapse, no chance for redemption at all. They are going to keep taking and taking until there is nothing left, without conscience, and just lie and rationalize. Tier V is just one example, and just the start.
What they will provide those coming after is propaganda and deception. Notice how little has been said about Tier V, and how it is there to pay for all the pension enhancements over the past 12 years. They’ll scapegoat someone else for the cost. But the truth is government certainly isn’t there for the poor anymore, and in this state (though not nationally) hasn’t undercharged the rich. In New York City at least, services for the middle class are not excessive. So who does that leave?
Who is fighting for the people of New York under age 50? Governor Paterson, who wants to provide them less in public services to pay for Generation Greed? Or the state legislature, who wants to shift even more costs to them by borrowing even more, or raise taxes on those working, to pay for Generation Greed? As far as allowing the infrastructure to rot, they are in agreement.
Nationally, it would be perfectly reasonable to demand that Medicare (and Medicaid for those qualifying by being aged) be rationed to the level of services that can be funded by the existing payroll tax. You don’t want government “death panels?” Then eliminate the “public option” so many don’t want younger generations to get, and let the seniors purchase insurance in an unreformed private market.
For the rest of the country, keep you eye on the health care and other debates. This is about whether Generation Greed, at long last, is willing to give a damn about anyone else. That is what those debates are about. Certainly not “ideology” or “big government.” Not with Republicans who have borrowed this country to bankruptcy fighting to increase spending on and tax breaks for those who already have the best deals, leaving nothing for anyone else, now or later.