I'm still working on a tabulation and explanation of federal finances, but meanwhile the New York Times has done a good job summarizing the federal issues that really matter. As opposed to the stuff politicians talk about. Reading this article reinforces the idea that the majority of those 55 and over, those in Generation Greed, are in fact greedy, and those who pander to them are evil. If those who are not greedy don't stand up for younger generations right now, instead of simply refusing the face up to what the situation actually is, and all of those younger don't realize what is going on, the result will be a bigger disaster.
As you read the article, your will hear some say that all sacrifices — whether higher taxes or the loss of senior benefits – should be made by those 54 and younger, because those older “did what they were asked to do” and those younger “have time to adjust.” Remember that the current deal is a deal that older generations made with themselves, promises they made to themselves and decided not to pay for. Just like the public employee unions and state politicians and their deals to retroactively enrich the pensions of those cashing in and moving out, and then cut pay and benefits for those coming after. And younger generations have been and will be poorer on average at each point in their lives, with the biggest difference coming later – in old age. Finally, after years of importing more than we export and borrowing the difference, Americans are facing (or not facing) a significant decline in their standard of living. “Buy now pay later” has killed us, and those seeking to exempt themselves from the damage are hypocrites or worse.
Read the whole article, but here are some good quotes.
An anti-government 57-year old with government benefits. “You have to help and have compassion as a people, because otherwise you have no society, but financially you can’t destroy yourself. And that is what we’re doing…I feel bad for my children.”
Pretty honest by American standards, but no help.
“I don’t feel like I need the government.” How about Social Security? And Medicare? Can he imagine retiring without government help? “I don’t think so,” he said. “No. I don’t know. Not the way we expect to live as Americans.”
Better change your expectations, especially if you are 54 or younger.
A 71-year-old “believes that she is taking more from the government than she paid in taxes. She worries about the consequences for her grandchildren. She said she would like politicians to propose solutions. ‘We’re reasonable people,’ she said. “We’re not going to say, ‘Give it to me and let my grandchildren suffer.’ I think they underestimate seniors when they think that way.’ But she cannot imagine asking people to pay higher taxes. And as she considered making do with less, she started to cry.”
Can’t pay more won’t accept less. Or won’t pay more and can’t accept less. That’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans in Generation Greed.
Here is what I mean by evil.
A 53-year old. “I vision that I open up their backpacks and I put in a 50-pound rock and zip it back up again,” Mr. Cravaack told the Minnesota Freedom Council in October 2010. “And I say, ‘Sorry, son, you’re going to have to hump this the rest of your life.’ Because that’s exactly what we’re doing to our national debt right now to our children.”
Fair enough.
“Cravaack has also consistently said the government should not reduce its largest category of spending — benefits for the current generation of retirees. He also says he does not support cuts for people who will turn 65 over the next decade. ‘If you’re 55 years and older, you don’t have to listen to this conversation because we have to keep those promises,’ Mr. Cravaack told The Daily Caller last April. ‘People like myself, 52, if you’re 54 or younger, we’re going to have a conversation.’”
What, exactly, is the difference between Generation Greed sticking those coming after with severe poverty in old age and Generation Greed sticking those coming after with even higher taxes? No difference, for those coming after. It’s all misdirection. The whole “big-government small-government” debate is a fraud, because a generation that demanded big government and paid for small government thinks the solution is the reverse for someone else. That kind of pandering makes me sick. This, of course, is the politician. And the Democrats are no different.
Cravaack and the Republicans, when they make these proposals, are sending a message to those who say “We’re not going to say, ‘Give it to me and let my grandchildren suffer.’ I think they underestimate seniors when they think that way.’” And a message about them to everyone else.
Here’s my conversation, Mr. Clavaack. You know you will be getting guaranteed health insurance, and a guaranteed pension, from the federal government as a politician. So it’s easy for you to spout the nonsense you do. Let’s start by taking that away, putting you in the same boat as the serfs.
And note what Clavaack and the rest do not come right out and say. "Because those older had a good deal for themselves, those younger are going to be much, much worse off and they might as well plan on it." That might actually be useful, but Generation Greed doesn't want to hear it.
One more point not to be missed. In addition to the issues with senior benefits, more and more working people are qualifying for benefits for the poor — because they are poorer. We are heading for a country where most people earn less than $40,000 in today’s dollars, many less than $20,000, supplemented (or not) by food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and health insurance via Medicaid. And without that money (and even with it), Americans won’t be able to afford all that energy use and stuff from China anymore.
I do plan on writing a “how shall we live” series of posts for younger people. The worst things to give up and work around? Public education and retirement benefits in old age, thanks to the state and local pension pillaging and federal tax cuts of Generation Greed.