As a baby boomer, I want to apologize for the massive debt you're about to inherit. My generation and the one that preceded us, voted ourselves huge benefits which we called "entitlements". In conjunction with a government that was all-too-happy to see the good times roll while guaranteeing themselves re-election after re-election, we stole your comfortable future. As you may know, the current national debt resides at $17 trillion. The year I was born, the national debt stood at $274 billion. The yearly interest on the current national debt is almost double that figure at $412 billion. That's just the interest. Considering we run a $1 trillion annual deficit, forget about paying off the actual debt itself. Such debts and deficits will gobble up capital that should be available for private ventures that create jobs and wealth. But instead, the federal government will require that money to pay for such items as Social Security and Medicare payments along with everything else. We are the largest retired population that will have their benefits paid for by the smallest working population ever. (See: Pyramid scheme) Some will attempt to tell you that Social Security has a surplus. They're lying to you. At one time SS did have a surplus courtesy of a large working population and a rather small retired population. The federal government "borrowed" money from SS to fund other programs. The problem is, these other programs never budgeted money to pay SS back. Currently SS has $2 trillion in I.O.U.s in it's coffers. Essentially worthless pieces of paper that are promissory notes with no financial backing... at all. But the generations before you are going to demand their benefits. And you're going to pay for them. Medical expenses for an aging population are expensive as well. We'll want that too by the way. Sorry if that doesn't leave much left over for your needs.
There are many to blame here - from both political parties. But the current administration and his party have shown absolutely no interest in controlling spending and debt. If Conservatives show a desire to do so, they are labeled as being hateful and charged with attempting to starve old people, deny young people an education and generally destroy the planet by their very existence. But if we're to spread the blame around here - some of it belongs on your doorstep as well. In recent elections, the youth vote has gone to the Democrats just as it has for the last 20 or so years. I have to admit it, the Dems have done a masterful job of enticing you. They offer the promise of everything including free health care. But they neglected to tell you about the part where you're going to eventually have to pay for it. By contrast the GOP offers you opportunity, liberty and personal responsibility. I guess that doesn't have quite the impact as "do what you want and pick up your free contraceptives as you exit the voting booth".
Eventually, someone has to be the adult in the room and tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. Take a look at the protesters against big government in Washington. Most of them are older. They're willing to make sacrifices for the future. Your future. We could stand back and just wait for our goodies to kick in. But we see the peril in doing so. America wasn't built to last 100 or 200 years. It wasn't set up to be a buffet of benefits to be paid for by the next two generations. It was designed to be the best hope on Earth for personal liberty and a template for success. And if kept true to original design, it cannot fail. We have drifted far from our founders' intent and the culprits are many. But now is the time to embrace and follow a particular ideology. One will shape your future, the other will dictate your future. Which will you choose?
