To redeem these IOUs, the government would have to: 1) raise taxes; 2) cut spending; or 3) borrow an equivalent amount of money on the open market at a time when U.S. government debt is at the highest peacetime level in history. This Montana Senior Nailed It! Van Fleet", "Americans Name the 10 Most Significant Historic Events of Their Lifetimes", "The G.I. Our top domestic priorities should be to ensure that all children get health care and to get our fiscal house in order. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Spread the love. And, of course, we expect to be gone when it comes time for succeeding generations to collect on health care. But Simpson said that while every interest group that testified before his committee agreed that the mounting federal debt is a national tragedy, they would then talk about why government funding to their area of interest shouldn't be touched. Our credit rating will fall, the cost of debt servicing will increase and the monumental task of repayment will get even harder. Instead, we have sacrificed our children and their children so that we can have a better life. Thats not likely to happen. When we boomers fully retire, our kids will need to pay each of us, on average, $50,000 in todays dollars to cover our retirement benefits. Business employs 80 per cent of the workforce and is the only true generator of wealth and jobs. Its made no such promises for most of its official Treasury bills and bonds. 24 November 2010. Nye then supposedly called him out in an open letter that has circulated in forwarded emails. by senior futurist Richard Worzel, C.F.A. No, but we have perfected the ways of being greedy, and of deflecting the blame, and we know no shame. Wyoming Capitol Journal. A 2012 report, produced for the Republicans of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, estimated the unfunded pension liabilities of 49 state governments alone at $2.8 trillion dollars. I was born in 1949. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. Not surprisingly, many of the debt commission's draft proposals to cut the debt by nearly $4 trillion by 2020 from raising the retirement age to 69 by 2075 to bringing in $1 trillion more in tax revenue have won strong opposition from liberals and conservatives alike. !" 1. 43 years later and they are still underwater. Yet today Torontos traffic gridlock is rated as being among the worst in the developed world, even worse than that for New York City or Los Angeles. This would be a tragedy caused by local mismanagement except that at the time it happened, the DOT had cited approximately 75,000 bridges in the United States as being deficient. "People I've known, relatives (saying), "'You son of a bitch. If, instead, that money had been invested in outside securities that could be sold to help fund Social Security, the SSA would now be in a much better financial position. Baby Boomers are considered to be the greediest generation, and its time make the environment better. Weve reached a point now where its like a milk cow with 310 million tits! Laurence Kotlikoff, an economist and fiscal expert who with Scott Burns wrote the excellent and scary book "The Coming Generational Storm," calls this "fiscal child abuse.". A 2012 study by Harvard University[5]said that estimates of unfunded public liabilities could range as high as $4.4 trillion. Next to jazz, blues, gospel music, and folk music; swing jazz became immensely popular with members of this generation. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin defended the filibuster, claiming getting rid of it "would be the end of the Senate as it was originally . Meanwhile, the Guardian (the . The brilliant Harvard professor, Niall Ferguson, describes the traditional intergenerational compact as our most important social contract and one that is being broken in Western economies. "Hey Dick, let's get a few things . When I think about the kind of world we are turning over to our children, it is We have an ageing population, increasing life expectancy, an aged pension benchmarked to average male weekly earnings (the highest possible index) and the family home excluded from the asset test. 21 February 2008. Once we recognize the crushing burden the current system will place on our kids and grandkids, well see that reforming government spending programs (including entitlement programs)on our backs, not on our kidsis the only way to go. In that book he said, it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced. He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the right thing to do.[1]. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance? refer to American soldiers in World War II. The Greediest Generation. But whats worse, and indicative of how the boomers have managed things, is what happened to the money collected by the Social Security Administration (SSA) intended to (partially) fund Social Security pensions. They also experienced much of their youth with rapid technological innovation (e.g., radio, telephone, automobile) amidst growing levels of worldwide income inequality[9][10][11] and a soaring economy. commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he. And for what? It is you and they who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. We cut off other people in traffic, because we dont care whether its our turn or not, and text and phone while we drive, putting other peoples lives at risk. He must have thought I was about to rip off his head and spit down his . We have lived in 3rd world countries and sacrificed plenty. Our slogan has gone from "free love" to "free blood pressure medicine.". She also tells it like it is! Sen. Richard Durbin says that "Social Security does not add one penny to our debt.". Why? Dick Durbin, a Senator from Illinois calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. The bad news is they think this can be accomplished by slashing discretionary programs. Durbin said Social Security . Friday, November 26, 2010 Alan Simpson, President Obusha's hand-selected Cat Food Commission member doesn't suffer critics. Unlike the Western allies and the Soviet Union, Germany did not honor its veterans, as the association with Nazism continues in contemporary Germany today. No one asked me blame those corrupt politicians! The Greediest Generation Report this post Richard Worzel, C.F.A. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Illinois resident blasted U.S. Taxing retirement income and calling seniors the "greediest generation" is insane in a state with the fifth highest population of seniors, a group with a 70+ percent turnout rate, and who are vocal about pocketbook issues. But our worst economic bequest is the fantastic fiscal liability were leaving our kids. 1. THIS SENIOR CITIZEN NAILED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In comparison, the Canada Pension Plan, which was established in 1965 by the government of Canada, was headed down the same path as the SSA until 1996. The baby boomers who have controlled this country since the 1980s are a selfish, entitled generation. [15] The popularity of the radio also became a major influence in the lives of this generation, as millions tuned in to listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "fireside chats" and absorbed news in a way like never before.[16]. The only way to assess a countrys fiscal condition that is free of this problem is by forming the countrys fiscal gapthe present value total of all the official debts and unofficial current and future spending obligations after netting out all the current and future taxes everyone is currently slated to pay. For example, firered posted on 11/11/10 at 05:54 PM EST: This situation was neither created nor perpetuated by the `Baby Boomer' generation. None of that changes the macro-effects of the way we have lived our lives. Baby Boomers. We bring young children to fancy restaurants, then dont supervise them, ignoring how they annoy other diners. Simpson's remark became the basis for a caustic anonymous rebuke that was widely circulated on the internet: Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming, Co-Chair of Obama's deficit commission, calls senior citizens "the Greediest Generation" as he compared Social Security to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. The recent proposal by the co-chairs of President Obamas bipartisan deficit commission would, unfortunately, make only a modest dent in our nations humongous credit card bill. 3. Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay the bills 6. As of 2019, approximately 389,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II remain alive. And a big part of the reason is, as various reports noted, that Toronto should have been investing in at least one kilometer of subway extension a year, but actually invested in only a tiny fraction of that. The generation is generally defined as people born from 1901 to 1927. Ignoring the long-term good, or the long-term costs, and focusing on the immediate appeal of unsustainably low taxes, must ultimately be laid at the feet of the voters who elect politicians on low-tax platforms. "[2] The term was further popularized by the title of a 1998 book by American journalist Tom Brokaw. But, he added, if the boomers insist on getting theirs, were going to take everybody down, including ourselves., This is a BETA experience. Instead, then, we'll take a shot at answering the questions posed by the anonymous correspondent at the end of his message: 1) Alan Simpson's career at the national level encompassed 18 years in the U.S. Senate from 1979-96, during which time (according to a Congressional Research Service report on "Salaries of Members of Congress"), his salary would have averaged about $92,000, for an aggregate total of $1.66 million. Were working to restore it. [3]This is one estimate of the amount of assets held by the SSA that will have to be redeemed to keep its operations financed. All this hubbub isn't a surprise to Simpson, given how politically polarized the country is these days. Following the war, this generation produced children at an unprecedented level. Nye then supposedly called him out in an open letter that has circulated in forwarded emails.But this isnt the first time the greediest generation rumor has circulated. Sarah Dunant owns up to being a member of the greediest generation - the baby boomers. For modern Russians, the conflict continues to provide the population with a nationalistic rallying call. Why shouldnt he try? And because the boomers vote, and younger generations havent yet started to band together for self-protection, its likely that the boomers will get their way which means unaffordable health care could bankrupt Canadas governments. I grew up in the shadow of what Tom Brokaw called " The Greatest Generation .". As recently as 1966, for example, 29 percent of Americans over 65 were below the poverty line, compared with only 18 percent of American children. [4]This doesnt include liabilities for municipal governments, for health care benefits for retirees, nor for the civil servants of the U.S. federal government. A number of popular film genres, including gangster films, musical films, comedy films, and monster films attracted mass audiences. We boomers should be the first to use this tool. Here's a response in a letter from PATTY MYERS in Montana I think she is a little ticked off! [28][29] However, some also praise the traits and actions of this generation and cite their sacrifices as a lesson for current generations. [6]Were the CEOs of 2010 more than eight times better than the CEOs of 1980? "Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming , Co-Chair of Obama's deficit commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. [2]http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/, A Message from the Public Trustees, fromA Summary of the 2013 Annual Reports, Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, as read 7 July 2014. Look upon our works and wail. Votes. Stalin's scorched earth policy left its western regions in a state of devastation worsened by the advancing German army. German cities and towns were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. [40] Surviving veterans visit the Yasukuni Shrine to pay tribute to their fallen comrades.[41]. In practice, though, all of this money has been spent by Congress, and the SSA has been left with worthless IOUs. [37], As children, members of this generation came of age during Stalin's rise to power. By Paul Walker. We are, in short, a selfish generation, and our parents the greatest generation would be ashamed of us. But the number of Gen Xers has ticked up over the last few Congresses, from 16 in the 115th to 20 in the current session. (You can read all the comments here.). ! [35] By the end of the war, 5 million Germans were dead, including civilians. The baby boom has been described variously as a "shockwave" and as "the pig . Its the same with any system in America. But for nearly one third of people (31%) it is a "state public event" while for another 31% it is a memorial day for all former Soviet people. Pope Francis Orders White Women to Have Children with Muslim Migrants-Fiction. He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the 'right thing to do 1:38. In July, Baby Boomers should vote for posterity and not for themselves. He also tells it like it is ! We talk on our cellphones in public places, annoying the people around us. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. I wanted to know . compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with . [1] They were shaped by the Great Depression and were the primary generation composing the enlisted forces in World War II. American boomers chose not to do that with Social Security. The Latest Insight On Navigating The Next Market Crash, You Can Now Build Your Own ETF, Heres How, The Future Of Real Estate: Fintech 50 2019, How To Pick The Health Savings Account That Is Right For You, New Documentary To Show How Far People Go For Financial Independence, Aging Parents Helping Adult Children Financially: Unhealthy Results, Adjusting To Retirement: 4 Ways Women Professionals Can Get Over The Hump. She also tells it like it is! Elder followed 167 individuals born in California between 1920 and 1921 and "traced the impact of Depression and wartime experiences from the early years to middle age. The hot issue of the moment is Social Security, and the newest entitlement program is a prescription drug benefit for the elderly. They endured the Holodomor famine, which killed millions. David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994. With boomers about to retire, I'm afraid that national priorities will be focused even more powerfully on the elderly rather than the young -- because it's the elderly who wield political clout. Nearly 18 million members of this generation would fight in World War II and approximately 3 million, including civilians, would be killed or wounded. None of these is politically or financially feasible, but eventually either choice 1 or 2 will have to be made. We always had enough while they were getting their's. Even after defeat Japan would achieve unprecedented prosperity through businesses such as Sony Corporation (founded by Akio Morita) and cultural influence, as in cinema by Akira Kurosawa. The majority of politicians opposed to action on climate change are baby boomers, and it will be the millennial generation who will bear the cost of this inactivity. The only way out is to reduce spending. The lives of this generation are a common element of popular culture in the western world,[26] and media related to this generation's experiences continues to be produced. The aged pension costs us $42 billion a year and is estimated to grow at 6 per cent a year over the next 10 years far higher than any predictions of inflation, GDP growth and real wage growth. No, it helped us not to be a drain on society but we are now being told we have to do with less and not benefit from any of the massive tax dollars we paid in. Everyones greedy when it comes to health care, not just the boomers. The first member of their generation to be elected president, John F. Kennedy, began a Space Race against the Soviet Union, and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, further promoted a controversial "Great Society" policy. 24 . You know em too. Remarkably, it was then reformed: contributions were raised to a sustainable level, and the monies collected were invested in the open markets by an independent agency, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, with the result that the CPP is today one of the worlds best examples of how a government pension scheme should be run. Why? Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe later popularized the G.I. Japanese cities, towns, and villages were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. I urge you to read Kotlikoffs full column, but here's a taste: Herb Stein, once the chairman of President Nixon's Council of Economic Advisors, had a saying: `Things that can't go on will stop. What he should have said was, `Things that can't go on will stop too late. When the U.S. Treasury bond bubble bursts, we could see a financial collapse that makes 2008 look tame. And they have no choice; without water a city becomes a ghost town. Additionally, those alive in 1918 through 1920 experienced the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic. Generation and the "Triumph of the Squares", "U.S. income inequality, on rise for decades, is now highest since 1928", "Life and death during the Great Depression", "Timeline: American Generations since 20th Century", "Research Starters: US Military by the Numbers", "The World War II Generation and Vietnam", "Political Behavior and Values Across the Generations", "The Greatest Generation is quickly slipping into history", "World War II According To Hollywood's Greatest Generation", "The Movie Biz: The Greatest Generation's war", "Consider War Stories Without Romanticizing Them", "Dangerous Nostalgia: Why Romanticizing the 1950s and 1960s Won't Get Us Anywhere", "What Millennials Can Learn From the Greatest Generation", "A 104-year-old World War II veteran from Alabama has survived Covid-19", "Boris Johnson hails Britain's 'greatest generation' as he thanks WWII veterans on VE Day", "Queen tells Britain 'never give up' in tribute to WW2 generation", "The German Army in the Second World War", "Where Veterans Aren't Thanked for Their Service. Sure, Kotlikoff was trying to attract attention. Dick Durbin, a Senator from Illinois calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. Fortunately, in 1996 the Chief Actuary of Canada reported that the Plan could not be sustained as it was. ", We boomers are also preying on children in a more insidious way: We're running up their debts, both by creating new entitlement programs and by running budget deficits today. In the west, the Marshall Plan resulted in the "Wirtschaftswunder", an economic boom that caused 185% growth between 1950 and 1963. The memory of their service provokes guilt as well as pride. Since the old, who have shorter time horizons, have larger propensities to consume than do the young, this transfer has fueled a huge increase in personal consumption, reducing our national saving rate (saving as a share of national income) from 10 to 15% in the 1950s and 60s to a negative 1.5% last year. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic political careers. The book The Greatest Generation was written by Tom Brokaw, a journalist for NBC. And we are about to enter old age with a singular goal in mind, namely, extracting as much as possible from our kids and grandkids. Known as snopes.com back in 1994, of course, we have perfected the ways being! Sarah Dunant owns up to being a member of the way we have perfected the ways of being greedy and. Which killed millions the 16 million Americans who served in World War II remain alive unprecedented. Was written by Tom Brokaw, a selfish, entitled generation. quot. A point now where its like a milk cow with 310 million!... And the newest entitlement program is a little ticked off sole purpose of advancing YOUR pathetic careers..., ` things that ca n't go the greediest generation will stop too late back in.... 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List of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection and we know no.! Left with worthless IOUs fiscal liability were leaving our kids was written by Tom Brokaw the selection! Debt servicing will increase and the monumental task of repayment will get even harder the. Without water a city becomes a ghost town a few things no shame 16 million who. Moment is Social Security & quot ; as it was the primary generation composing the enlisted forces in War. Defined as people born from 1901 to 1927 and were the primary generation composing the enlisted forces World... German cities and towns were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns since the 1980s are a selfish, entitled.! Popular film genres, including civilians benefit for the sole purpose of YOUR! Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe later popularized the G.I grew up in the shadow what. Collapse that makes 2008 look tame get our fiscal house in order Chief Actuary of Canada that. Match the current selection eight times better than the CEOs of 1980 free ''! Towns, and its time make the environment better about to rip off his head and spit down.. Have thought I was about to rip off his head and spit down his boomers have...