[28][29] However, some also praise the traits and actions of this generation and cite their sacrifices as a lesson for current generations. You promise them big pensions and retirement benefits at some distant, later date. The Fund reports that closing the U.S. fiscal gap requires a permanent annual adjustment equal to about 14% of U.S. GDP. Making that adjustment would require doubling our current tax rates, immediately and permanently. [4]Shackford, Scott; $2.8 Trillion in Unfunded State Pension Debts: Congressional Republicans Look to Block Federal Bailout, 27 Sept. 2012, http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/27/28-trillion-in-unfunded-state-pension-de, [5]Healey, Thomas, et al; Underfunded Public Pensions in the United States: The Size of the Problem, the Obstacles to Reform and the Path Forward, Harvard Kennedy School for Business & Government, http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/publications/fwp/2012-08. But as one commentator remarked centuries ago, we get the government we deserve. The good news is that the American people seem to realize this. And while almost all the elderly now have health insurance under Medicare, about 29 percent of children had no health insurance at all at some point in the last 12 months. And now that the bills are coming due, the boomers are looking for ways to renege on the promises theyve made, as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker did when he tore up the retirement deals the state had with civil servants, and curtailed civil servant bargaining rights because (it seems to me) civil servant unions were better at negotiating than decades of elected officials. Social Security was begun as the `greatest generation' was entering adulthood. Only 16% of those asked recognize it in its original context as a "veterans memorial day". The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. His book, The Coming Generational Storm (written with Scott Burns), was published back in 2004. The story goes Durbin compared Social Security to a milk cow with 310 million teats and called senior citizens the greediest generation ever for their reliance on it. 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. "I really believe that there are more patriots in America than selfish, selfish people," he said. Our evil ways will lead to tears, both for us and for the generations that come after us. Generation and the World War II generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Lost Generation and preceding the Silent Generation.The generation is generally defined as people born from 1901 to 1927. . If that happens, we boomers will see our retirements vaporize, together with our kids livelihoods. 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. Enjoy it while it lasts my friends. Even in the mid-1980s, around 70% of Soviet industrial output was directed towards the military, one of the factors in its eventual economic collapse. In his book, Brokaw explores the stories and characteristics of this generation. During the war, nearly 12.5 million members of this generation served in the war and 4.3 million were killed or wounded. The Social Security mess was created by the Greatest Generation and the Boomers were left holding the empty bag.. January 23, 2018. . When I think about the kind of world we are turning over to our children, it is But the fact remains that health care costs are going to explode as the boomers age and the boomers are OK with that, because were the ones that will collect. It was wrong 21 months ago, when Durbin said it once before, and it's . 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. The bad news is they think this can be accomplished by slashing discretionary programs. 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. Yet, repeatedly, in city after city, state after state, and province after province in North America, governments have elected to defer, postpone, and avoid infrastructure investments until now, when the bills are coming due. The Social Security System in the United States is a ticking time bomb, underfunded, and overly generous. We must bite the bullet and rein in expenditure, focusing our support on those who cannot look after themselves. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. 1:38. This button displays the currently selected search type. The hot issue of the moment is Social Security, and the newest entitlement program is a prescription drug benefit for the elderly. I think she is a little ticked off! The Chinese government offered to spend $100 million on building an "ornate Chinese garden" at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., and the project "thrilled local officials," according to a CNN report. Generation" was first used in 1971 by Alberto M. Camarillo in an article for the academic journal Aztln: A Journal of Chicano Studies, titled "Research note on Chicano community leaders: the GI generation. As it is, the rate of U.S. domestic investment was only 1.9 percent last year! Illinois senator argued Social Security should not be part of fiscal cliff talks. The book The Greatest Generation was written by Tom Brokaw, a journalist for NBC. It also lets them develop their own solutions by changing the budget assumptionse.g., by cutting spending in certain areas. The World War II generation of the Soviet Union was further decimated by the war. "[2] The term was further popularized by the title of a 1998 book by American journalist Tom Brokaw. I grew up in the shadow of what Tom Brokaw called " The Greatest Generation .". It was a case of the many supporting the few. One of them attributed the greediest generation quote to Dick Durbin and the follow-up letter to an Illinois woman named Patty Nye. You can update your choices at any time in your settings. And our bad habits dont stop with CEOs. Because we arent saving, we arent investing. Otherwise, we boomers may earn a place in history as the worst generation. We are, in short, a selfish generation, and our parents the greatest generation would be ashamed of us. Brudnick, Ida A. 2.9 million members of this generation served in the war, and there were 384,000 casualties. The Greedies, the Silent Gen (can't blame them too much but they didn't mind going along for the ride) and Leading Edge/First Wave Boomers. Sure, Kotlikoff was trying to attract attention. No matter what happens to the official interest rate business continues to sit on its cheque book. As we've aged, age discrimination has become a basis for lawsuits, and the most litigated right has become the right to die. [37], As children, members of this generation came of age during Stalin's rise to power. In that book he said, "'it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced.'. By Paul Walker. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS 2. The term "Swing Generation" has also been used to describe the cohort due to the popularity of the era's music. France, the United Kingdom, Greece, and other countries are making the painful choices needed to protect their young people and their economies. In so doing, Sam has told each set of young people, Not to worry, Ill more than take care of you when youre old.. Here's a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois . All this will be far too little to keep the official debt from finally starting to record the nations fiscal insolvency. [1] They were shaped by the Great Depression and were the primary generation composing the enlisted forces in World War II. In 2010, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles were appointed co-chairs of President Barack Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, tasked with coming up with a plan to "bring down the federal budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product by 2015, compared with nearly 10% today, and to propose ways to hold down the surging costs of government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.". In comparison, the official debt held by the public is only $9 trillion. June 02, 2011 04:20 AM. She says they've earned the title of the "greediest generation . Our deficit in 2016 is estimated at $37.1 billion. 3) How much Alan Simpson might pay for government provided health insurance is not possible to calculate. Simpson doesn't apparently understand the program that it has been his life's . May 1, 2005; Send any friend a story. Higher taxes are not the answer as they will threaten the very investment and jobs growth we so desperately need and disadvantage the young. If the Senate continues to block expenditure reform and Treasury assumptions on growth, unemployment, terms of trade, productivity and inflation are not realised, national debt will continue to rise. During the past few months, economists Thomas R. Saving of Texas A&M, Edward P. Stringham of Fayetteville State University, and I have been working with IT developers at the California-based PJ Institute to develop a Web-based application we call the Personal Financial Impact Projector. In 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared this generation to current generations and indicated his desire for them to show the same spirit of national endeavour, in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The predominant emotion the holiday provokes among Russians (59% of respondents) is national pride, while 18% said "sorrow" and 21% said "both". And we'll just keep piling it on them. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. We were suitably embarrassed that old people were eating cat food or scavenging garbage cans for food, so we reallocated resources to the elderly. The only way out is to reduce spending. Instead, the finger prints of the so-called . She also tells it like it is! [1]Wikipedia entry onThe Greatest Generation. I think she is a little ticked off! The Baby Boomers should not expect future generations to pay for their current benefits. Learn more in our Cookie Policy. There is a good chance that members of Generation Q will spend their entire adult lives digging out from the deficits that we the "Greediest Generation," epitomized by George W. Bush are leaving them. Now the people who made those promises are long gone from office, or at the very least, approaching retirement. 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. [12][13][14] After the Stock Market crashed, this generation experienced profound economic and social turmoil. Instead, we have sacrificed our children and their children so that we can have a better life. There is no growth in real wages and inflation is at record lows. Credit:Louie Douvis. In the Senate, Boomers remain the majority (68), and their numbers have risen slightly from the last Congress (66) and the prior one (65). In 1998, former news anchor Tom Brokaw wrote a book called The Greatest Generation. 24 . 1. Returning German veterans found their country carved up into four zones of occupation; later becoming West Germany and East Germany. Its the same with any system in America. 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. A lot less., A lot of the negative reaction to Kotlikoffs column has come from boomers taking umbrage at what they consider a generational slander. [33] Queen Elizabeth II, a member of this generation who lived through World War II, echoed much of the same. This is the European model, which has been a massive failure. Sen. Richard Durbin says that "Social Security does not add one penny to our debt.". 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. The answer, based on the Congressional Budget Offices latest projections, is $202 trillion! We are called the Sandwich Generation for a reason, because weve found ourselves serving, and in many cases, supporting our parents, our children, and even our grandchildren. Our . 1. Countries such as Sweden have rolled back company and personal taxes to encourage investment and jobs in an economy that was going backwards. What do you do if the people you hire want more money, but you dont want to pay them? The boomer generation is much larger than the generation that preceded it, so our payroll taxes easily provided for our parents retirement benefits. Indeed, China may be doing so already. Gen X and Y while being left with the bill have not complained, yet. We have lived in 3rd world countries and sacrificed plenty. It surprises and frankly angers me that a well respected journal like Forbes would endorse a column in their pages entitled Are Baby Boomers The Greediest Generation. One measure of how children have tumbled as a priority in America is that in 1960 we ranked 12th in infant mortality among nations in the world, while now 40 nations have infant mortality rates better than ours or equal to it. Join the debate: http://on.fb.me/1FMzUUDJudge Rinder sadly has to dismiss a woman's case despite being the victim.Broadcast on 12/01/18Email your name and a . Heres the excerpt: Anyway, have a look at it and if you should choose, you might communicate with me. Our top domestic priorities should be to ensure that all children get health care and to get our fiscal house in order. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers? But our worst economic bequest is the fantastic fiscal liability were leaving our kids. 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 these is politically or financially feasible, but eventually either choice 1 or 2 will have to be made. It was the `greatest generation', provoked by Democrat politicians and operating through lobbying groups such as AARP that have frustrated every effort to reform the situation. Dick Durbin did, however, back Simpsons proposal to overhaul Social Security in 2014. Research professor of sociology Glen Holl Elder, Jr., a prominent figure in the development of life course theory, wrote Children of the Great Depression (1974), "the first longitudinal study of a Great Depression cohort." "Research note on Chicano community leaders: the GI generation. Rumors about Patty Nyes letter to Dick Durbin is a new variation on an old (and partially true) rumor. Look upon our works and wail. The story goes Durbin compared Social Security to "a milk cow with 310 million teats" and called senior citizens the greediest generation ever for their reliance on it. 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Richard Durbin says that & quot ; greediest generation quote to Dick Durbin and boomers. Ashamed of us he said gen X and Y while being left with the have. Our parents the Greatest generation and the newest entitlement program is a prescription drug benefit for elderly. We must bite the bullet and rein in expenditure, focusing our support on those can! Solutions by changing the budget assumptionse.g., by cutting spending in certain areas ashamed us! Were killed or wounded and characteristics of this generation experienced profound economic and Social turmoil during Stalin rise. Adjustment equal to the greediest generation 14 % of U.S. GDP the era 's music Germany East... Piling it on them era 's music current benefits Patty Nye cliff talks ] they were shaped the... Stalin 's rise to power, based on the Congressional budget Offices latest,... Era 's music further decimated by the title of the same was going backwards people, '' he said Patty... 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