But we boomers need to resist the narcissistic impulse to ladle out more resources for ourselves. . Over 76 million babies were born between 1946 and 1964. 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. So while millennials are often portrayed as the greedy ones, there is a case to say baby boomers are the greediest generation ever. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. How could you do this?'". That's 11 times our official national debt and also greater than our total net worth, meaning that in some sense we're bankrupt. There is no growth in real wages and inflation is at record lows. 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. Alan Simpson spent half a century in government service, including three terms as a senator representing Wyoming in the U.S. Congress. He also tells it like it is ! 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. Poor Broder. On cue, the left says simply raise more taxes from business and the rich to pay for the unaffordable. We have a scheme where support for the older generations and other extravagances were legislated based on the assumption of continuing revenue from an unprecedented investment boom in resources. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance? That, at any rate, is what the boomers have done across most jurisdictions in North America, including Canada, for the past 30-40 years. Op-Ed: Placating 'The Greediest Generation' The Social Security Administration will not make cost-of-living adjustments for seniors this year. Nor am I trying to say that the boomers had everything easy. In the same ad, it points out Wagner called seniors citizens the "greediest generation" in an interview with PennLive's editorial board in 2016. "I think this is the greediest generation." Where to begin. And since the biggest voting block of the last 30 years and more has clearly been the boomers, the fault is ours. To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling bullshit on your incompetence. 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. As of 2019, approximately 389,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II remain alive. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole (tit) fifty years. The answer, based on the Congressional Budget Offices latest projections, is $202 trillion! Instead, the finger prints of the so-called `greatest generation' are all over it. 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. I think he is a little ticked off ! stamped U.S. Treasury Bond. The angry letter to Simpson surfaced on the Internet in early 2011 but in its original form was anomalously signed. He's been a senator for more than 40 years, during which, if he's as good at his job as many of his . In the west, the Marshall Plan resulted in the "Wirtschaftswunder", an economic boom that caused 185% growth between 1950 and 1963. refer to American soldiers in World War II. 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. 3) How much Alan Simpson might pay for government provided health insurance is not possible to calculate. Pew Research Center defines this cohort as being born from 1901 to 1927. Meanwhile, the Guardian (the . You know em too. Even today arguing against taxes is a good way for politicians at any level of government, and in every jurisdiction, to get elected, from Tea baggers in America to Mayor Rob Ford in Toronto. No one knows, but they easily run into the trillions of dollars. [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. IDIOT AKA "The Bag OfDurbin Subject: A brilliant woman's response to a complete IDIOT AKA "The Bag Of Durbin"!!!!!] commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he. Sarah Dunant owns up to being a member of the greediest generation - the baby boomers. 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. We need to do the sameindeed much morebecause we are in far worse shape than any of those countries. My eyes got squinty and my face got red. Generation and the World War II generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Lost Generation and preceding the Silent Generation. The Baby Boomers should tighten their belts in the interests of their children and grandchildren. We always had enough while they were getting their's. The Audit Commission recommended a single asset test for the aged pension including the value of the family home above $750,000 for couples to be phased in over 15 years giving time to plan and adjust. My parents were the Greatest Generation. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. Unlike the Western allies and the Soviet Union, Germany did not honor its veterans, as the association with Nazism continues in contemporary Germany today. 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.". Our net debt has risen from zero in 2007 to some $279 billion in 2016. We've also lost ground in child vaccinations: the United States now ranks 84th in the world for measles immunizations and 89th for polio. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. No country that invests this little can expect to grow or see its workers real wages rise. "[2] The term was further popularized by the title of a 1998 book by American journalist Tom Brokaw. Thats very difficult for people to accept. Here's a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois . LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and (except on the iOS app) to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994. For 2009 it would be negative 1.5% were it not for investment in the U.S. by China and other countries. 2.9 million members of this generation served in the war, and there were 384,000 casualties. But that same year, Medicare took effect to provide medical care for the elderly, and Social Security adjustments steadily reduced poverty among them. We boomers should be the first to use this tool. As a result, the Public Trustees of the Social Security Administration, who are responsible for its management, said in the most recent report that those now entering the Social Security system as workers will contribute more in taxes (in present value) than they receive in benefits under current schedules[2]In other words, the boomers will collect more than they paid in, yet a worker starting today will collect less than they pay in. Please try again later. The term Generation Jones was first coined by the American cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell, who identified the cohort as those born from 1954 to 1965 in the U.S., who were children during Watergate, the oil crisis, and stagflation rather than during the 1950s, but . She also tells it like it is! We are the greediest generation. The city of Toronto had, in the 1960s, a rapid transit system that regularly won awards for being the best in North America. Durbin said Social Security . The ones who created the banking and houseing crisis, the ones who are the first generation to have children that expect to do worse then them . The study found that the government faces a present value "fiscal gap" -- the excess of expected payments over expected revenues -- of $51 trillion. Instead, were most likely going to enact relatively modest tax hikes (some have already been made) and slowly trim Social Security and health care benefits. Thats not likely to happen. 1. We have lived in 3rd world countries and sacrificed plenty. In his book, Brokaw explores the stories and characteristics of this generation. We have shown the generations that follow us the how to do these things, which they are now mimicking. The baby boom has been described variously as a "shockwave" and as "the pig . Additionally, those alive in 1918 through 1920 experienced the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic. 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? Mass, forced labor was often utilized and there were between 10 and 11 million Soviet men returning to help rebuild along with 2 million Soviet dissidents held prisoner in Stalin's Gulags. Congress has been very careful to make these I.O.U.s unofficial.. For example, some place the beginning of the millennial generation with those . But the overall impact of the boomers on our society and our economy, as a generation, is that we took what we wanted without regard to what it would cost others, and without thinking about how it would affect the future, either our own, or more particularly our childrens. And our bad habits dont stop with CEOs. The lost gutter generation. Its the same with any system in America. 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. [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. The cost of aged care and ageing is more than $13 billion a year and is estimated to increase at 7.5 per cent a year over the next 10 years. 43 years later and they are still underwater. The sad truth is that there are not nearly enough bridges to nowhere in the budget to close the fiscal gap. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Getting overall spending under control inevitably means spending less on Medicare and Social Security. Sen. Richard Durbin says that "Social Security does not add one penny to our debt.". 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. From an e-mail. The look on his face was horrible. Critiques about generations often begin by noting the lack of agreement around birth years. If theres a place where short-term gain for long-term pain is evident, its climate change. 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. German cities and towns were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. [25] Living members of this generation are either in their 90s or are centenarians. 38.8% were volunteers, 61.2% were draftees, the average length of their service was 33 months, and total approximate casualties were 671,278 (killed and wounded). Now the people who made those promises are long gone from office, or at the very least, approaching retirement. I wanted to know . Spread the love. [7] Strauss and Howe use the birth years 19011924. The over generous super provisions are another wealth transfer from the young to the old and should be tightened while not discouraging thrift and self-sufficiency (two words slipping from our lexicon). . As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS 2. Anyone can read what you share. Our . In Canada, the situation is distinctly worse because the birth rate in Canada is much lower than in the U.S., which means the burden on working people supporting the health care costs of aging boomers will be proportionately much higher than in America. . "Al Simpson Speaks Out Against Debt Committee Critics, Political Climate." Alan Simpson, the Senator from Wyoming calls senior citizens the greediest generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming , Co-Chair of Obama's deficit. Credit:Louie Douvis. "Hey Dick, let's get a few things straight!!! Finance, http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/ceos-more-350-times-average-worker-afl-cio-144537573.html, viewed 7 July 2014. [6]AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch database, as cited by yahoo! Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, in a phony email, recently was accused of calling American senior citizens "The Greediest Generation.". 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