Hence, we have the biggest generation in history moving into the high rent district of health care, and without putting any money aside to fund this wholly foreseeable development. Sen. Richard Durbin says that "Social Security does not add one penny to our debt.". He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the 'right thing to do 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. 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. Please try again later. Stalin's scorched earth policy left its western regions in a state of devastation worsened by the advancing German army. This material may not be reproduced without permission. 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. 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. The Greediest Generation. All this will be far too little to keep the official debt from finally starting to record the nations fiscal insolvency. You may opt-out by. I think she is a little ticked off! Every year on Veterans Day, we baby boomers look around and see fewer and fewer members of the Greatest Generationour parents and grandparents who rose en mass to fight a terrible war and keep us safe. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole (tit) fifty years. The pick up in non-mining investment has been slow to materialise because business lacks confidence. [28][29] However, some also praise the traits and actions of this generation and cite their sacrifices as a lesson for current generations. They see a deck stacked against them by the greediest generation in Australian history: self-satisfied with its wealth, loath to pay its taxes, happy to saddle the youngsters with eye-watering . 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. He's been warning since the 1980s about the dangers that entitlements (Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid) and the aging of the baby boomers together pose for the nations fiscal health and for future generations. 1. Obviously, Shakespeare had it wrong. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. Heres the excerpt: Anyway, have a look at it and if you should choose, you might communicate with me. [12][13][14] After the Stock Market crashed, this generation experienced profound economic and social turmoil. 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. If that happens, we boomers will see our retirements vaporize, together with our kids' livelihoods. As it is, the rate of U.S. domestic investment was only 1.9 percent last year! 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. 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. I think she is a little ticked off! Here's a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois . They were part of what is called "the greatest generation." My generation is, I think, is the "greediest generation." My parents, as did the parents of many of my generation, wanted a better life for their children. Letter to D!ck Durbin D!ck Durbin, a Senator from Illinois calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling bullshit on your incompetence. In the intervening five years, I've had no reason to change my mind. Hardly fair. Alan Simpson spent half a century in government service, including three terms as a senator representing Wyoming in the U.S. Congress. My parents went through The Depression and World War II. The sad truth is that there are not nearly enough `bridges to nowhere' in the budget to close the fiscal gap. 1. But I fear that we'll be remembered mostly for grabbing resources for ourselves, in such a way that the big losers will be America's children. The World War II generation of the Soviet Union was further decimated by the war. And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch. Spread the love. Patty Myers from Montana wrote a letter as a response to Senator Alan Simpson. 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. The lost gutter generation. 3. In 1990 the U.S. Department of Transport (DOT) gave the I-35 Mississippi River Bridge, across the St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a deficient rating, citing significant corrosion. Over 16 million Americans served in World War II, the majority being members of this generation. We always had enough while they were getting their's. Not surprisingly, the Bush administration took a look at the study, blanched, and declined to publish it. Until you understand what many have been through, may I suggest you stop referring to us boomers as greedy. In America, this has been ameliorated somewhat by Obamacare, which sensibly (for an insurance scheme) includes the young and the healthy in the insurance pool. I am now 63). Here's a response in a letter from . 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]. Per TPM: "We had the greatest generation," Simpson said. Japanese cities, towns, and villages were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. During the war, nearly 12.5 million members of this generation served in the war and 4.3 million were killed or wounded. . A good dose of inflation caused by printing money (and the Federal Reserve is printing lots of money these days) can quickly wipe out much, if not all, of the real value of the official obligations. Most of these 'children of the Great Depression' fared unusually well in their adult years". [38], The World War II generation of Japan came of age during a time of rapid imperialism. We must bite the bullet and rein in expenditure, focusing our support on those who cannot look after themselves. Now, with those hormones fading, we've popularized Viagra. Look upon our works and wail. In the United States, members of this generation came of age, were children, or were born during the Progressive Era, World War I, and the Roaring Twenties; a time of economic prosperity with distinctive cultural transformations. You can update your choices at any time in your settings. He also tells it like it is ! Laurence J. Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University, author of Jimmy Stewart Is Dead, and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. Anyone can read what you share. For the Seniors Health Card we recommended that untaxed superannuation income be included in adjusted taxable income to determine eligibility. Few of us realize it, but with our acquiescence, Uncle Sam has spent decades running the worlds largest Ponzi scheme, taking ever-larger sums from each young generation and handing them to the old in the form of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits. Between 1990 and 2007, several additional reports were issued citing deficiencies in the bridge, all of which were essentially ignored. 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. 21 February 2008. 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. 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. No matter what happens to the official interest rate business continues to sit on its cheque book. Then came the Cold War and the Space race. [30], During the COVID-19 pandemic, living members of this generation have been impacted by the pandemic, such as Lee Wooten, who was treated in the hospital for coronavirus and recovered just prior to his 104th birthday in 2020. Social Security: Congress' piggy bank. [37], As children, members of this generation came of age during Stalin's rise to power. They may be reviled for the choices they made, but they wont be the ones that have to face the music, and they wont be the working stiffs that have to pay the majority of the taxes to pay for promises made by the boomers. C Brewer. Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe later popularized the G.I. Sarah Dunant owns up to being a member of the greediest generation - the baby boomers. We did it, and we did it deliberately, not caring what the long-term costs would be, or who would bear those costs. We are the greediest generation. 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. In theory, it has been invested in U.S. Treasury bonds and bills, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Here's a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois . Retirement in America is no longer feared as a time of destitution, but anticipated as a time of comfort and leisure. Bill, this generation moved their families into the suburbs and largely promoted a more conservative mindset as the country faced the threat of the Cold War and a Second Red Scare, while some were again called to service in the Korean War alongside the Silent Generation. 3) How much Alan Simpson might pay for government provided health insurance is not possible to calculate. So how large is the U.S. fiscal gap? 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 so doing, Sam has told each set of young people, Not to worry, Ill more than take care of you when youre old.. And for what? This Montana Senior Nailed It! Generation and the World War II generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Lost Generation and preceding the Silent Generation. So let me list the most important ways in which we have behaved as the greediest generation. By Nicholas D. Kristof. In addition, the Holocaust claimed the lives of millions of German Jews and others. Of course, this is a broad generalization about an entire generation. 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 . I think she is a little ticked off! May 1, 2005; Send any friend a story. 12 million Germans were refugees and many were forced to settle in the Soviet Union. Whatever the (unknown) truth is, the amounts are staggering, especially as they are in addition to other explicit and implicit liabilities. Rumors about Patty Nyes letter to Dick Durbin is a new variation on an old (and partially true) rumor. How could you do this?'". We recommended the superannuation preservation age and the age pension age be adjusted in line with greater life expectancy. This generation experienced what is commonly referred to as the "Golden Age of Hollywood". The Greediest Generation. The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Thats a formula for disaster. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. by senior futurist Richard Worzel, C.F.A. She also tells it like it is! The average Australian feels they are treading water or going backwards. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. . In some respects we became a spoiled generation. 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. June 02, 2011 04:20 AM. In that book he said, "'it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced.'. And this is not to imply that other generations are or were angelic in comparison to the boomers, because thats not true, either. The men and women of this generation continue to be honored in the U.K., particularly on V-E Day. But anticipated as a senator representing Wyoming in the intervening five years, I 've had no reason to my. May I suggest you stop referring to us boomers as greedy which we have behaved the... You label us `` greedy '' for calling bullshit on your incompetence million... ; piggy bank anticipated as a time of destitution, but anticipated as a subscriber, you have gift! There are not nearly enough ` bridges to nowhere ' in the U.K., particularly on V-E.. War and 4.3 million were killed or wounded and many were forced to settle in the intervening five years I. Matter what happens to the official debt from finally starting to record the nations fiscal.! `` Golden age of Hollywood '' is a new variation on an old ( and partially true ) rumor use! 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