A New Year’s Resolution For Our Youth

YOUNG PEOPLE NEED NO-NONSENSE SOLUTIONS LIKE TORT REFORM, INSURANCE ACROSS STATE LINES

Sunday, January 5, 2014

I would like to suggest a New Year’s resolution for the youth in our country, and that is to build their awareness of what is happening in our world today. I know it is tempting for our 18-to 39-year-olds to plow through life with their heads down as I did back in the 70’s. I was indestructible. I was busy working, raising a family and just enjoying life.

But I was the product of “The Greatest Generation” as described by Tom Brokaw in his wonderful book of the same name.

That unselfish generation sacrificed for their children (me) by fighting the World War II, by working hard and saving and by building an America that was better for me than it was for them.

However, that great generation seems to have spawned America’s most selfish generation, which is now in Washington running our country into the ground. This generation (my generation) is making decisions today that will profoundly impact young people’s lives and it is not doing it with them in mind. Let me give you three examples.

First, our leaders in Washington are spending money like there is no tomorrow, and there may not be if things don’t change. Our debt, which will become young people’s debt, has just topped $17 trillion, and our president hardly talks about it. He now says that “closing the wealth gap” is more important than our debt and deficits!

While he should be working to close that gap, why would the government have to spend any of your money to accomplish this?

Unfortunately, our current administration seems to believe that government spending is the solution to every problem. But young people must realize that every dollar we borrow will be passed on to them for servicing or payback. We are avoiding our responsibilities at their expense.

The second example is Social Security. In 1950 there were 16 people contributing to Social Security for every one beneficiary.

Today that ratio is down to 3 to 1, and in just 17 years it will be down to 2 to 1. For years Social Security was bringing in more money to the government than it was paying out, and what was our government doing with that money? Spending it, of course. In the last three years, however, Social Security has paid out more than it took in. It is already in the red!

This, however, is just a foreshadowing of worse things to come. Social Security is projected to become insolvent in just 20 years.

That means that if you are even in your 40’s, Social Security will not be there for you. So, if you hear politicians say Social Security is “just fine,” that means it is just fine for them, not you.

And now we have Obamacare. The president and Congress have made this program sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. We are going to insure millions more people, cover pre-existing conditions, eliminate lifetime benefit limits and allow children to stay on their parents’ plans until they are 26. That sounds great, but I’m sure you’ve you heard the old adage that “there is no such thing as a free lunch?” Guess who is paying for all of this?

Obamacare is all about transferring money, payments, wealth (whatever) from one group to another, and young people are the major target. In fact, they are the key to this whole thing working. The Affordable Care Act must get young and healthy people to pay for older and sicker people.

Just go onto the healthcare.gov site and take a look for yourself. Your premium costs and deductibles will take your breath away, while it’s doing the same to your money.

The point is, young people literally can’t afford to ignore what is going on in Washington today.

Their lives are being mortgaged by the “me” generation simply because our representatives in Washington refuse to make tough choices today. Young people need to use their influence, even if that is just a vote, to save their future.

Young people need representation in Washington that supports a balanced budget today, not in 30, 40 or 50 years.

They need people who are willing to reform entitlements today so that they will still be there they need them. Finally, they need Obamacare to go away. Young people need no-nonsense solutions like tort reform, selling insurance across state lines and health saving accounts to bring down health care costs without sticking them with the bill.

KEVIN CANFIELD, A SPRINGDALE RESIDENT, IS A PROCTER & GAMBLE RETIREE AND AUTHOR OF “MASTERING SALES.”

Opinion, Pages 11 on 01/05/2014