Thursday, June 19, 2008
Former Supreme Court Justice on the "Intergenerational Compact"
Sandra Day O'Connor considers that it takes two informed parties to voluntarily agree to make a valid contract -- even a "social contract"...
Both generations should be consulted about the terms of the "intergenerational compact"? There's a new idea.How our next president represents the interests of young Americans will define not only his legacy but that of an entire generation of political leaders...
The Government Accountability Office and many, many others have documented the magnitude of the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid bills that will come due over the next several decades.
Even if every dollar of wealth of every millionaire in the United States were magically diverted to pay these costs, 80 percent of the unfunded liabilities forecast for these three programs would remain on the books.
Social Security Advisory Board Chairman Sylvester J. Schieber has found that honoring today's promises to tomorrow's retirees could put the living standards of working households on a path of decline by the mid-2020s .... Under this scenario, today's high school students might never experience a year in the workforce when their tax rates would not rise...
Our government was founded on the principle that the legitimacy of law derives from the consent of the governed. Today's youths and future generations have not been consulted in the writing of our current social contract. Yet they soon may face financial burdens that most voters would find intolerable.
As we approach this vast expansion of spending, precipitated by a combination of aging baby boomers and abnormally high health costs, it is time to consult our young.... [ht: Andrew Biggs]
An interesting "what if" question is what form Medicare and Social Security would take today if the politicians who enacted them had fully informed the voting public about not only the benefits the programs would provide, but also their cost...
"Now... to fund these fine programs on an actuarially sound basis we will in 2007 more than double everybody's income taxes, increase them by 130%, to collect the $2 trillion needed to cover the annually accruing liability for them. And you all surely consider these benefits valuable enough to vote for that. Well worth that cost, in fact... Right?"
