“It is characteristic of
any Ponzi fraud that the people who get in on the ground floor do well. That
makes the scheme popular; people clamor to get in. This is what has happened
with Social Security and Medicare here in the U.S. Past and current beneficiaries
are receiving benefits that are entirely disproportionate to what they paid in.
This obviously cannot continue indefinitely. Every Ponzi fraud inevitably
crashes when its exponential growth cannot be sustained because there is not
enough new money–not enough suckers, to put it bluntly. In the context of
entitlements, ‘new money’ means young people. That point is now approaching
rather rapidly.”
“After pension reform went down in flames last
week, Illinois moved to Plan B: war on the young. Governor Pat Quinn’s
administration claims that the upcoming budget will include major cutbacks on
state services to make room for a $1 billion increase in pension spending. Most
notably, education spending will decrease by $400 million, which would make
2013 the third straight year in which education spending has dropped.”
“Sticking it to either group, the young or the
old, isn’t appealing, but the boomers are politically organized and better
positioned to fight for their interests, particularly because powerful unions
are on their side. The young, by contrast, are among the least politically
active groups in the country, making them much easier for politicians to
ignore. Illinois has obviously chosen the path of least resistance.”
AARP stuck to me like flypaper when I moved across the country. The baby boomer lobbyists are filling my mail box with fliers beseeching me to re-up my ten year AARP membership before it expires later this year. I have wisened so I won't be offering them the pleasure of a reply, but that makes me part of the one percent. The other 99 percent of the baby boomers has young people squarely in their fiscal crosshairs.
Maybe you could tape the postage paid envelope to a brick and send it back.
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