Taxing Our Grandchildren?

[ThomWV]

I was thinking earlyier today about how often I'm reminded that the massive debt the nation is wracking up at the moment will have to be paid by our grandchildren. Well, I'd hate to be responsible for that happening, but is there more to it than passing on the debt? I think so.

I'm 56 years old. A lot of folks are 56 years old and a lot more are between about 45 and 55, an awful lot more. The value of labor in the United States is going down and that will continue as more and more high-value jobs find their way to countrys with less expensive labor. That trend is not going to stop. The immigration of unskilled labor will hold down wages at the low end of the scale as well. Continued applicaton of improved technology, much of it developed over seas, will continue to reduce the need for skilled workers That's obvious. So, with lower wages and a shrinking work force how are our grandchildren going to pay the bill? They can't. That's how. So who will be paying it? Well, I would think the retired baby-boomers will end up saddeled with the debt incurred on their own watch, that's who. In or retiremet years I think we can fully expect to be taxed heavily, much more so than today.

[Indiana_Dem]

1. Yes we all will

when the babyboomers are in full throttle retirement. I'm at the tail end of the babyboomer generation--40. I'll be lucky if there's anything left and our children will definitely be lucky if there's anything left.

It's not our fault though. Clinton had us on the right track at the end of his term with a surplus. Now in 3 years we're going to have to work double-time to get rid of this debt again!!!! How irritating! The Social Security IOU's will be due somewhere around 2015 or so just when the bulk of all the babyboomers will be reaping in the benefits.

I'm still undecided on a candidate at this point but of all the candidates, Dean was the only one addressing this issue by repealing ALL the tax cuts. He said we can't have everything we want all the time. Now he's even given in to giving a middle class tax cut to make people happy.

It's either payup now or we will lose some very good federal programs in the future.

And the neoconservative ideology making war and war spending a plausible thing for a long time undermines any paying off of debt. This is an outrageous way of thinking.

Something has got to give here.

[lovedems]

2. Yes, it is unfortunate that this administration is so short sighted.

It is evident in literally EVERYTHING they do. With the Iraq war they were so short sighted they thought we would be embraced as liberators and as a result, there was obviously little planning for post war Iraq or it wouldn't be a disaster that it is.

They are so short sighted with the tax cuts that it is all about making their big money contributors more wealthy now and not how the deficits from their tax cuts and tax breaks will effect future generations. The same could be said about their policies (or lack thereof) on environmental issues and the negative effect that will have over the years.

This is such a short sighted administration who is trying to make up for it with a trip to mars which we can't afford.

[denverbill]

3. I'd like to believe they are simply short-sighted, but I know otherwise.

Grover Norquist, one of the top conservative policy gurus of the conservative movement, has specifically stated that the deficits have specifically been created to starve the government of funds so that programs will have to be cut.

The Republicans are too gutless to simply cut government spending and risk voter backlash, so instead, they are artificially creating a problem by cutting taxes. Later, they'll whine about the deficit bemoan having to cut increases in Social Security cost of living increases, etc.

It's a reckless, dangerous way to legislate.