Wednesday, October 8, 2008
economist Jeffrey Sachs: Social Welfare State, beyond ideology
economist Jeffrey Sachs concludes that the data shows that social democracy pwns market fundamentalist economies.
Baby Boomers damaged the USA
Check this great post from the Economics Finance & Investment blogspot
The early Baby Boomer generation (1946-1955) has taken it all.
* Their parents had meager (or no) employer provided retirement benefits; Boomers had generous defined benefit pensions PLUS retiree medical benefits; their kids will have 401(k)s with pathetic returns as the effects of the "age wave" kick in.
* Their parents had the Great Depression; Boomers had the greatest economic expansion in history; their kids will have a decades-long recession like Japan's "lost decade" only longer.
* Their parents had ditch digging jobs under Roosevelt's jobs program; the Boomers had great jobs; their kids will have the jobs that are not outsourced to India
* Their parents' government ran a balanced budget; the Boomers' government ran a deficit almost every year of their adult lives; their kids will be saddled with tens of trillions of dollars of debt
However the Boomers need to remember that the next generation needs to keep paying taxes for Social Security and Medicare to maintain them in the style to which they have become accustomed. However, these programs (particulary Medicare) will be bankrupt before that next generation can use them, so Boomers should tread lightly. In the next 10 years, this country is going to have generational warfare that will make the "class warfare" that our politicans often mention seem like high tea at the Ritz.
The early Baby Boomer generation (1946-1955) has taken it all.
* Their parents had meager (or no) employer provided retirement benefits; Boomers had generous defined benefit pensions PLUS retiree medical benefits; their kids will have 401(k)s with pathetic returns as the effects of the "age wave" kick in.
* Their parents had the Great Depression; Boomers had the greatest economic expansion in history; their kids will have a decades-long recession like Japan's "lost decade" only longer.
* Their parents had ditch digging jobs under Roosevelt's jobs program; the Boomers had great jobs; their kids will have the jobs that are not outsourced to India
* Their parents' government ran a balanced budget; the Boomers' government ran a deficit almost every year of their adult lives; their kids will be saddled with tens of trillions of dollars of debt
However the Boomers need to remember that the next generation needs to keep paying taxes for Social Security and Medicare to maintain them in the style to which they have become accustomed. However, these programs (particulary Medicare) will be bankrupt before that next generation can use them, so Boomers should tread lightly. In the next 10 years, this country is going to have generational warfare that will make the "class warfare" that our politicans often mention seem like high tea at the Ritz.
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