Conventional politics is an unending argument about Haves and Have-Notes. Are the Haves getting more? Is it too much? Why isn't there more sharing with the Have-Nots? The Have/Have-Nots argument works to completely obscure another discussion: the Nows and the Laters. We're the Nows; our children and grandchildren are the Laters. Decade after decade, the Nows have taken from the Laters. Unfortunately, this fiscal child abuse, like the psychological kind, is hard to spot. But measure it we can, and measure it we will using a relatively new method, called generational accounting. Doing so leads to the following bottom line: Unless we adults make very large sacrifices very quickly, our kids will face lifetime net tax rates that are twice those we face!
That caught my attention. How about you? This comes from The Coming Generational Storm by Kotlikoff and Burns. I've decided this book is the first on my summer reading list. Perhaps I will have more posts on this book later.
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