When recently asked by a US Senator and others what his thoughts were on the US debt plans, this is what Kirk Nace had to say...
"As a nation we have created the situation we now face over many decades of irresponsible choices. Accepting responsibility is a must. Those who have allowed this situation to exist for the longest period of time, should bear the greatest responsibility. Those who have had less opportunity to change it should bear a lesser responsibility.
We reach voting age at 18, someone who is now 68 has had 50 years during which they have allowed this situation to come into being and during which they received the benefits of their choices to date. Someone who is 28 has had only 1/5 that time and therefore should be held only 1/5 as responsible.
Connecting a person's age to the amount of debt incurred under their watch, and then attaching that to the benefits they receive (SSI, Medicare, Welfare, etc) and/or the taxes they pay could certainly be worked out in a very simple, across the board manner.
ie. you were born in 1955, here is your responsibility, period. It impacts your taxes this way ____, it impacts your government sponsored benefits this way ___. You could potentially tie this to estates, etc as well.
Obviously, there is no perfect plan that all will readily accept. This approach however would allow a democracy to act as one and to clearly demonstrate that the individuals within such a nation have a responsibility.
I have shared this concept with clients for a number of years and have yet to hear a single credible objection. Of course the reality is, our older citizenry will be held responsible for more at precisely a time when they are feeling entitled to more. Well folks, they've already got theirs. They voted it to themselves already and have in fact stolen from their future generations. Now is simply the time when we are forced to right those wrongs and to take back much of what we have come to feel entitled to.
We have lost our edge because we have elected to spend our wealth in ways other than reinvesting in education. We are now at a competitive disadvantage to many other nations when it comes to our ability to out think and thereby prosper. This is one of many choices made by those who now want to collect Pensions, SSI, Medicare and all the other nonsensical entitlements that they feel they should receive simply because they live here.
You are still here, accept responsibility for bringing the entire nation here, and if you must live frugally for the balance of your days, that will perhaps still allow you to teach future generations that choices made truly do have consequences."
