"Make no mistake about it, this generation is a generation of thieves and the people who stole their parents and their children’s money to make their own lives cushier are at it again. This time the target is their grandchildren." -- Evan Sayet

Throughout American history, generations of our countrymen took pride in leaving the country better than the one they grew up in. Their attitude about sacrifice was summed up by this classic quotation from Tom Paine:

"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."

That is no longer the spirit that animates our leaders or much of our country. Today, it's,

"If there must be trouble, let our children and grandchildren handle it, so that I am not inconvenienced."

History is full of great nations that have fallen from their lofty perches back into the ranks and the United States is likely to be among them unless we change our attitude about the following issues:

1) Takers Vs. Producers: "In 1985, just 16.5% of filers paid no income tax." Today, "roughly 120 million Americans – 40 percent of the U.S. population – are outside of the federal income tax system."

Meanwhile, the top 50% of income earners pay 97% percent of the income taxes. "In 1945, 41.9 workers supported each (Social Security recipient), while today only 3.3 workers support each retiree." That number will continue to shrink.

In other words, we're developing into a two-tiered society. Some people like to think of it as the "haves" and "have nots." However, it would be more apt to describe it as the people who pay the bills and the people who live off of the fruits of their labor.

This is an extraordinarily dangerous development for our country. It makes us overly dependent on workers and entrepreneurs who may flee the country or simply stop working as the burden on them grows. It also leads to class warfare, with the producers becoming increasingly resentful of an ever more demanding class of sows dining at the government trough.

Of course, it's easy to be demanding when you don't have to pay the full value of the services you receive. It's also easy to be resentful when you don't get your money's worth in government services and are treated as selfish for wanting to keep more of the money you earned for yourself. This is not a recipe either for societal stability or for long-term prosperity. Continued...