In 1964, Ronald Reagan gave what is now called his “A Time For Choosing” speech. At the time, I was just a 14-year-old boy trying to help my family get by because we relied on social security. Unfortunately, we have yet to heed the message, especially the part regarding the generational theft that is our national debt.
Accounting for inflation, our $32 trillion national debt is more than 100 times greater today than when Reagan warned us of the problem almost 60 years ago. Yes, we have grown our economy, but our politicians have never outgrown their habit of spending more than they’re supposed to. And now we must face reality. In about a decade, likely less, the Social Security fund will have to give everyone at least a 25% cut, or taxes will have to increase for those still in the workforce. If we just borrow more money to keep retirees whole, we increase our debt AND the portion of the tax money we use to pay interest on that debt. Interest rates have been rising to fight inflation, increasing those payments already. If we do nothing – this will be the vicious cycle that destroys the American dream.
Listen, friends – the young generation today, in school, not in school, just starting out their life – they've had nothing to do with making decisions that have put us in the hole that we're in. Millions of people are born in this country every year, and they're all born now with a debt-attributed taxable earning potential. This won't affect the majority of people my age or older; it will affect the generations coming behind us. For example, it will impact people in their 60s, their 50s, and younger because they are the ones who will experience the social security cut during their retirement years. When this happens, any unexpected bill could be a significant setback. Is the AC unit down? Nothing you can do. And if we're going to do anything to really combat it, to be meaningful, we're going to have to restructure how that program is set up, which is probably going to entail some tax increases on people that don't even pay taxes yet.
When you delay solving these problems, you’re really stealing the next generation’s American dream. Over many generations, too many of our politicians have decided to do what's popular so they can get elected and keep their poll numbers up, knowing that it will create this problem that we have today. Nobody wants to have that on their legacy, so the next generation gets stuck with the bill.
Reagan put it bluntly in his speech: “You and I are increasingly told we have to choose between a left or right. Well, I'd like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right.” The national debt is an American problem, so let me be clear – I am not for a Republican solution. I am not for a Democratic solution. I am for a solution and anyone who wants to address this issue head-on because I understand that we are not leaving the country better off than we found it. The burden we are leaving the current 14-year-olds who already long for opportunity is the inheritance of unsustainable tax burdens and the inheritance of broken promises in regard to social security. We are stealing the future’s prosperity and squandering it on our current leaders’ inability to accept reality. This is wrong. To me, every bit of that is being inherited by people that had nothing to do with it. We cannot leave future Americans on the side of the road. If you’re with me, join me at JoeFromTexas.com, and let’s make our voice heard so that America remains the shining city on a hill and the American Dream is available to the next generation!
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