Blaming Our Parents' Generation

A reader writes into Andrew Sullivan and expresses many of the visceral feelings of myself and many in my generation. But at the same time, I think casting this blame is just a bit too easy. While there have been catastrophic fiscal errors made, it's glib to pretend that there weren't a lot of people fighting them along the way. In the 1990's, a coalition of Democrats and Republicans committed to balancing the budget. It's hard to call what they accomplished, and the intent behind it, irresponsible. The trap door came along when Bush entered office and promised everyone a free lunch. Remember, we were oh so close to avoiding this fiscal catastrophe, but for the whole Florida debacle.

Also, there are a lot of economic time bombs which were not centrally determined. While regulation could have played a tempering role and incentives could have re-directed development plans, Americans have shown a preference for expansive lifestyles that gobble up energy. Also, the explosion in health care spending is largely tech driven. Expensive as they are, federal health programs are something most people want. This is not going to change. Nor is the cost. However we may centrally attack cost and quality control, the health care we want is expensive. It's time to own up to that and pay for it like the adults we should strive to be.