PrintMay 22, 2008
Youth Voters are backing The Wrong Candidate
John McCain may be the oldest candidate running for the presidency but he appears to be the only one interested in the economic welfare of those younger than seniors. How anybody under the age of fifty can vote for a candidate who refuses to offer a legitimate rescue plan for Social Security is beyond me. Yet McCain is being hammered by groups representing retired boomers who have become easy targets for fear-mongering politicians.
I received the following email statement by Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans:
"Senator John McCain did the American people a great disservice this morning with his confusing, muddled comments about Social Security privatization. Appearing today on Live with Regis and Kelly, Senator McCain tried to hide the truth: he wants to throw our hard-earned Social Security benefits onto the roulette wheel of the stock market. For the bankers on Wall Street, this would mean big reward as they skim services fees and profits off these private accounts. For seniors already struggling with rising gas and grocery prices, it would mean even more risk and uncertainty in these difficult times."
I suppose there are seniors struggling somewhere in these "difficult times", but from what I've witnessed seniors are in much better shape than our working class children.
I'm writing this from a hotel room in Atlantic City, N.J. where the majority of casino denizens are senior citizens taking advantage of the bargain hotel rates and coupons for free meals at restaurant buffets. But make no mistake about it, these seniors are not struggling. They're not eating cat food. The parking garages are filled with late model SUV's and luxury sedans. They're shopping in the jewelry and fashion boutiques. Many seniors are home owners who bought their homes years ago at bargain prices. I happen to be one of them myself. I'm living large because I have money in the bank thanks to refinancing the equity in a house I bought thirty years ago.
I'm certainly not begrudging anybody's right to spend their money however they may want but don't try and persuade me that people my age need more protection from the government. Sorry to say, my generation may be one of the most self-centered. The greatest generation raised a bunch of spoiled brats who are only concerned with how the government can provide them with cradle to grave security.
Remember that old commercial that showed a young teenager getting his first paycheck and looking at it in shock saying, "Who is this FICA and why is he taking all my money?" I happen to have six young working adult children and it hurts to realize that they may never see any benefit from that money the government is draining from their paychecks unless something is done to save Social Security.
Instead of listening to lies from candidates too cowardly to admit that the system is in big trouble, voters, especially those under fifty years old, need to do the math. The baby boomer generation is headed towards retirement with a low birth rate. Why? How about the 45 million plus abortions since 1972? This has resulted in a large drop in the worker to beneficiary ratio. In 1950, this ratio was 16-to-one. It's now 3.3-to-one and in the next few decades it will be 2-to-1.
Any efforts to address this impending crisis have been stymied by liberal politicians in Congress who know how to play the fear card. This boomer generation is easily frightened. Whether it's global warming, the economic crisis, the war, the Chicken Little boomers are a far cry from the Americans who built this country on fortitude and faith and had a can-do attitude.
It may be too late for this crowd but the young have a shot if they only learn to wake up and think for themselves. They're Internet savvy and can do their own research to discover that global warming is a natural phenomenon; that the term carbon footprints was invented to line the pockets of pseudo climatologists; that the foreclosure hysteria only involves two percent of houses and these can be attributed to credit fraud and stupidity; and that tax breaks benefit everybody. As for the issue of Iraq, read Michael Yon's, " Moment of Truth In Iraq" for the real story of the war and the phenomenal heroism of your generation.
The young voter seems to be enthralled with the idea of change. How about the electorate changing to one that will finally use common sense to select our leaders? The next president should be one who believes this is a great country that he or she would be willing to die for. Nuff said.
Contact Alicia Colon.
Contact Alicia Colon.
