It's Even Worse Than You Think

Once again, "It's the economy, stupid!" I'm becoming convinced that more than any other issue, the US economy and how we handle it now will determine whether my children and their children will have better, more prosperous lives (like every American generation before them) or will find themselves worse off with every passing year. An op-ed piece in today's New York Times, It's Even Worse Than You Think, leaves little room for optimism: Unless politicians of all stripes address this problem now, long before it is politically necessary for them to do so, our children will pay dearly for our lack of foresight.

The Times piece, by a professor at Harvard, shows how the government, if held to the same accounting practices as corporate America, would be forced to report a deficit this year of nearly one trillion dollars. Through fiscal slight of hand, the insolvency of Social Security and other elderly entitlement programs is being hidden in a move worthy of Enron and WorldCom.

It's the economy, stupid. I consider myself a Democrat, but right now anyone who is willing to confront this crushing problem immediately will get my vote, regardless of party. Of all the issues I care about, absolutely none of them can be advanced with the federal finances in tatters. We have a responsibility to our children not to saddle them with our debts. Any politician who gets that simple concept and charges on Washington with it is a hero in my book.

Anyone listening?