Millennials Solve Federal Budget Puzzle
According to a recent AP-GFK poll conducted May 5-9, 2011, 70 percent of Americans said Social Security is "extremely" or "very" important to their financial security, and 72 percent said so for Medicare. Sixty-two percent said that both programs are extremely or very important.
But with the national debt and deficit in focus, people are very concerned about the future of these programs--a little more than a third think that the programs will remain intact in the future. Perhaps these pessimists should peruse the awesome work that the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network has conducted.
The Budget for Millennial America is the only citizen-produced deficit reduction plan and it comes from the generation of Americans that is likely to pay the highest price for the country's profligate ways: the Millennials (ages 18 to 24).
The Roosevelt Institute Campus Network drew from some 3,000 students to develop a federal budget plan that reduces the deficit without cutting Social Security and saves money on government health care costs, which would certainly appease the worries of those surveyed by AP!
The plan hones in on what almost every economist and policy wonk has been saying: much of the long-term deficit problems arise from spiraling health care costs. The plan also addresses big-ticket budget expenditures, like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and even takes on tax reform.
I know that there are plenty of people who are going to freak out when they see phrases like "public option trigger" and "short-term stimulus funding," but I urge you to read through the proposal and watch this video before rushing to judgment--it is well worth your time and will renew your appreciation for the much-maligned youth of America!
Image by Flickr User PNASH, CC 2.0