Fiscal Child Abuse
The Bible enjoins us to do better unto our children than we would do unto ourselves: “From generation to generation.” But, in much of the developed world, our economic faith for the past six decades has been quite different: “Taketh from the young and giveth to the old.“
BOSTON – The Bible enjoins us to do better unto our children than we would do unto ourselves: “From generation to generation.” But, in much of the developed world, we have foresworn that sacred pledge. For six decades, the watchword of our economic faith has been quite different: “Taketh from the young and giveth to the old.”
We have minded our words carefully in describing this moral transgression, lest we provide a clear record of our fiscal child abuse. Our debts are clothed primarily in benign-sounding language like “pension benefits” and “health-care benefits,” not official IOUs.
By calling what’s being taken from the young “taxes,” rather than “borrowing” – that is, a promise to repay far more than what’s being taken – the implicit debts have been intentionally kept off the books.
To continue reading, please log in or enter your email address.
To continue reading, please log in or register now. After entering your email, you'll have access to two free articles every month. For unlimited access to Project Syndicate, subscribe now.