I believe your right to some degree, but DonaldC had the most likely solution and that is national health care. In a way it has to happen just to provide the life-saving heart, diabetes and other other drugs to your generation. I doubt you’ll have the same care you had as an employee, not even close. More like whisked in and out the door with a generic script and an a semi-annual checkup. Of course outrage will occur, but my generation will be outraged as well for exorbident taxation which will make us feel like serfs and resent your generation for at least having a taste of the American dream while your generation’s politicians kept the scam going.
It is going to be a lesser of two evils for all of us and net result is quality of life has just declined and will decline further. Others have points that the government itself will be massively downsized. Agreed with that point also. I’ll also say we will draw down the majority of our overseas military deployments. This will have it’s own negative side effects. We’ll have to help each other American friend and become Patriots willing to die for one another instead of serving oneself. Some say our economy and way of life will be much like that of Russia. Perhaps, perhaps not but for several years we all will have some shocks to absorb and become accustomed to.
You’re right about the serfs and intergenerational resentment; I tell my young colleagues that it is their generation (those under 25 today) that will have the next real fiscal revolt when they find that it takes two of them to support my social security payment. I am realistic enough to see that quality of life will decline considerably as these massive entitlements become impossible to sustain. I wonder, however, if government will indeed become smaller; the Great Depression led to the massive growth in government we see today. Of course, it still is impossible to tax at a rate greater than 100%. (although I think it was tried in Sweden.)