I remember the day that I awoke to the inescapable truth of the economic and social  consequences that will befall the Millennial Generation and the generations to follow.  At first, I was angry that the Boomers and Gen X generations sealed the Millennials destiny, and then I realized that I was complicit.  In an effort to cope and to help, I began to write down all that I thought the Millenials need to know, then I started sharing it with them as often as possible so that they would know and better understand what they’re up against.

I usually opened with a quick lesson in the basic economics, describing how each generation is supposed to pick up the tab for the prior generation for Medicare, Medicaid and social security benefits, and that in theory, consumer spending and assumed rate of growth in the economy should generate enough tax revenue and paid-in contributions to sustain the programs for each generation.  Unfortunately, such theory assumes some constants that don’t bear out in reality, namely generational growth.  

We have seen significant disparity in generation size with 76m Boomers, followed by 58m GenXrs, which birthed 90m Millennials.  The ⅓ drop from the Boomers to GenX results in a compounding carry forward burden from the Boomers to the Millenials that is unprecedented and likely unsolvable.  And with birth rates at historic lows, it’s clear there’s little help coming from the next generation.

Further, as much as we love grandma and grandpa, their generation is living longer and fully enjoying new hips, knees, and many other medical services at a rate and cost that we didn’t budget for and cannot pay for.  The Boomers didn’t pay in enough to pay for their own benefits, the GenX crowd is too small to make up the difference, let alone pay for their own retirement benefits, so the burden and the full measure of the debt is an overwhelming yoke on the Millennials.

Not surprisingly, this information is usually quite the buzz kill at younger gatherings, but there is usually one or two that stick around to hear the rest.  I continue by getting a barometer on whether they truly appreciate what one trillion dollars represents, then I tell them that the combined unfunded retirement for the Boomers and GenXrs is $34T and growing.  It is an unconscionable number, but even more so when you compare it to the revenues that are being paid in. I then discuss how our country sells treasury bonds just to pay the debt service on our debt. At this point, they often say it sounds like a Ponzi scheme, and I tell them it’s one of the best, which makes it the worst.

If they don’t leave at this point, and if they ask for more, I then tell them about another deficit that not only caused the economic deficit, but will prevent them from solving it if something doesn’t change.  It is a leadership deficit. Politicians know that they can’t survive public service if they try to make changes to alter the economic future for the Millennials. Every elected official in Washington eventually capitulates to spending more and passing the hard decisions off to the future generations.  These makeshift leaders made their money, they have all they need, and they simply believe it’s up to Millennials to figure out their own issues. Millennials reply with, “Great, thanks for the effort sadasses, quit spending our money before we even make it, and get out of the way and let us start making some decisions.”  But so far nothing has changed.

The other deficit is a moral/character deficit that permeates our economy and society that says, “If you can get away with it, do it. I’m getting mine!”  This philosophy has come home to roost with respect to large corporations’ behavior in recent years, where they have been caught red handed lying about mileage ratings on cars, knowingly using errant software critical to aerospace, and plundering the resources of our planet with impunity.  Couple that with a society that is being groomed and constantly manipulated to have an insatiable appetite for consuming cheap stuff delivered now, and you get a devolved society that is fragile, fickle and on the brink of collapse.  

I finish this discussion, with the following:  And Kids, it can’t change itself. You have to change it by dismantling and rebuilding it upon a renewed and maybe greater set of values.  People mock you because you think you are the greatest, smartest and most creative generation in history. Truth is, you better be, and you must be, because the fate and future of our civilization rests on it.