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The Clash of Generations: Saving Ourselves, Our Kids, and Our Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Kotlikoff, Laurence J.

    (Boston University)

  • Burns, Scott

    (AssetBuilder)

Abstract
The United States is bankrupt, flat broke. Thanks to accounting that would make Enron blush, America’s insolvency goes far beyond what our leaders are disclosing. The United States is a fiscal basket case, in worse shape than the notoriously bailed-out countries of Greece, Ireland, and others. How did this happen? In The Clash of Generations, experts Laurence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns document our six-decade, off-balance-sheet, unsustainable financing scheme. They explain how we have balanced our longer lives on the backs of our (relatively few) children. At the same time, we've been on a consumption spree, saving and investing less than nothing. And that’s not to mention the evisceration of the middle class and a financial system that has proven it can’t be trusted. Kotlikoff and Burns outline grassroots strategies for saving ourselves—and especially our children--from what could be a truly catastrophic financial collapse. Kotlikoff and Burns sounded the alarm in their widely acclaimed The Coming Generational Storm, but politicians didn’t listen. Now the need for action is even more urgent. It’s up to us to demand radical reform of our tax system, our healthcare system, and our Social Security system, and to insist on better paths to investment return than those provided by Wall Street (mis)managers. Kotlikoff and Burns's "Purple Plans" (so called because they will appeal to both Republicans and Democrats) have been endorsed by a who’s who of economists and offer a new way forward; and their revolutionary investment strategy for individuals replaces the idea of financial capital with "life decision capital." Of course, we won't be doing all this just for ourselves. We need to fix America’s fiscal mess before our kids inherit it.

Suggested Citation

  • Kotlikoff, Laurence J. & Burns, Scott, 2012. "The Clash of Generations: Saving Ourselves, Our Kids, and Our Economy," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262526107, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:mtp:titles:0262526107
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Timothy C. Irwin, 2015. "Defining The Government'S Debt And Deficit," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 711-732, September.
    2. Roppel, Ulrich, 2013. "Generationenpolitik: Der drohende Generationenkonflikt," RWI Materialien 74, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung.
    3. Thomas Grennes, 2013. "Diminishing Quality of Fiscal Institutions in the United States and European Union," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 33(2), pages 227-232, Spring/Su.
    4. Daniel L. Thornton, 2012. "The U.S. deficit/debt problem: a longer-run perspective," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Nov, pages 441-456.
    5. Ulrich Roppel, 2013. "Generationenpolitik - Der drohende Generationenkonflikt," RWI Materialien, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, pages 70, 07.
    6. repec:lib:000cis:v:3:y:2015:i:1:p:1-15 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Frank Milne, 2012. "Economic Crises: The Impact On Australia And Canada," Working Paper 1296, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    8. repec:zbw:rwimat:074 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Ake Blomqvist & Colin Busby, 2014. "Paying for the Boomers: Long-Term Care and Intergenerational Equity," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 415, September.
    10. Shen, Ke & Wang, Feng & Cai, Yong, 2016. "Patterns of inequalities in public transfers by gender in China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 8(C), pages 76-84.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    National debt; America; tax system; healthcare; Social Security; investment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H - Public Economics
    • H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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