We keep our bridges from failing down, but not our grandmothers and grandfathers?
Joel Blau
David B. Shemano wrote:
Joel Blau (and others writes):
"But we hand down the consequences of our policy decisions across the board--on the environment, on the military spending, and on total debt. Why single out current workers for their freeloading on social security alone?"
Again, to generalize, I distinguish capital investments (roads, schools, bridges, military, etc.) and other types of public goods which have cross-generational benefits. The costs of public goods that have cross-generational benefits should be shared with future generations, which would justify deficit spending. I would not put generational monetary transfers into that category.
David Shemano
