"younger people are far and away receiving the better end of the deal"
What I see and complain about differs from your conclusion. I see Census Bureau data that show a decline (1973-1997) in real median incomes for all household age groups under age 45, while older age groups have increased their real median incomes substantially. I see young families that are forced to send both parents off to work even while their children are pre-school age. I see children who are neglected in cookie-cutter institutions that cannot replace the one-on-one attention of a parent. I see bankruptcy filings have more than doubled in the 1990s.
Savings rates are down. People can't save for their own retirements. Fewer employers fund pensions or retirement plans. And Social Security, if it is saved, will end up paying full benefits that will be able to buy the elderly little in an economy that becomes inflated or hyperinflated and beyond their reach because we have not invested in the infrastructure necessary to allow fewer workers to produce enough for more retirees.
I hear about these being economic "good times" but I understand that these "good" numbers are more related to the sheer numbers of people who are working and not to tremendous increases in productivity. In other words, the absolute numbers are greater now, but wage growth is relatively stagnant and conditions are not improving for individuals and families.
Here's my hypothesis:
Since the early 1970, when Cost of Living Adjustments were instituted and FICA rates/taxes began to increase substantially, the United States has been spending money on the excess consumption of the affluent elderly. This has taken money away from capital investment, which has cost us in terms of growth in productivity - the only thing that will improve conditions for individuals and families.
Despite being in a period of time where our nation should be doing great things, we find ourselves in a period of retrenchment and limitations. We have been paying homage to our past at the expense of our future.
