Editor's note: Former 1st District Congressman Tim Penny, D-Minn., wrote this open letter to his granddaughter for Thanksgiving.
My beloved grandchild, Ramona,
Today is Thanksgiving -- a holiday that encourages Americans to take time to remember everything for which we are grateful. As your grandparent, I am grateful for your good health and the joy you bring to us every day. I am thankful for the love that flows between the generations of our family.
I am reminded that I have much for which to thank my parents and grandparents. They brought America back from a Great Depression. During World War II, they fought against dangerous tyrants and secured a lasting peace. They endured a long Cold War and helped to usher in a new era of freedom and opportunity in Eastern Europe and even in Russia. They built a stronger safety net for those among us in need -- and effectively ended poverty in old age. They provided us with quality schools and universities and delivered for us an economy that has lifted our standard of living beyond anything they themselves enjoyed.
Ramona, you will soon be off to kindergarten. In the flickering of an eye, it will be college, maybe graduate school, and then a career. When that time comes, what kind of world will you inherit? What will be my generation's legacy to you?
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Sadly, my generation may be the first to leave our grandchildren worse off -- and that thought shames me. Unless significant changes are made -- and soon -- the world we leave you will be painted by a single word: debt.
Today, on Thanksgiving, things may look fine. The economy is growing. Unemployment is low. The federal deficit is smaller this year than last year.
But there is trouble on the horizon. As a society, we are spending -- not investing. Our nation's personal savings rate is at an all-time low.
Through our government, we are overspending our budget by roughly $400 billion per year with no end of deficits in sight. More alarmingly, based on government spending promises already made, over the next 70 years, we have created a $43 trillion fiscal imbalance. That amounts to a debt of $150,000 for every man, woman and child.
At some point, this bill must be paid. Unfortunately, by the time you enter the work force, taxes will need to be raised -- a lot -- to make up the difference.
The primary reason for this projected imbalance is the cost of supporting my generation in our retirement. The baby boomers are like "the pig passing through the python." With over 70 million new retirees (twice the size of today's retirement population), the baby boomers will simply overwhelm the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs.
In fact, by the time you enter the work force, spending for Social Security, Medicare and interest payments on the nation's debt will consume every single tax dollar you pay to the federal government. There will be no extra money available for anything else, including national defense, education, environmental protection and poverty programs. That is not fair.
The people that we have elected to Congress know there are huge problems ahead, but they have lacked the courage to make meaningful and lasting change. Each year that they delay fixing the problems, the price you will pay for their irresponsibility gets bigger and bigger. That is not right.
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Earlier generations believed in working hard, playing by the rules, paying their fair share of taxes, and deferring their own gratification in order to deliver a better standard of living for their children and grandchildren. For two centuries, that has been the American way. We need to restore that ethic in both our personal and public lives.
So today, Thanksgiving 2005, we will share the laughter and the joy of being together. We will be mindful of the many things for which we can be grateful. Beyond that, I promise you that I'll do everything I can in the year ahead to help you find a brighter future. And as we enter another election year, I will not support or vote for any candidate who refuses to talk honestly about the tough choices we must make now -- and the sacrifices my generation must shoulder -- in order to be fair to you, Ramona, and your generation.
Tim Penny is a former Congressman from Minnesota.
