

 Now the party's over, will the young really pick up the tab? - bootload
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/12/pre-budget-economy

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anamax
Short answer - no. They'll inflate the currency and/or declare bankruptcy. I'd
prefer more of the latter than the former.

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Allocator2008
I have a few ideas:

1) Raise the retirement age to 70, that way people have to pay more into the
system before they can benefit.

2) Expand work training programs for college age kids so instead of going to
college, kids have a choice to learn skills, like tech certifications for
example. These programs could even be funded by tech companies, who would get
a tax benefit perhaps for doing it, and also would have the benefit of having
a ready-made pool of interns, and competent interns are nearly impossible to
get these days I have noticed. This way, kids could go right into the
workforce, and not be burdened by loans from a worthless degree.

3) Move away from the model of getting a 30 year mortgage, which over-burdens
young people. Rather, develop low-cost, pre-frame housing, and make that as an
available alternative to the traditional mortgage. It is easier to finance a
30K pre-frame home, then a 150K fossil that may or may not appreciate in value
over the decades.

4) Re-work tax shelters like the 401K and the ROTH IRA to compell people to
have at least 25% of their contributions into money market accounts. This
keeps liquidity in the markets, and makes sure people don't completely shoot
themselves in the foot with risky investments. If people want to forgo the 25%
short-term investment rule, then they get to forgo the tax benefits too.

5) Shift the focus in medicine from long-term care to prevention. For example
instead of millions going into experimental chemotherapy drugs that may or may
not work, shift at least some of that into gene research which could highlight
the risk factors for things like cancer, and so on. For example, certain
countries in Asia like Japan are known for their longevity, and probably don't
put more into healthcare costs than we do, but their nutrition is far better -
sushi is healthier than pizza, bottom line. Focus on prevention saves lives,
keeps people healthy, and lowers costs of geriatric care.

6) Get over the western suspicion of robots. Robots can be great for low-wage
jobs that we might not have the manpower to fill as people age, and also can
be great caregivers for the elderly. Japan knows these things: they use robots
in place of factory workers if they cannot find people for those roles, and
also, they are moving towards using robots for caring for the shut-in elderly.
Again, this is cost effective. Forget the Hollywood crap about robots and
realize they are an economically practical tool to serve man.

7) Have an age-indexed social security tax, so people in their 20's and 30's
pay less, but this increases in one's 40's and 50's and up until retirement.
This keeps the tax burden off the young when they are getting started but
ultimately brings in more revenue to the system, if properly indexed.

8) Don't stiff NASA. Going to the moon, mars, and beyond stimulates
technological advances, which stimulates industry, which stimulates jobs and
opportunities. Ultimately the solution for the burden on the young lies in
opportunities. Howard Roark can save his generation, but only if he is in an
environment that rewards, rather than stifles, creativity and innovation.

~~~
baha_man
"3) Move away from the model of getting a 30 year mortgage, which over-burdens
young people. Rather, develop low-cost, pre-frame housing, and make that as an
available alternative to the traditional mortgage. It is easier to finance a
30K pre-frame home, then a 150K fossil that may or may not appreciate in value
over the decades."

If by 150K you mean 150,000 US dollars, it might interest you to learn that
the average UK house price is more than twice that:

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_pric...](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_prices/html/houses.stm)

