Sacrifice Skips a Generation

This winter, thousands of new records were set for heat and temps in the US were up 6 degrees. 6. That's a lot.

Our national debt is growing faster than ever and is forecast to continue growing even once the economy recovers.

The baby boomers are now our leaders. 

What have those three to do with each other? Well, deficit reduction requires sacrifice (we get less in terms of programs and pay more in terms of taxes in order to lower the deficit). Addressing climate change requires sacrifice (it would mean paying more for gas, finding ways to conserve, etc.). And baby boomers are the leaders who blithely ignore these issues.

It might just be that among all their firsts, the baby boomers will be the first generation to feel no need to sacrifice.

Theirs are religions of love, not sacrifice, feasts not fasts. Theirs are policies with free prescription drugs and tax cuts. They've pioneered free love and rampant obesity. When they went to war in the Middle East their idea of civic duty was to "go shopping." Not only were they the first generation to get their parents to pay for their higher education, but they jacked up tuition for their own kids so that these same baby boomers might be the last generation to get (mostly) free education.

I wonder if any one of their leaders would ever dare to mention sacrifice or if they would be heard if they did.