Life Is Good

by: Douglas Rogers

Every year about this time, we attend graduation ceremonies and watch our young people head off into the world, full of hope and promise. It is a journey almost all of us have taken.

However this year, the class of 2009 may have a rougher time than we did.

There is no doubt in my mind that kids graduating today are much more educated than we were at that same age, but unfortunately, they are headed off into an uncertain world.

I was reading the other day that today’s graduates will probably never attain the earning potential of those who went before them.

Obviously that is due in large part to the economic situation we created.

What an absolute shame that we are sending our children into a world that is much worse off than when we were handed the reigns.

I for one am ashamed.

It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me that we have let our economy get into this situation.

Now, I have mentioned many times in this column that I am no master of economics, but I do know if there is no money in the bank account, then I shouldn’t be writing any checks.

Apparently, the folks we elect to serve our interests don’t understand that basic economic principal.

As I understand it, we are handing off to the next generation a National Debt of over $11 trillion.

WOW!

How ever did we get ourselves into this mess?

Every generation searches for a solution and it seems that every generation fails. With this in mind, how can we expect the class of 2009 to possibly get a grip on a debt that is increasing by almost $4 billion a day?

Somehow, we need to take responsibility for the mess we are handing off to the class of 2009 and clean it up. I think that right now is the time to start tightening our belts and rolling up our sleeves.

The class of 2009 is one of the brightest that we have ever produced, but it shouldn’t be their responsibility to have to deal with all this.

If we as Americans continue to spend without consideration for the consequences, then we are dooming future generations to complete and utter failure.

I am a proud American and would not want to see my children or grandchildren suffer because of my inability to realize and fix the obvious.

When I graduated in 1982 from high school the National Debt was $58 billion. What a complete and absolute shame that since that time, we have managed to increase that debt to $11 trillion and counting. That is trillion with a “T” folks!