PLATFORM : A Warning to the Generation in Power

Neither of the two leading candidates nor their parties have given more than lip-service to the concerns of the next generation. A decade-long bipartisan spending spree has buried younger Americans under $4 trillion of debt. Deficits continue to stack up another $300 billion of debt each year--slowing productivity growth, raising long-term interest rates and capping our generation’s capacity for future investment.

The long-term effects of this fiscal child abuse are sobering. For example, under the Social Security Adminstration’s worst-case scenario, the “trust” fund goes into deficit by 2015, with Social Security payments gobbling up 43% of all taxable wages by 2060.

Absent real accountability and fiscal responsibility from our national leadership, future generations will surely confront their parents in a battle for economic equity.

That’s why three months ago we reached across the generational divide and called on all congressional and presidential candidates to pledge to cut the budget deficit in half by 1996, or not seek reelection. Seventy-five candidates--including Ross Perot and a dozen House incumbents--have signed on. But both Democratic and Republican leaders have dodged this call for collective accountability, continuing instead to point fingers and offer excuses.

Let the generation in power be warned. You can run, but you can’t hide. We will register. We will vote. And if you continue to sell out our future, we will kick you out of office. Your reckless leadership has shackled our dreams.