A Pledge By America, not the Pledge To America, is what will save our nation's future

Ryan Streeter

Today at FoxNews.com I have an opinion piece that makes the case for a Pledge By America. The Pledge is a fairly obvious play off the Republicans’ Pledge To America that they unveiled last fall.

The Pledge By America uses a simple idea to address a very complex problem. The Pledge is a way for American citizens to say they will do their part to tackle the deficit if Congress will do its part.

ConservativeHome invites Americans of all walks of life, and all ages, to sign the Pledge.

Here’s why America needs the Pledge:

The deficit is complex, thorny, and ugly, because it requires us to do much more than cut spending to fix it. We can only fix it long-term if we reform our big entitlement programs, Social Security and Medicare, because they are the culprits running up our credit cards.  And to change our entitlement programs means to change what we Americans can expect them to do for us when we’re older.

Anyone under 55, but especially younger Americans – let’s say those under 45 – should start preparing for a very different future than the previous generation enjoyed. Any successful reforms (by which I mean changes to the programs that make them solvent) will require some combination of raising retirement ages, targeting benefits to those who need them most, and limiting the amount the government can pay out in favor by creating a system that defines how much seniors get each year.

This means that: we’ll have to work longer since we live longer; we’ll need to save more, both on our own and through whatever private account system the government can set up for us to deposit some of our payroll tax into; we’ll need to expect to receive less the more we’ve made in our careers; and we’ll need to get used to the idea that we’ll do more “shopping” for health care with a limited amount to spend than just going to whatever doctor expecting the government to foot the bill.

Now, Congress is reluctant to implement these reforms because doing so is political dynamite. But the longer we wait, the higher our taxes, the deeper the cuts to the programs, and the unhappier the public. So, the Pledge is a way for a new “greatest generation” of Americans to stand up and say, “OK, we get it. We’ll do our part to change our expectations about the future so the politicians can muster the courage to do the right thing and change the laws.”

The Pledge By America has 7 points:

• I pledge to do all I can to be self-sufficient, and to raise children – if I have them – to be self-sufficient.

• I pledge to work until 70 years old.

• I pledge to save more of my income than I do now, by a few percentage points a year.

• I pledge to allow a portion of my payroll taxes to be deposited into a savings account for my retirement, rather than relying only on Social Security.

• I pledge to be a cost-conscious consumer of insurance and health care when I am age 70 and older, and to use a fixed contribution from the government each year to get the insurance and care I need.

• I pledge to live with less from the government if I’m fortunate enough to be well-off when I retire.

• I pledge to give back to my community to address the needs of those around me.

Each of these 7 points matters a great deal. They are the stuff of personal responsibility, fiscal prudence, shared sacrifice. They require the values and habits we often associate with the last “greatest generation.”

I will take Wednesday through Friday to work through each of the points, so be sure to come back.

In the meantime, if you're persuaded by the need for the Pledge, sign it here.

Comments

[Danny Harder]

Your opinion about the sacrifices that need to be made are right on target, with one big flaw. It's the younger generations that you're asking to sacrifice for the excesses of the "baby-boomer generation." This generation, thanks to the "greatest generation," have lived high on the hog for decades; sqaundering away valuable natural resources and bargaining (more like strong arming by unions and lobbyists) for excessive government pension plans and entitlement programs. Coupled with elected officials (also of the "baby-boomer" generation) that are self-serving and apathetic to the future impending crisis of this country, it's no wonder we're in this predicament. Your flaw: You're asking the wrong generations to do the sacrificing! Is the generation that got us into this mess with their greedy and self-centered attitudes allowed to pass the buck? In my opinion, future generations don't have a choice but to sacrifice, but the "baby-boomer" generation must be made to sacrifice as well.

[Donut Hinge Party]

Wow! You're pushing for 100% Inheritance tax?

I applaud your bravery, sir.

[Steve]

Donut Hinge Party - I'm sorry, but I do not see any mention of inheritance taxation in that article.

All very sensible indeed, Mr Streeter.

[Donut Hinge Party]

Well, ANYONE can be self-sufficent if they have a trust fund of $30 million. It's a bit harder if you've got two red cents and a shoelace.

[Green and Pleasant]

More like Donut unhinged party!

[melmoth]

Agree everyone should be self-sufficient. Can we start with the bankers?

[Andrew Smith]

I am a Brit posting from Britain.

Well I don't know about Danny, but I have never taken funds out of the state since leaving university in the days before student loans. I have since then paid all my taxes, never defaulted on liabilities and paid my own childrens university education, apart from the debts they took on themselves.

Although I was born soon after the second war, I do not think I have been the cause of overspending by the state as I have always supported candidates with a small spending agenda, or so they said at the time.

As to the Pledge, it is not strictly true to say we must all work longer. What we and America needs to do is to generate the resources each year so they produce what they and we consume. The vigour of the free enterprise system only needs the reins slackened off to enable it to produce the goods efficiently and likely without huge additional hours of work.

It seems to me the common cause of the past problems and the difficulties in overcoming them are the politicians we have and have had. They tell us they can run this and that but make such a hash they fail. Then they keep the tax revenues and tell us to fix it ourselves.

Notice the common problem? Too many politicians allowed too much access to the cookie jar!

[Simon Newman]

"Anyone under 55, but especially younger Americans – let’s say those under 45 – should start preparing for a very different future than the previous generation enjoyed"

Hmm, so basically the Baby Boomers get to loot the country, trash the economy, and laugh all the way to the grave? Why shouldn't they bear some of the burden? God knows they've done enough harm.