Thanks for a Great Debate
This post is part of our forum on Michael Kinsley's October cover story exploring the legacy of the Baby Boomers and what they owe the country.…
Self-absorbed and self-indulged, the postwar generation is leaving a bitter legacy: crumbling infrastructure, crushing public debt, and a reflexive cynicism about all institutions, from churches to Congress to the media. It’s time for redemption, argues Michael Kinsley in the October issue of the magazine. Kinsley urges fellow Boomers to cough up some cash—say, $14 trillion—to fix the mess they’re leaving.
We invited seven experts from a variety of fields—economics, demography, sociology—to comment on the essay. We’ll present their reactions, along with responses from Kinsley and other Atlantic bloggers, on this page over the next two weeks.
See also: Editor’s Note, by James Bennet
mugley/flickr
Even worse than the trillions of dollars of debt America's burdened with is the country's self-centered culture. Boomers should focus on moral repairs even more than fiscal fixes.
This post is part of our forum on Michael Kinsley's October cover story exploring the legacy of the Baby Boomers and what they owe the country.…
A reply to Maya MacGuineas and Michael Kinsley, both of whom want to make it harder on everyone who's not rich
Proposals to pay down the national debt by expanding the estate tax or means testing Social Security are mocked as political non-starters. Have any better ideas?
Why does Michael Kinsley focus so much on a danger that's rather mild compared to something like global warming?
It's not fair to blame every Baby Boomer for driving America into a ditch of massive debt and then ask them all to pull the country out by paying more in taxes
What Michael Kinsley doesn't understand about deficit spending
Today's red ink isn't at a record high—and it's not a threat to prosperity. In fact, the greater danger comes from trying to balance the federal budget.
A response to Christopher Buckley
It's fine for some Baby Boomers to talk about taxing their inheritance to pay down the debt—but that's all we've had for the last 30 years: talk
Congress should be patriotic and tackle unfunded liabilities
Boomers haven't shown the brave leadership that's needed to demand sacrifice from the country to save us from financial ruin, like raising taxes. Why it's time for them to move aside and let the next generation take charge.
An interview with the author of The Atlantic's new cover story
The reigning generation should pay their debts, but using the estate tax to make them do it is a bad idea. How should it be done? Allow the Treasury to take tax-exempt charitable donations.
National Portrait Gallery
|
The Civil War
A 150th-anniversary commemorative issue, with Atlantic work by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, and others. Read more › |
Bruce Bartlett
The Fiscal Times
Christopher Buckley
Author, satirist, novelist
Lisa Chamberlain
Author, “Slackonomics”
James Galbraith
LBJ School of Government, University of Texas
Todd Gitlin
The Journalism School, Columbia University
Eric Liu
The True Patriot Network
Maya MacGuineas
The New America Foundation
