Let’s assuming we’re capable, from here, of getting an idea or meme into the nation’s consciousness. Like Instapundit and Co. getting the ”Porkbusters” movement prior to the Tea Parties.
Suppose we had millions of children’s signatures on a statement that goes,
As an American I don’t have to repay money that the government borrowed before I could vote. Because that’s taxation without representation.
And yes, obviously we want signings in Crayon, cute pictures, interviews with little mopsies where they share their understanding of what they’ve signed and saying the darnedest things, etc.
How about it? I’ve oft wondered why no one has sued the government for planned structural debt, years down the road, on the basis of taxation without representation on the young.
For that matter, income tax on sub-18-year-olds’ also strikes me as a Founding Father no-no.
How would the government spending addicts respond to this on a nationwide scale? They’ll attack the parents for “using” their kids politically. And c’mon. If you parents can’t calmly point out that your job is to ensure children’s welfare and that the spenders think it’s their job to impoverish those chilren.
This is the first thing that comes to mind and yes, it’s ruthless. But I’m always ruthless about government. . My strategy now, remember, is to weather the Baby Boomers. This is going to require seriously lowered expectations on their part.
Let’s rub their noses in what must happen to today’s children for the BB’s to get their way. We seize the moral high ground for defaulting on the BB’s debt by having the children disavow responsibility for it. Which they should.
Thoughts, ideas? Come on, which parent wants their kid to be the earliest adopter?
Or do you think your children should be taxed without representation, hmmm?
(Can’t wait to ask that of progressive parents, even with no hope of a coherent answer.)
Surely you already know the response, don’t you? “Bush did it, too!” Or, “Reagan did it, too!” Or Nixon, or Eisenhower… however far back they have to go to find a (supposedly) relevant example of an “R” committing whatever sin happens to be the topic of discussion.
You might enjoy the video at this story:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/college-students-refuse-to-sign-pledge-to-pay-their-share-of-national-debt/
You know I do!
We need to get the urchins signing up, too…
After reading it, I see those are mostly leftist students disavowing the debt. Typical…
http://blog.energy.gov/content/situation-japan/
Have kids ask politicians, “You got us into debt and you want me to pay it off?”
I still would like to see budgets constrained by the net revenue from the last fiscal year we have available with money set aside to pay interest, and to pay down debt. If the gov’t want more money to fund growing empires they need to make policies that allow more prosperity.
Yes. The Constitution gives the Fed the right to borrow. And it does need it, within reason. For operational purposes, exactly as you state. For existential war, it does whatever it takes in the borrowing department.
The only other multi-year debt that seems valid to me is buying real assets. The Louisiana Purchase, Seward’s Folly, Luna.
Might work. “Generational theft” is a solid meme. Drawbacks: come under fire for using the little urchins as “ideological shields.” Overall, I think it’s a little over the top. It’s almost equally effective to have parents and grandparents saying this, as they are now, with the occasional kid holding up a sign, rather than pulling out all the stops with kids who may not understand the petition they are signing, just for emotional impact, and being charged with manipulating kids intellectually and manipulating everyone else emotionally. So, finally, I hesitate.
I just thought of that Obama kid song in the 2008 campaign. Try something like that? “We’re gonna spread debtlessness . . .”
Here’s a related Iowhawk classic:
I considered that. The thing to do is to calmly stare these “outraged” leftists in the eye and say, “it’s okay for you to put them in debt, but not for them to protest it?”
It doesn’t matter if the kids understand. If the slavers point that out, explain that that’s why the slavers have been getting away with it.
There is absolutely, positively no rational way in which progressives can pretend to care about American children while demanding that we indebt them further. The closest they can come is to say, “if we cut spending government workers will be laid off and they have families”. If they ever get to that point we’ll point out that government decisions get private workers laid off all the time. All while continuing the “tax w/o rep” meme.
Whenever they dare bring up childrens’ welfare, don’t let them get away with it. “If you cared about children, you wouldn’t enslave them.” I know, I know, “enslave” is too harsh for most of you. “Indebt” them, if you like.
While, I am preBoomer(b 1944) and depend on SSI, Army retirement and the VA, I know that my income must be reduced. As my wife and I live well below our income, the main result will be in reducing the amount that we spend to help others.
Did you notice Obama floating the trial balloon of taxing charitable donations? They won’t stop going for that one, it’s a “two-fer” for them. More taxes, less charity, which means justification for more social programs.
I’m just past the trailing edge of Boomers (1962) but not Generation X. It’s my fate to always be the middle child.
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I am you, wormme. I am for stopping it all. I don’t care that someone before me paid in, they got much more than that. But it is the only way. Time for all of us to be self-reliant and thinking about our futures after retiring.
Where is it in the rule book that states everyone should have a leisurely and well-traveled retirement? My mutti is 67 and has worked her ass off. But her “retirement” is non-existent as mine will be at this point in life. My husband used to make 6 figures and we used to travel. We are now back at the beginning and have no retirement…making what he made 15 years ago now with kids in college. That hurts…but we are making it. And I am willing to cut it all, for my kids sake.
Hope you all stay healthy. Once you get the kids through maybe you’ll be in position to really save.