Boomers, tighten belts

Another six months of nation-building wars, tax breaks for the wealthy and increased health care, insurance and Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid costs (including prescription drug benefits for seniors) and add another $1 trillion to the last six years debt of more than $10 trillion.

The good news: Tax breaks for the wealthy may end by nonrenewal, and the largest recession since World War II is in a lackluster “recovery.”

Declining employment taxes are resulting in projected Social Security cash flows in the red for the next two years, according to the budget office. Unadjusted spiraling growth of health care-related costs and baby-boomer benefit costs still threaten a larger meltdown, a double-dip recession. Digitally creating dollars and the usual borrowing from foreigners or Social Security may not work the next time.

Since consumer spending accounts for some 70 percent of our nation’s economy, the lingering unemployment appears to be a consistent threat to the necessary consistent spend-more factor of our anticipated “recovery.” Gone is consumption for back to school, cash for clunkers and costly tax holidays. Hope the subsidized, energy-efficient refrigerators sell well in the next few months.

Keep the faith in our future, fellow baby boomers. Use less. Learn, work and help more.

Duane Schofield

Cusick, Wash.