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Author Tom Palmer discusses the impact of government welfare and retirement programs on younger generations of Americans.
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The show tonight's titled after the welfare state mostly because I like the title of this new book.
It's meant for you were younger people and argues they do you -- job to undo the work of welfare state is politicians.
Like.
This -- mark he started Social Security Germany.
Then in America Roosevelt Kennedy Johnson Nixon bush Obama and so on.
The -- foundation which produce the book made this video to introduce it.
Welfare states are disappearing into the sea of red.
Children born today face a lifetime of taxes to pay for benefits for their elders.
Government debts keep growing short sighted politicians are stealing the future from young people.
Tom Tom -- edited the book what do you mean stealing the future.
Well basically.
Politicians have rob young people of their future.
They're required to put money into what amounts to big Ponzi scheme -- -- -- pyramid scheme.
To pay current recipients for -- Social Security -- Social Security Medicare Medicaid as a whole raft of these things.
And they're gonna get stuck with the bill for the unfunded liabilities are just staggering John.
I'm very conservative estimate about eighty trillion dollars is the present value.
Of just.
The gap between what they're gonna tax and what they're going to have to spend because is no money in anybody's accounts it's just a promise and there are more of -- old people expect.
To get our health care paid for.
They have the so called trust fund is an IOU you can go -- it's -- -- -- -- file drawer in West Virginia and says I -- you eighty trillion dollars.
And the is college students have and -- have to pay for in there just aren't enough of them because people my age rudely refused to die.
Well that's one way to look at exactly.
But it even setting this up that aside the -- Lifespan going up this system was broke the -- was established because -- -- -- you go system.
If any private company insurance company investment scheme had this financial structure of the CEO.
Would be in -- in fact.
-- -- off is in prison he could.
Okay.
From -- All right so your book is titled after the welfare state what are they supposed to do about.
Well I think the first thing is understand that when -- take responsibility for one's self.
And just be realistic those benefits are not going to be there they've been promised but the politicians cannot make good on its arithmetic there's an old saying.
Things that can't keep going on -- This is gonna come to an end.
Now the question is what's gonna come after and what happens to poor people -- commissioner of welfare -- New York City said private charity won't be enough to helpful for the first thing to remember.
Is that the welfare state isn't about the poor.
The vast bulk of welfare state expenditures do not go to the -- their churned among the middle classes.
Comes out of one pocket and goes into the other minus -- giant handling fee.
Think it's taken off in Washington farm subsidies subsidies for business all kinds over a hundred billion dollars a year.
And just handouts corporate welfare to big companies aren't back to the -- He says.
Cherry won't take care and I think most people believe that yeah I think it's wrong not -- why.
The first point is that there's a cascade of different ways to take care of me first of course -- self help.
That's the most important thing helping people help themselves.
Second isn't -- -- security was traditionally the third thing people look to.
Who who was quote mutual aid people taking care of themselves.
Americans prior to the well first they were big join -- of associations over 30%.
Of the adult population in 1925 -- members of lodges this was before the -- Thursday.
So a third of the adults joined these mutual aid society -- Which helped each other.
They help each other and all kinds of ways they provided benefits -- provided hospitals think about all of the masonic and trying -- hospitals that are out there.
Those were all -- -- clearly with money that people voluntarily gave.
To help to members of their community and they hit an additional charitable element as well to help the in the gender of the people who were.
Had bad luck.
But primarily these were people helping each other most of them have been wiped out by the welfare state and we that wiped out physically but people said.
Chief the government's gonna do this there's no point in -- doing by pay twice.
Their first you pay the tax in the -- paying the membership dues to an organization.
So they were systematically displaced Western Europe United States and other countries because the government settle they're not perfect they missed some people we can do better.
Right and we can create giant constituencies that will reinforce each other you talk about 151000.
Employees in the New York City welfare system.
Every one of those is a voter also and they don't like to see those systems cut.
So they've created of political constituency that reinforces itself you argue.
Unlike the commissioner that these mutual aid societies would take care of the people who need help.
If they were still around today that they would do a better job than his 151000 employees did would can and should no question about it I'll give you one example that works really well it's invisible to most people.
Alcoholics anonymous.
It's out there any city in the United States 24 hours a day you can call a number -- so -- cook talked you through an alcohol problem.
There's meetings every night of the week and most American cities that people can go to to deal with their problems that's people helping each other all voluntary offering.
And it works a lot better than government rehabilitation programs.
I think.
Making.
