Peterson, Micheal. “Our $23 Trillion National Debt: An Inter-Generational Injustice.” George W. Bush Presidential Center, 21 Nov. 2022, https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/federal-debt/peterson-national-debt-an-inter-generational-injustice.
Direct Quote: America’s population is aging and living longer. More than 10,000 people will turn 65 every day for the next 30 years. The total number of people over age 65 will increase by an astonishing 50 percent over the next 30 years. And older Americans are living much longer. When Social Security was founded in 1935, life expectancy was 62 years. Today, life expectancy has grown to nearly 79 years. While that’s great news, it also means that American seniors will spend many more years in retirement than we originally planned for.
Summary/My Interpretation: As the US continues to move from development phase 3 to 4, it finds itself with a population that has steadily been increasing in age. Overall, this has been proven to be problematic for several reasons. Specifically, since large numbers of people retire each year, the US finds itself struggling to provide social security to all of them. In fact, this becomes increasingly worrisome since the debt continues to remain unchecked, meaning that social security can not continue to be invested at the same rate. Overall, if the debt is not reeled in, the US may find itself unable to meet its citizens’ demand for social security.
How I Plan To Use This in My Project: In my previous research, I proved the inverse relationship that exists between the national debt and funding for social security. I plan to use this article to not only further this narrative but also demonstrate why maintaining social security should be a priority. At the point where the US population is aging, there is going to be an increasing amount of strain on the social security system that will be exacerbated by the ballooning debt.
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