The Political and Financial Leaders of today have ransomed our future.  No one is innocent.  People of the earth you have all been poisoned.  The only antidote is a drastic program of retraining, retooling, and
reform.  Short of this, a Jeffersonian call to revolution is the only alternative, and one which I do not relish.  Our debt per capita is more than most people's retirement accounts.  A quick reading of history will show that the French had the same problem before their problems started a few hundred years ago.  As they say, "the only war the french have won since then has been the French Revolution."  Our atmospheric and oceanic  environments have degraded to the point where ecosystems are soon to be
destroyed.  Unfortunately, most biology programs in school only teach molecular biology, not ecological biology.  But who pays attention in those classes anyway?  You can't make any money with molecular biology, these days -- just look at the biotech stocks. 



Ransomed to profit.  Ransomed to shareholder returns.  My future -- 28 years of age, is not on a pretty trend.  So far I've seen perpetual war for perpetual peace.  From depleted ozone to global climate change.  1000% inflation in oil prices, 1000% returns from gold.  The end of the social security safety net on the horizon.  Filibusters which get longer and longer with policies which are given less and less thought for  securing my future, and more and more money for securing the next political cycle.  

I keep hearing from the feeble minded -- "Who believes in global warming, just look at the temperatures these days."  That's because its climate change.  It was global warming 20 years ago.  Remember Pluto?  While congress filibusters, with both parties setting glorious records for blather, the carbon levels increase like a runaway stock.  The solutions are sitting unused in a lab, their creators frustrated, but unable to do anything because neither bank capital, nor government capital, will provide enough to get the machine off the ground.  They act as if we have 100 years before things get bad.  Sorry, that was what people were saying 20 years ago.  It's much closer than you think.  Just look at all the snow.  Just look at the disappearing lakes, the increasingly destructive natural disasters -- hurricanes, tornadoes, floods.  But notice that there aren't more earthquakes these days?  It's mostly stuff involving water, which increases when its warmer.  Sun + Water = Evaporation.  That is scientific logic, something out of vogue these days since science has also been politicized.  


Climate Volatility.  That's a word everyone can understand.  Like Market Volatility.  Multiply what happened to your 401k -- your Roth IRA -- by 100x.  That's what it will feel like with climate volatility.  Except no bailouts and no Quantitative Easing to bring relief.

Filibuster all you want.  Time is running out no matter who wins. 

Social Security is almost gone.  But I am still paying for it.  Is it going to be there when I am old?  Fiscally Impossible.  So there goes another 12.5% of my working life. 


It is time to elect leaders who have a vested interest in the future to lead the State, rather than those whose pensions have vested and are about ready to leave the state -- as soon as they are finished milking that last drop.  If these younger leaders are inexperienced in politics, this is a blessing.   The people who have experience now, have experience in driving the state into the ground.  They have experience in fighting playground battles in the halls of the legislatures and the backrooms of
the capitols.  They certainly have experience.  And they will carry on in the same fashion as they have until there is nothing left for their experience to ruin.  A group of representatives who have a real stake in a future, a life horizon of at least 50, 60, 70 years, would be far better guardians of our future, than a cohort of leaders who might be lucky to see another 15 years of life. 


I've heard it said, "Who cares about Social Security after 30 years?  I got mine. And what's the complaint anyway?  I paid for my parents.  Why don't you think you should pay for yours?  You young people are getting more ungrateful and unruly by the year.  Think about all that money we spend to incarcerate you until you are old."


Because I ain't getting any in the end.

Who cares about climate change, social security,  deficit, and war?  Even the worst pessimists say we have 30 years before things get serious.  So we want better health care today, so we can get the most out of our remaining 15 years. Maybe if our legislators thought they had 50 years ahead of them, they might act more like adults.  Maybe if they actually suffered through the so-called health care system with a terminal disease they might know that money is not the problem with our healthcare system.  Maybe if healthcare was run like a real business, where defects and failure require a full refund, then costs might go down.  Why should a family pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for treatment that ended in failiure?  Maybe the healthcare sector is run more like the banking sector, where failure leads to more money rather than a refund. 

But Democrats will ask, "What do you want us to do? If we act responsibly, we will only get defeated by those fools, the Republican."  I don't know.  It seems to me that Democrats won in congress a few years back because people thought they would act responsibly and focus on the problems which were at the forefront of the middle class mind: jobs, bank reform, and an end to the wars.   Republicans have acted as they always have since Nixon, cynically and selfishly.  But when Democrats had their chance, they alienated the electorate and spent a year debating a bill that most voters put on the bottom of their priority list.  The Republicans have had a tea party revolution, some say for the better, some say for the worse.  I will let events determine the truth before making a judgment.  However, I am certain that the Democratic party needs serious reform if it is to remain relevant and effective in the coming elections.  If the Democrats cannot even show their biggest stronghold, NY, can hold onto its population with policies that do not bankrupt the state, then how can they expect the American People as a whole, who are far more conservative than New Yorkers, to trust them as true representatives of the people and guardians of the public welfare? 

If neither party will act responsibly, then the ransom will have to be paid by completely fresh blood.  Those 5%-8% of depressed market returns, the price of responsibility, will seem like nothing compared to the price of inertia.