Daniel Petry: The Coming Civil War Between the Generations

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By Daniel Petry

The 'Reset Generation,' made up of those younger than 30, is ready to put an end to the entitlements and perks of recent decades

I was going to write an article on the fourth branch of our government — the bureaucracy — until I was on a flight home and sat next to two young men.

Both were in their late 20s. One already had served three tours in the Middle East; the other was a midlevel sales manager. They didn’t know me, nor did they know each other. And the conversation we had blew me away.

Folks, you and I are walking in an absolutely clueless fog of arrogance. There is a group out there that is going to solve our problems, but it’s not going to go the way we want, nor will it be pretty. I have to agree with them.

Let me say this: If you think that those who comment on Noozhawk are ticked off at one another — or at the government, or at the politicians — well, there’s a generation out there who considers us to be just white noise. We better be watching our back for the haymaker that’s coming our way — and it’s coming fast.

It’s the generation younger than age 30, and they aren’t happy. They are not stupid. They are not a monolithic mass of young Democrats, socialists, right-wingers, Republicans or whatever label you choose to classify people. They may seem flaky, spoiled, self-centered and vacuous. A lot are, but most are not. The two young men on the flight were prime examples of those who are not.

This a generation that is saying to themselves that all these nice entitlements and perks we have voted for ourselves during the past decades will not go on. Not because of some grand scheme in the political arena between two massive parties, led by an aging group of baby boomers who grew up never really wanting for anything, but from a generation that stands up and says: Nope. No more.  Enough. Too bad. No more money for you. We will not be spending our lives working our butts off just so you can enjoy the perks that you gave yourselves. You have had your run, and now it’s over. I’m going to get mine and to heck with you.

They laughed when I mockingly said, “But you are going to have Social Security, Medicare and full health insurance.”

“Yeah, right,” they said. “Let’s see. You have some guy who retires in his 50s being paid most of his salary and he has medical coverage? Get real.” Or, you have “some illegal getting Medicare and welfare payments. Give us a break.”

“Here’s the bottom line, Mr. Petry. We are not going to pay for it. Simple as that. You think I’m going to work my butt off so you can retire and get a monthly check from my hard labor? Pardon me, but screw you.”

That’s basically the way the conversation went. And you know something? They are right on target.

I think Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., said it best: “A 49-year-old man who retires, state worker, $124,000 he contributed to his pension, and his health benefits over the course of his career. What does he get? $3.3 million of pension payments and $500,000 in health-care costs — $3.8 million on a $124,000 investment. Those numbers don’t add up.”

It is immoral, abhorrent, selfish and unsustainable.

Add in the fact that the average salary for a federal government worker is more than $70,000 (and going up next year) and the working stiffs who are supporting them average $40,000 (and it’s going down)! Can you tell me what’s wrong with that picture?

Then throw in the fact that state pension plans are underfunded to the tune of more than $1 trillion! Where do you think the states are going to go to get those funds? That’s right: You and me. Add in the fact that there is no money in any of these federal and state entitlement programs. In total, federal entitlement programs are unfunded by more than $100 trillion. That’s more than twice the GDP of the entire world!

That’s right: They don’t add up. And those young men know it. So do their brothers and sisters, and they aren’t going to pay it out. It’s going to be a battle of the generations, and we are going to get our butts kicked.

“But,” I said, “didn’t you guys and most of your generation vote for President Barack Obama?”

Without answering my question, the 28-year-old veteran said, “Who cares? They are both the same party. One is going to tax us into oblivion, and is spending like they just won the lottery, and they also voted for the war. The other got us into a war and also spent like they won the lottery. So it didn’t matter who I voted for. It made no difference.”

There’s actually some sense to that.

“My grandparents are doing OK, but we are never going to see a dime,” the sales manager said. “Instead, I’m going to be paying for some old fart that paid in just a small fraction of the amount of money he will be sucking from our veins over the next 30 years. So I’m going to do whatever I can to screw that SOB. My family comes first. They can wait for what’s left over — if any.”

Brutal comment, yes. True? Definitely.

“As far as we are concerned, we are not going to have Social Security. And if you guys screw up heath care as you have screwed up everything else, we won’t have that either. We will not have the kind of money our parents had. But we’ll tell you this. You better learn to fend for yourselves, because we are not going to carry your dead weight.”

The vet just rolled his eyes and said, “Old folks, and you baby boomers, want it all and screw the future generations. Future generations will get screwed regardless.”

Out of the mouths of babes. A warning. A shot across the bow of all of us.

Here is the bottom line. The amount of money needed to pay for the unfunded liabilities that are barreling down on this generation of 20-somethings could never be printed, or generated through taxes. And they know it. They will have the checkbook, and they are not going to open it for us. I’m not saying that they’re going to take to the streets with guns — though they might — but they are going to rapidly become the power base of this nation. Then they will cut off the umbilical cord that seems to be attached to every senior citizen.

There won’t be any money for these grandiose entitlements we are proposing or experiencing. You will not see illegals, let alone Americans getting the largesse they now experience. Tax rates will be astronomical for all Americans, not just the supposed “rich.”

I’m going to call this generation the “Reset Generation,” because they are definitely going to reset the game and start over. We will either come along for the ride or be left behind. I’m going to hitch a ride.

— Santa Barbara resident Daniel Petry is the CEO and founding partner of Petry Direct Inc., a 20-year-old management firm that specializes in content production and marketing management. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, class of 1976, and received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado.

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