How will your children’s lives be different from yours? - Jack Cafferty's 5pm question

[Bozita]

http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/

How will your children’s lives be different from yours?
Posted: 11:36 AM ET


FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

The American Dream may be slipping away. Examples are everywhere. One comes from CNNMoney.com, which reports how the life of autoworkers is changing.

It used to be that getting a union job on the production line of a big car company would instantly vault someone into the middle class, even if they didn’t have much formal education. But those days are gone.

With Chrysler declaring bankruptcy, and General Motors expected to follow soon, the government is demanding these companies bring their labor costs in line with foreign competitors. That means an entry-level autoworker who used to make $28 an hour could soon be making $14 an hour.

Workers’ benefits are also taking a hit. Union employees will have to pay a much larger share of their health care expenses. And when they retire, the company won’t be paying for their health care anymore. Also, going forward, fewer medical procedures and drugs will be covered.

The story of the American autoworker is just a slice of what’s happening across the country. It seems increasingly likely millions of people won’t be able to maintain the standard of living they’ve grown accustomed to, not to mention what’s around the corner for the next generation.

A recent poll found more than a third of parents think their children’s standard of living will be worse than theirs is now.

Here’s my question to you: How will your children’s lives be different from yours?

Tune in to the Situation Room at 5 p.m. to see if Jack reads your answer on air.

[gratuitous]

1. What if you don't have children?

Some people took that whole "overpopulation" thing seriously.

[Bonobo]

2. Then you shouldn't take part in the survey.

[gratuitous]

3. Oh, okay

Thanks.

[ananda]

4. Maybe because it IS serious..

.. that whole overpopulation thing....

[RagAss]

5. My children's generation will bring down the corporate facists....the way we didn't.

[ThomWV]

6. My 35-year-old son's life is already entirely different than mine was at his age.

You don't have to wait for the next generation to see it go down hill. My Grandfather lived hard, my father had it best, I got second shot at it, my son is living with the remains, and his son might end up in a cave.

[booksenkatz]

7. Our son will never work for a corporation.

We're a "Big Three" family, and in the old days, that meant security. But that's no longer true, and our son has observed that it doesn't matter how hard you work, how responsible you are with your bills, how much you try to do the right thing... you still end up in a ditch with the people who were irresponsible and partied for 25 years. The lesson: our responsible actions did not ultimately produce a successful result because the economy and the corporation trumped us.

We're cutting back on everything and eating mac 'n cheese, just like our newlywed years. Starting over at 50 ain't fun. But I am well aware that there are many who would LOVE to dine on mac 'n cheese tonight, so we're counting our blessings and trying to focus on what we have, and not on everything we've lost. I still take food to the local pantry because there are automotive families here who are hurting far more than we are, but I am unable to take as many bags of food as I used to take, and that's scary.

I used to tell our son that his dream of being a circus clown was ridiculous, but these days, that career path looks perfectly reasonable! Why the hell not.:7