The Greatest Generation? Ponzi artists, congressman suggests
July 30th, 2012 | Uncategorized | Posted by Sean Reilly
SAN DIEGO | Politicians of all stripes pay homage to the Greatest Generation, as newsman Tom Brokaw dubbed the men and women who endured the Great Depression, helped win World War II, and went on create the most prosperous society the world had ever known.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., offered a less reverential footnote today, attributing the origins of today’s fiscal crisis to entitlement programs fostered by some of those same people.
“The Greatest Generation created many of what the private sector would call Ponzi schemes,” Issa said at an Association of Government Accountants conference here. “They created Social Security, they created Medicare on their watch, [they] created Medicaid.” All of that, Issa continued, ”without resources or funding.”
“A generation that was doing many things right–coming out of World War II–also planted the seeds for all the problems we have today.”
Issa, who gave the morning keynote address at the conference, voiced that view in response to a question from an audience member.
Tags: Association of Government Accountants, Darrell Issa, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security