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The typical member of Congress, now an older baby boomer, ought to wonder: What am I doing to my children (and their children)? From 2010 to 2030, the over-65 population is projected to rise by about 30 million; meanwhile, the working-age population (20-64) will increase by only 10 million. The pressures on younger families to pay for Social Security and Medicare benefits must rise. Piling new benefits atop the old -- today drugs, tomorrow nursing-home care and then who knows what -- compounds the pressures. We cannot know the full consequences of these larger burdens. But the possibilities must include slower economic growth and smaller families -- because the economy becomes less dynamic and because young couples feel they can't afford children. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the costs of today's Social Security and Medicare benefits will nearly double by 2030 -- from 6.4 percent of national income (gross domestic product) to 11.1 percent. Put differently, the increase equals 25 percent of today's federal budget. It implies a massive transfer from the working-age population that must occur through (a) higher taxes, (b) higher deficits, (c) cuts in other government programs -- or all three. Now, suppose Congress adds a drug benefit ..

Robert Samuelson, explaining the insufferable generation's new road to serfdom.