The following is an excerpt from my new essay in the Democracy Journal.

Why should I care about posterity? What has posterity ever done for me?”

In an era when sweeping demographic change has created a racial, economic, cultural, and political chasm between the generations, that old Groucho Marx riddle illuminates a paradox about America’s 74 million Baby Boomers.

We are generous parents and grandparents. In record numbers, Boomers (ages 53 to 71) are supporting Millennial offspring deep into their 20s and 30s, or helping to raise grandkids who belong to America’s poorest living generation. Some are doing both.

But when it comes to public policies that support posterity writ large, Groucho has been our muse.

Read the full essay in the Democracy Journal here.

Published: December 19, 2017