"Welcome to another day in paradise.
Last month President Bush signed into law the Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005. This measure -- and all the zeal of Republican tax cutting -- has stuffed some $880 billion into the pockets of taxpayers.
Of course we really don't live in an economic paradise.
As the president noted, the country has "been through a recession, a stock market decline, corporate scandals, an attack on our country, high energy prices and major natural disasters."
So why are some of us so unsettled? In a word, demographics.
The baby boom generation is beginning to turn 60 years old -- some 8,000 people every day. This is the age when people reflect on their savings, and what they own and owe.
This is the point in logic where paradise collapses. Sure, some people are prepared (one recent study, optimistically, says 43 percent of the baby boom is ready), but is the nation ready?
No -- and the numbers are nasty."
Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: Retirement funds grow old, grow poor
(The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 6/11)
More Mark Trahant:
Mark Trahant: What went wrong at Fannie Mae?
(6/5)
Mark Trahant: A hip, cool
place in Washington DC (5/29)
Mark
Trahant: Border fence a bad idea for U.S. (5/22)
Mark Trahant: It's time for U.S. and Iran to talk
(5/15)
Mark Trahant: High gas prices a
wake-up call to America (5/8)
Mark
Trahant: Stark choices define American politics (5/1)
Mark Trahant: Hope for the best, plan for the worst
(4/24)
Trahant: We should decide how our
taxes are spent (4/17)
Mark Trahant:
Entering the immigration debate (4/3)
Mark Trahant: America is a blending of cultures
(3/27)
Mark Trahant: Unsaid debates
dominate agenda (3/20)
Mark Trahant:
Bush and human rights in Pakistan (3/13)
Mark Trahant: Hank Adams, Indian visionary
(3/6)
Mark Trahant: Health care spending
on the rise (2/27)
Mark Trahant: Future
taxpayers will cough up dough (2/13)
Mark Trahant: Sooner or later, America will go
broke (2/6)
Mark Trahant: Bush will tell
us everything is great (1/30)
Mark
Trahant: Abramoff turning into blame the Indians (1/23)
Mark Trahant: Cultural changes come, some slowly
(1/9)
Mark Trahant: Starting new year
off with correction (1/4)
Mark Trahant:
How about a coin for Vine Deloria? (12/19)
Mark Trahant: The really great state of the economy
(12/12)
Mark Trahant: America's numbers
don't add up (12/5)
Mark Trahant: Few
writers as powerful as Deloria (11/21)
Mark Trahant: Media sometimes isn't fair
(11/14)
Mark Trahant: No one wants to talk
about immigration (11/7)
Mark Trahant:
The ultimate power of the Fed (10/31)
Mark Trahant: Is there no trust in the government?
(10/24)
Mark Trahant: The next pick for
Federal Reserve job (10/10)
Mark
Trahant: I was wrong about voting by mail (9/26)
Mark Trahant: Rebuilding New Orleans, a unique city
(9/19)
Mark Trahant: Katrina testing
limits of charity (9/12)
Mark Trahant:
Democracy an unfinished experiment (08/29)
Mark Trahant: You write the news, you pick it
(8/15)
Mark Trahant: Tribal stories
don't matter to science (8/8)
Mark
Trahant: Congress focuses on real issues (8/1)
Mark Trahant: Judicial debate conceals big issue
(7/25)
Mark Trahant: Wasting time at
work can be productive (7/18)
Mark
Trahant: Appoint Indian to U.S. Supreme Court (7/11)
Mark Trahant: Readers offer junk mail solutions
(06/20)
Mark Trahant: Junk mail invades
home, office (6/13)
Mark Trahant: Social
Security needs new compact (6/6)
Mark
Trahant: Readers upset over military cartoon (5/30)
Mark Trahant: Healing the world with totem poles
(5/23)
Mark Trahant: We're all as young
as we feel (5/16)
Mark Trahant: Social
Security debate masks failures (5/9)
Mark Trahant: Public sees bias in the news media
(5/2)
Mark Trahant: Few salmon left for
tribal ceremonies (4/25)
Mark Trahant:
Tax system unfair and complicated (4/18)
Mark Trahant: Our nation must pay its own tax bill
(4/11)
Mark Trahant: Latest numbers on
economy scare me (4/4)
Mark Trahant:
C-SPAN just as important today (3/28)
Mark Trahant: Does democracy mean supporting Bush?
(3/21)
Mark Trahant: Academic freedom
for Churchill too? (03/07)
Mark Trahant:
Journalism more interactive than before (2/28)
Mark Trahant: Social Security debate all about 'me'
(2/21)
Mark Trahant: Social Security
push ignores big issue (2/14)
Mark
Trahant: Human beings only react during crisis (2/7)
Mark Trahant: Election tales usually one-sided
(1/31)
Trahant: Public school system not
good enough (01/24)
Mark Trahant: Three
cheers for the First Amendment (01/10)
Mark Trahant: Did my vote count? Did yours?
(12/20)
Mark Trahant: Bush plan leaves no
room for salmon (12/13)
Mark Trahant:
Two friendly faces on the news (11/29)
Mark Trahant: Mainstream media doesn't matter
(11/22)
Mark Trahant: Do political
endorsements matter? (11/8)
Mark
Trahant: So what happens after the election? (11/1)
Mark Trahant: Vote early and avoid campaign sleaze
(10/25)
Mark Trahant: Congress should
abide by laws too (10/18)
Mark Trahant:
Election changing as we speak (10/11)
Mark Trahant: NMAI must change the story
(09/27)
Mark Trahant: Media's view of
elections should change (09/20)
Mark
Trahant: What happened to Pakistan? bin Laden? (09/13)
Mark Trahant: Payroll tax not fair to all Americans
(8/23)
Mark Trahant: Bush's answer was
slightly better (8/9)
Audio: Bush
explains meaning of tribal sovereignty (8/6)
Mark Trahant: The one that didn't get away
(08/02)
Mark Trahant: Living in a world of
easy credit (7/26)
Mark Trahant:
Congress still stealing Indian land (07/12)
Mark Trahant: Raising the next peace generation
(7/6)
Mark Trahant: How far does
'terrorist' definition go? (6/28)
Mark
Trahant: The big five-oh a good time to reflect (6/21)
Mark Trahant: Ordinary Reagan was extraordinary
(06/14)
Mark Trahant: Indian girls team had
game back in 1900s (06/07)
Mark Trahant:
Voice mail filled with views on Iraqi war (05/17)
Mark Trahant: A familiar story of cultural
change (03/22)
Mark Trahant: One
Indian in Senate is wrong number (03/08)
Mark Trahant: Division marked another major war
too (2/23)
Mark Trahant: We're still
fighting the Cold War (01/26)
Trahant: Selling democracy to Indian
Country (11/17)
Trahant: Can't trust
Uncle Sam with Indian money (11/10)
Mark Trahant: Bush needs to note success and
failure (10/20)
Mark Trahant:
Technology and the news world (09/29)
Mark Trahant: Preparing for the unthinkable
(09/22)
Trahant: When tribes succeed,
someone changes rules (09/1)
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