WILL THE NEXT GENERATION BE DOWNWARDLY MOBILE?

WILL THE NEXT GENERATION BE DOWNWARDLY MOBILE? Kids, in this article, Robert Samuelson presents a plausible scenario (one of many, of course) for the next 20 years (2010 to 2030). Suppose health care spending continues to grow at rates comparable to the period from 1975 to 2005 and this spending absorbs most of the growth in the U.S economy. (Samuelson assumes that the growth rate for the next 20 years will be lower than it has been, mainly because the labor force won’t be growing as fast). If health expenditures absorb all the growth, then the standard of living—except for longer lives and better health—would be the same in 2030 as it is 2010. But in the thirty years between 1975 and 2005, as I posted on here, average life expectancy at birth increased by five years. Assume that spending all of the increase in GDP between now and 2030 led to an increase of only one year in average life expectancy. How would you feel about that scenario (one year longer life expectancy in 2030, but the same standard of living). Samuelson suggests that the standard of living—other than health— might decline and you can consider that scenario as well.)