Karim Wants a Bailout Too!

I have this Swiftian "Modest Proposal" sort of idea that is dark and mean and gets scowls all the time:

Disenfranchise the Elderly.

Here's how it works: we lower the voting age as low as it can go. Personally, I think 5th grade is the height of our intelligence. It's the point in life where we've learned as much as we can before hormones flood our body and make us stupid. To that end, I say we lower voting age to 10.

Then we take the average life expectancy and subtract 10. Let's say the average American lives to 80...come 70 years old, you're done voting.

McCain? done. Dole? done. Carter? done.

Here's the logic: we spend a disproportionate amount of our budget on the needs of the elderly (SS and Medicare) and very little of it on children. And yet, investment in children's health care and education pays GIGANTIC dividends in terms of productive workforce, less crime, etc. By disenfranchising the elderly and letting kids have a say, we give everyone an incentive to improve public health. The higher the average life expectancy, the longer you can vote.

Suddenly, addressing infant mortality and racial and economic health disparities will move to the top of our health care agenda.

Given these thoughts, I was thrilled today to see this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAp0h_eSi4Y

Karim shall be my spokesperson!

Despite his adorableness, he makes a serious point: To insure every kid and pregnant woman in America costs each of us about $52 a year. The cost of the bailout is $3,ooo each (for now, God knows where it will stop) $3K of YOUR money is going to bailout the investment infrastructure. (that's about 4 months of mortgage for me) For $52 of my money I can insure every child in the U.S. (the cost of taking a friend out to a nice dinner.)

Something to ponder, no?

Maybe if we scare our grandparents enough into thinking we're taking away their vote, they'll start voting for kids!

http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/InHarmsWay.pdf?docID=3961 (PDF)