Recently I was talking with a friend of mine about my job and S4 in general. It was really interesting -- before I could even finish telling him about what we stand for here at S4, the guy had launched into this whole, "If someone wants something, like a retirement plan, they need to go out and make it happen for themselves. I don't care what is going on with Social Security!"

He was obviously implying that it should not be the government's job to make sure everyone gets a retirement check, but it is the individual's responsibility to prepare for his or her future.  I agree completely with my friend in the sense that it IS our responsibility to plan ahead. But my friend didn't understand why it was so important to fix the problems in Social Security. His idea was just to say, screw it, I'll pay whatever for Social Security and I'll also plan on my own for my future.

I am curious how many other young people are like my friend and don't understand what is at stake when it comes to our current system of Social Security. The fact that we are forced to pay so many taxes into a system that is promising some people negative returns is just one reason we should be up in arms. It's unfair that we have no control or ownership of the money that we supposedly are paying in for our retirement.

But the biggest thing at stake is what lies ahead for us if nothing is done about the problems facing Social Security. It will be OUR generation bearing the painful burden of increased taxes or decreased benefits, or BOTH. And by increased taxes, we're talking increases of about 50%. I think my friend would have a pretty difficult time saving on his own after getting so much more taken out of each paycheck!!

In a recent Washington Post article, David M. Walker, the nation's controller general, made a great point that resonates well with our summer-time-let's-have-fun-mentality: "People are on the beach having a beach party while you can see a tsunami of spending on the horizon. And you've got people saying, 'party on.' "  Walker went on to say, "We're headed for very, very rough seas, like we've never seen before in this country."

Let's hope that S4 can keep bringing the message of reform to other people in our generation who just don't get the issue. Social Security reform can be a complicated topic, but I think we all can understand the metaphor David M. Walker used to explain the urgency of the looming fiscal crisis. Just like my friend pointed out, it's the responsibility of each of us to plan for the future.  And it's also the responsibility of our elected officials to address obvious, impending problems.