Our Legacy

It is common to hear older generations look back on the past and criticize “the youth today.” I take a different view. I feel some sympathy for the generations coming after me, because they will inherit the world my generation leaves behind.

The World We Are Leaving Behind

Climate change—also known as global warming—is already forcing people to adapt to more frequent water shortages, wildfires, air pollution, crop failures, flooding, and extreme weather.

Economic inequality has widened into a chasm. Unions have been marginalized, global trade has moved jobs to lower-cost countries, essential education has become long-term debt, and tax laws have increasingly favored corporate profits over wages.

For many Americans, the dream of home ownership has moved out of reach. Low wages, heavy student debt, high rents, rising home prices, delayed marriage, and an unstable job market have pushed many younger people toward becoming permanent renters. Home ownership without the ability to save for a down payment makes that goal impossible without generational inherited wealth.

At the same time, an aging federal government has too often prioritized short-term political success over long-term stability. The consequences include depleted natural resources, renewed reliance on fossil fuels, less emphasis on renewable energy, skyrocketing national debt, and an erosion of democratic freedoms.

A Path Forward

Perhaps a youth-led movement will recognize these mistakes and work to repair this leaky ship. My advice may go unheeded, but the next generation might consider reforms such as:

• Eliminate the Electoral College.

• Make both trade education and college affordable for all.

• Advance renewable energy over fossil fuels, using nuclear power as a transitional bridge where necessary.

• Restructure the tax code so all forms of income and wealth are taxed fairly, and so the wealthiest individuals cannot avoid contributing their share.

• Rebuild ties with democratic nations and form economic partnerships that discourage authoritarian rule.

• Restructure the military with a stronger emphasis on defense and less emphasis on foreign intervention, redirecting savings toward debt reduction, affordable health care, and efforts to ensure no American is unhoused or hungry.

Modernizing the Constitution

While we are at it, perhaps this 250-year-old Constitution should be brought up to date with a few revisions. I am open to ideas as radical as changing the structure of the Senate while preserving equal representation for smaller states: all states would still have two senators, but one would be elected from each major party. The House of Representatives would still allow for party majorities.

As noted above, presidential elections could rely on the national popular vote rather than the Electoral College. I would also add term limits for all federal judges and for anyone holding national public office.

The Supreme Court could also be restructured. In this model, appointments would be made by a newly balanced Senate regardless of which party controls the government. Those appointments would remain tentative until the next presidential election, when voters would confirm them through the popular vote.

Finally, I can now see the need for a constitutional amendment stating explicitly that final federal court orders are binding on all branches of government. Such an amendment should define automatic penalties or triggers for noncompliance. It would close the loophole that allows a president to ignore court rulings under the banner of separation of powers. Reliance on institutional prestige and voluntary executive compliance is no longer enough.