My glass is full. I'm not complaining.

I own my home, I have no debt, I have a fat pension, I have money in the bank, I'm retired with health insurance. I was brought up in a liberal democracy.

But I don't have kids. If I did, THEY wouldn't have any of those things, no home, no pension, no health insurance, all they'd have is debt.

I'm not being negative. I've got it made. Its the future I'm worried about. After I'm gone, THEY (the kids) are going to be sucking canal water. And their glass will always be full of it. To the brim.

Everything the 'strong middle class with disposable income' had was pissed away, because all the government programs and policies that made it all possible have been systematically eroded by people who didn't want to pay their fair share of taxes.

Personally, I don't care. I'm going to be gone in another 5 or 10 years. But I feel it is my duty as a patriotic citizen who loves his country to warn those youngsters and tell them they have a right to an education, a right to health care, a right to join a union and a right to a decent living if they work hard and play by the rules. We can't all be coders and entrepreneurs, and you can't get a haircut on the internet.

If they're willing to spend their futures doing gig labor, 'independent contracting', unpaid internships, and toiling in "right-to-work" shops, then there's nothing more I can do for them.