Romney Campaign Press Release - Mitt Romney: I Won't Pass Burdens on to Next Generation

"Adding insult to injury is the fact that we have an administration that when they were running for office, said that Social Security and Medicare were in deep financial trouble and yet three and a half years later, have offered no proposals to balance Social Security and Medicare and make them sustainable for your generation. I have. You may not like my ideas but at least I have put ideas out there to save those programs for your generation and I have laid out with my economic plan, proposals that preserve economic freedom, create growth, will provide jobs for you as you come out of college, and will make sure we don't pass our burdens, our debt on to you." — Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney

Remarks

Chicago, IL

March 19, 2012



Click Here To Watch Mitt Romney

Moderator: "Second question -- many young people have been affected by the recession more than most. Given that you have delivered this talk at a university, what might you say specifically to young people about your economic policy? How might you address crippling student loans, un-and-underemployment and a lagging economy that would speak to the struggling young adults in particular in America?"

Romney: "I joke and I don't mean to be flip with this because I actually see truth in it. I don't see how a young American can vote for a Democrat. I apologize for being so offensive in saying that but I catch your attention. In the humor, I mean there is some truth there. And I say that for this reason: that party is focused on providing more and more benefits to my generation and amounting trillion dollar annual deficits that my generation will never pay for. The interest on that debt is going to young people in America. Some have called it the greatest intergenerational transfer of wealth in the history of humankind. It's going on piece by piece. My party is consumed with the idea of getting federal spending down and creating economic growth and opportunity so we can balance our budget and stop putting these debts on you. These debts are not frightening to people my age because we will be gone. They ought to be frightening to death to people your age who are concerned about your future and wonder what your tax rates are going to be and, by the way, wonder whether Social Security and Medicare will be there for you. Adding insult to injury is the fact that we have an administration that when they were running for office, said that Social Security and Medicare were in deep financial trouble and yet three and a half years later, have offered no proposals to balance Social Security and Medicare and make them sustainable for your generation. I have. You may not like my ideas but at least I have put ideas out there to save those programs for your generation and I have laid out with my economic plan, proposals that preserve economic freedom, create growth, will provide jobs for you as you come out of college, and will make sure we don't pass our burdens, our debt on to you. That really is at the heart of what my party is about, making sure that we preserve this extraordinary unique nation in the history of the earth, this exceptional place which is imperiled by debt, by lack of a willingness to deal with the challenges we have, by stagnating growth and by an attack on economic freedom among our other freedoms that are being attacked. That is what it's about. Sometimes I shake my head. We're not doing as good a job as I want to do connecting with young people across the country. You guys ought be working like crazy for me and for people like me, conservatives who want to keep the cost of government down and give you a brighter future."