…investments we make in their future. Just like we paid off the debt for some of the investments our parents and grandparents made in our future.
One of the big grumbles about government debt is that our children and grandchildren will have to pay. However, what many of these people are grumbling about assumes that all debt is wasteful.
In many cases this can be true, especially if it is borrowing for today's operating expenses. On the other hand, many things we need to borrow for to have in the future. All that paid cash for every house they ever owned, please raise your hand. Same for every car.
We as a society need to borrow for school buildings, government buildings, streets, sewers, and other infra-structure. Do you think our great-grandparents had a bake sale to build the sewers we take for granted?
My persistent cold is making me thankful for all that has been made possible by past generations.
I don't have to go out in the cold to get wood to keep warm. The gas keeps coming and the furnace ignites automatically as needed to keep our house at the temperature we selected.
I don't have to go out in the cold to well to get water. Whenever I wash or want to make coffee, I just turn on the faucet. I think on our street those waterlines were laid in the 40s or even before.
I don't have to go out in the cold to the outhouse. I just go to the bathroom, push the little handle when I'm done, and all that stuff goes out of sight and out of mind.
We are all better off for these investments made by generations gone by.
We are also healthier and longer-lived because of those investments. Even as ambulatory as I am with this cold that will probably be gone in another week, what would it be like if I had to go outside frequently for wood, for water, and for the toilet? What would be the chances of my developing pneumonia and not being able to get help because there was no telephone?
It is true that we should pause now and then and be thankful for our blessings, especially those given to us by people long-gone.
