THE ECONOMIC FUTURE
On Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok recently conducted lively discussion of whether we're facing economic and fiscal disaster. You can start with the final entry and read backwards.
Ultimately, both fiscal and economic futures depend on economic growth. If productivity (measured and unmeasured) keeps rising, even the fiscal problems become less significant. If our grandkids are filthy rich by today's standards, which is actually quite possible, they won't have as hard a time covering social security's promises. Medicare's, which rise with the medical standard of living, are a different matter--unless, of course, medical care somehow gets cheaper as well as better.