Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying America's Young.

• Author: Hogan, Aloysius
• Position: Book review

Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying America's Young

Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Jared Meyer

New York: Encounter, 2015, 130 pp.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Jared Meyer have written a concise book that is important for both the young and old. Disinherited: How Washington is Betraying America's Young is a clear and effective case for an end to Washington's harmful policies holding back America's youth. The authors pleasingly weave rational, empirical evidence with the first-hand testimonies of a number of American youths whose lives have been negatively affected by Washington's failed policies. This blend of cold, hard facts and eye-opening personal accounts makes for an enlightening and well-grounded read.

As a former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, Furchtgott-Roth naturally has a firm command of the facts and statistics. I recently saw Meyer speak on a panel at the American Action Forum, and he likewise impressed me with his command of the material. Furchtgott-Roth and Meyer tackle the issues that inhibit the young from achieving their full potential, including health care, primary and secondary schooling, college debt, occupational licensing, and the minimum wage.

The authors first address the problem of the young paying for the services of the old through entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. The authors point out that "Social Security and Medicare account for 40 percent of federal spending in 2014 and that young people and their employers continue to pay a combined 15.3 percent of their paychecks into the programs, funding current retirees with contributions the young will probably never see back." The authors argue that, if nothing changes, Social Security funds will run out by 2033 and Medicare funds will be gone by 2030. In this current situation, young people may never see a return on their mandatory investment.

Next, Furchtgott-Roth and Meyer reveal the problem of the decreasing quality of primary and secondary education as a result of teachers unions and inadequate graduation requirements. The authors argue that our public education system favors older and even inexperienced teachers over younger and potentially innovative teachers because many teachers are unionized. In New York, it took an average of 502 days and $216,588 to go through the hearings required to fire a single unionized teacher.

Another problem with public education detailed in Disinherited are graduation requirements that...