Will Your Children Have A Better Life Than You Have Had?

A recent NBC/WSJ poll found that 76% of US citizens believe that their children will not have a better future than they have had.  Surprisingly, the pessimism is universal. It is not subject to race, gender, political party, or wealth effects.  Pessimism has replaced the optimism about the future that was universal prior to the late 1990's.  There is no single explanation for the lost optimism that was always part of our culture, but political dysfunction may play a major role. If governments cannot agree on solutions for simple problems, many fear that government will be unable to solve the more complex problems that we will face in the future.