The seventy-six million people born between 1946-1964 are the baby boomers. Pollster John Zogby posed this question last summer to 4,000 Americans: “What will be the historic legacy of baby boomers? Forty-two percent said boomers had “ushered in an era of consumerism and self-indulgence.” That’s why they are also called the “me generation”. The boomers are the healthiest and wealthiest generation ever.

The first boomers will turn 65 next year. Forget all the debt that will be left to our kids, their taxes will have to go way up to pay for all the Social Security and Medicare boomers will need. There is no hope that the politicians can figure this one out and come up with a workable solution.

Boomers are not only draining national resources but are sucking the life out of the job market. The unemployment rate for kids of the boomers is 40%. The situation will worsen as boomers delay retirement to pay their debts and prepare for costs of aging.

So what is the answer? Short of euthanasia, is there anything the boomers can do to help the economy? I believe there is. Not only are boomers the biggest generation, they are the most educated and skilled. It is time to use our mental skills and get creative.

Our mindset needs to move from jobs, jobs, jobs to create, create, create. Stop looking for government handouts, stay away from the job fairs, delete the resume, and use your education and experience to start small businesses by the millions. The goal is no longer to be rich and retired but to be resourceful and rewarding to the next generation.

There has never been a time like this, when a person can start a new business on a dime. Technology is cheap and online start-ups can turn into global enterprises overnight. Recent economic history has shown the rise of the service industry. I’ve seen everything from dog poop cleanup services to auto repair services that come to your door.

Unions, Wall Street, and government can only think in terms of big companies. But it is the small businesses that will save America and create jobs. There are stats galore about baby boomers. I would like to add a couple to the list. Beginning in 2010, how many businesses did they start and how many people did they hire?

We will have to create alone. Unions will not support us for obvious reasons. Wall Street will not notice us and we will not have the money to buy political clout.

Creating jobs is a legacy to die for.

The trinity of Obama’s economic team is Timothy Geithner, Larry Summers, and Peter Orszag. Orszag is the lead romantic after recently having a love child with one woman while scheduled to marry another in October. Geithner was the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Summers was the President of Harvard. The press has made it clear that these guys are the greatest economic minds on the planet.

Obama and his team continually remind us of the economic disaster they inherited from Bush. Bush and the republicans spent taxpayer money like lottery winners and left the country heavy in debt. I agree with Obama that their task  to lead America out of this terrible economy was monumental. After a year in charge the only difference between the Bush team and the Obama team is the gambling style. Instead of spending like lottery winners Obama’s boys spend like gamblers in Vegas using other peoples money with no limits.

Here is a list of Obama economic polices that leave me scratching my head:

• Continue giving money to banks “too big to fail” with no accountability. It’s like leaving a room full of 3rd grade boys with the comment, “now play nice while I am gone”.
• In spite of the increasing national debt, spend over a trillion dollars and call it stimulus. Most of the money went to other over-spending government entities (state and local) to save them from bankruptcy. There were no jobs or recovery, but the message changed. Now the company line is that the stimulus saved us from a second depression.
• Take ownership of GM. GM’s financial problems came from a ridiculous system of payroll and benefits for life, requiring a huge increase in car prices. What would happen if McDonald’s paid their employees $30 an hour and allowed retirement at 19 with pension and healthcare benefits for life? The golden arches would become the gray monuments. Since when can a government run a large ineffective business in a competitive environment? Is it any surprise that Ford is winning the car wars?
• Obama’s gut busting budget. In the midst of increasing debt what do econonuts do? Spend twice as much as you bring in. They have proposed a $4 trillion budget when we will only have money for $2 trillion.
• The second coming of stimulus! The first stimulus did so well and $14 trillion in debt is just not enough. To these guys the road to jobs, jobs, jobs, is spend, spend, spend.
• The largest entitlement ever. With Social Security and Medicare struggling financially, Obama says we need nationalized healthcare. This would be the largest and most costly entitlement in the history of the nation.

I am seeing more nutty than genius from this economic team. There is one rule that every government, family, and business should follow – live within your means. Do they teach that at Harvard?