At the dinner table tonight, you might ask your teen a question:
Is anybody at school talking about the fiscal cliff? Be prepared
for sudden, deep silence and perhaps a roll or two of the
eyeballs. Or, if you're blessed, a couple of grunts from the
back seat about something mentioned in social studies. There's
not a teenager I know who gives a care in the world about the
debate going on in Washington. Spending cuts? Tax increases?
Controlling the deficit? I can already hear teens saying, "It's
not my problem." It's still good to talk about the collection of
tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff
because so much is at stake and the ramifications will still be
felt as your kids enter the workforce a few years from now. In
fact, I think everyone could use further insight into our
country's financial problems, not just high-schoolers. The
challenge for parents may be how to make the topic relevant.
Parents, start by going to the Wikipedia website to get a
textbook definition of the fiscal cliff