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Making a case for why we need to continue spending public money on social insurance programs, such as Social Security and Medicare

Today's young workers understand they are on their own when it comes to their retirement savings. In a recent poll, young adults (ages 18 to 25) predicted that 61 percent of their retirement income, on average, would need to come from personal savings. A startling 59 percent of young adults-higher than any other previous age group-assume they will be financially worse-off and less secure than prior generations.

Ten Democratic senators recently issued an important call to action for Majority Leader Harry Reid to support efforts to get America's long-term fiscal imbalance under control. One can only hope Senator Reid listens.

Leading up to tonight's panel discussion on the sustainability of our fiscal future, my co-panelists Ethan Pollack and Nicola Moore talked about what is a viable path. We all agree the United States is not on a sustainable fiscal path. If we continue down our current policy trajectory, debt will reach 100 percent of GDP in the early 2020s, 200 percent in the 2030s, and 800 percent by 2075.

Tomorrow, I'll join fellow YPNation contributors Ethan Pollack and Marc Goldwein on a panel discussion about America's fiscal future. (Be sure to tune in here.) As Ethan previewed, we'll be investigating what young professionals need to know about the current state of fiscal affairs and what they can do to build a better economic future. For my part, I'll be discussing the federal budget picture and what the government should-or should not-do to get it's fiscal house in order.