the last 30 years. things have sure changed. take baby boomers. many of them were the first to go to college, right? today their children and grandchildren may hold a degree, but it comes at a steep price and they re still looking for a job. student loan debt now stands at $865 billion, topping credit card debt for the first time. let s bring in ryan mack, president of optimum capital management, john doggett, professor at the university of austin. and an organization focused on issues facing young americans and rubin navarrette, individuals 18 to 30, how do they feel about the shifting situation for education? it costs more. you re not guaranteed a job, but you know you need it. there s tremendous concern out there. we know that as young americans, we need that education to get ahead. there s huge benefits from getting a college degree, but as you mentioned, the price of going to college is going up faster than inflation and going up faster than healthcare. yeah. unfor
year. this american joins me tonight. fresno county superintendent larry powell. mr. powell, honored to meet you tonight. you are showing the country what america is all about. explain to us, if you can, how it came about and why you did it. well, my wife examine isand we had this question. how much money do you need to survive and can you stockpile it? we re very blessed, we ve got reserve, we have a lot of money, we re going to receive retirement pay that s fantastic, so what can we do to put money back in the till? that s where the discussion started. it s been about a three-month discussion with my wife and i. the board made a courageous decision. they typically don t do this type of thing where you resign an office, retire, and then appoint me back to fill my term. so it s an opportunity for us to do something special, and ed, i wanted to share with you, the
well, my wife examine is i i decided we had this question. how much money do you need to survive and can you stockpile it? we re very blessed, we ve got reserve, we have a lot of money, we re going to receive retirement pay that s fantastic, so what can we do to put money back in the till? that s where the discussion started. it s been about a three-month discussion with my wife and i. the board made a courageous decision. they typically don t do this type of thing where you resign an office, retire, and then appoint me back to fill my term. so it s an opportunity for us to do something special, and ed, i wanted to share with you, the $31,020, we ll be donating to charity because i want people to understand there are a lot of hurting people out there. it s time to step up and do something. america has always given. it s time to do something right now. you are leading by example. it s a fabulous story and you re putting skin in the game for the kids of this country. where would you
future military capabilities. so the group is recommending that those in the military get the equivalent of 401(k)s, a plan that would safe $250 billion over 20 years, but current and former military personnel worry about the impact. the military retirement system was structured the way it was structured because war is a young man s game. we reward those who sacrifice when they re young, and the reward is when they retire they re getting a decent retirement pay to carry them over the time men or women, over the time they leave the service. and this, of course, would just remove that. reporter: now, defense secretary panetta said this morning current benefits and beneficiaries would be grandfathered in which would make it go down a little easier, but, of course, there s still questions about recruitment and retention. rick? rick: jim angle in washington with the story. thanks, jim, and we ve been asking if you re okay with the idea of privatizing soldiers
when they retire they are give up a decent retirement pay to carry them over during the time they leave the service and this would remove that. reporter: understood the existing pension system those who serve 20 years or more can retire at 50% of their highest average salary. those who serve less than 20 years guest nothing. get nothing. the veterans worry that will weaken the incentive to serve and threaten the all-volunteer military. if you are going to get a 401k match, i can get that anywhere. but my contract says i might have to go to war and die for my