2009 College Graduates
What’s Going To Cost Them $148,035?

In June, college seniors across America earned their bachelor's degree. They're looking for jobs but don't have to be all that worried. The economy is going to recover, right? They have their diplomas. They're smart. They'll figure it out.

And they'll need to. A tax bill for $148,035 is waiting for them -- give or take a few thousand dollars. Says who?

Meet an enterprising team from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, who won the Generational Theft Contest sponsored by PJTV. Gavin Romm, a senior at Trinity, and Edward Stringham, his professor, collaborated to develop a calculator that computes what a 2009 graduate has to pay during his/her tax-paying lifetime to cover the cost of the U.S. government’s recent deficit spending.

So you may be wondering, are these guys even close to right? PJTV asked four qualified experts to judge our Generational Theft Contest, and they selected Gavin and Ed’s work as the winning entry. Our judges were:

• Bill Beach, director, Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation
• Tad DeHaven, expert on federal and state budget issues, Cato Institute
• Richard Roll, Japan Alumni Chair in Finance, UCLA Anderson School of Management
• Ben Zycher, Benjamin Zycher Economics Associates and senior fellow, Pacific Research Institute

The calculator that Gavin and Ed built will help everyone understand the real cost, the personal cost, of the government’s deficit spending.