Yeah, those pesky individual liberties and civil rights...
Jesus, that's a lot of hot-button issues with no analysis. Can you spell out the problem as you see it with each? Otherwise I'm shadow-boxing your question.
1. Medicare - Not enough money going in to support the aging baby boomers. As Obama stated in his campaign, he is against allowing Medicare to become privatized in any way. This means that all of Medicare's costs will have to come out of taxpayers' pockets. Further, Medicare fails to reimburse doctor's what their services are worth and actually cost doctor's money. Many doctors turn away Medicare patients thus making those that accept them take on an impossible burden.
2. Social security - Not so much Obama's fault; however, this is a retirement system that I am being forced to pay into and I will most likely never see myself. Therefore, my quality of life in the present and future is affected because I am forced to pay into something that is not intended for me.
3. Obamacare - I am happy with my health insurance (as are many people). However, because of this new legislation, I will be forced to change my health insurance in order to benefit others. While this may improve the quality of life for the many uninsured and the many who are struggling with preexisting conditions, many of us will see a standard living decrease as we are forced to pay more in taxes for this government run program.
In fact, Democrats (including Obama and Pelosi) promised that Obama would lead to a decrease in family health costs starting immediately. However, that turned out to be false. Instead of seeing a $2500/family decrease, healthcosts went up an average 4.5%.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2012/10/01/another-broken-obama-promise-the-healthcare-cost-monster-emerges/ 4. Medicaid - Beginning in 2014, Obamacare extends Medicaid to all those making 138% or less than the poverty level. This could - if the states agree to it - extend Medicaid to 22 million people or almost half of the nation's uninsured.
5. Military Spending - While I am for a strong American military, when combined with the other government spending programs, it's easy to see how this will contribute to a tax hike for the middle class.
6. Bush Tax Cuts - Even as a middle class family ($85,000 per year, owns a house), the tax cut expiration will affect me. According to tax calculators, my family will see an increase of $3,000 per year in taxes based on this change in the tax code.
7. Increase in fossil fuels - Fuel costs have gone up dramatically over the last ten years and seem to show no signs of going down. Green energy is what is receiving the focus and until we find a viable alternative to petroleum, the cost to fill up my gas tank will increase. This also affects food prices. For example, I found a receipt just this morning while organizing my desk. The receipt was from 2008 when I first got married. The eggs I purchase were $.99, but now, they are $1.29. This hike in prices is soon across most of the grocery store.
8. The Rich - There's already been talk of lowering wages and hours (see small business owners trying to avoid Obamacare) and raising prices (Papa Johns). If I pay $10 for a shirt at a clothing store and the government causes that store to lose profit on the $10 cost, then I will end up paying more than $10 for the shirt.
9. Weaker investment market - Stocks are already faltering as the fiscal cliff approaches. Home prices are going down, as I've seen in trying to sell my house. I paid $179k for my house. We're listing it for $174k, and we're crossing our fingers to sell it for $169k.
10. The $16 trillion debt
We simply don't have the budget set up to pay for our programs. Either spending has to be drastically cut or taxes will have to be raised significantly. Expanding the economy is taking a very long time and some are speculating that we're going to enter into another recession.
So with all of that said, it's not far-fetched to think that my generation will see a decrease in standard of living. When taxes and prices gut my budget, will I have money to enjoy recreational activities, entertainment, and personal experiences?
It won't be third world country. I'm not speaking in hyperbole. I'm merely asking if you think that because of how our government is acting, I will see a decrease in how enjoyable life is when it comes to things that cost money.