Intergenerational fairness is fundamental to maintaining a functional society. A responsible government would pay close attention to it. Ministers must decide where to spend and cut based, at least partially, on which portions of the population need help or can afford to carry more of the burden. The student loan system is layering stress on to people in their 20s and 30s in a way that did not apply to previous generations. The country needs the younger generation to be the engine room of Britain in the years to come. Although balancing the books today is important, the government cannot always choose the politically convenient option of loading additional fiscal burdens on to younger generations while hoping that young people will not notice the extra weight for decades to come. (Conclusion, Paragraph 30) Interest rates