The End of the Old Order

[Geee]

National Review:

Ideas of the 1960s have grown reactionary in our world, which is vastly different from the America of a half-century ago.

Take well-meaning subsidies for those over age 62. Why are there still senior discounts, vast expansions in Social Security and Medicare, and generous public pensions? Five decades ago all that made sense. There was no such thing as double-dipping. Seniors often were physically worn out from blue-collar jobs. They were usually poorer and frequently sicker than society in general. Many people died not long after they retired.

Not now. Seniors often live a quarter-century or longer after retirement from mostly white-collar jobs, drawing subsidies from those least able to pay for them. Most seniors are not like today’s strapped youth, scrimping for a down-payment on a house. Most are not struggling to find even part-time work. None are paying off crushing student loans. In a calcified economy, why would an affluent couple in their early 60s earn a “senior discount” at a movie, while the struggling young couple with three children in the same ticket line does not?