[ansel12]

Instead, as fiercely as some of its members fought the Japanese at Iwo Jima, the Greatest Generation still combats any attempt to raise the retirement age or reform budget-busting Medicare.

They are the most republican voting age group, and the republicans are the ones pushing for change.

The young are the most supportive of democrats.

[heye2monn]

Republican leaders and ideologues like Paul Ryan support reining in entitlements. But the Greatest Generation, while supporting the party for other reasons, doesn’t agree. Old people, no matter what their political persuasion, defend Social Security. It’s called the Third Rail of Politics. Don’t touch it!

Here are the results from a recent Pew Poll —

Elderly people who favor keeping Social Security and Medicare at current levels outnumber their counterparts who think the deficit is more important by a 3-to-1 margin, highlighting the generational support for the nation’s two largest social programs.

The elderly, who supported Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney by a 56-44 percent margin, are more likely to support the social programs that the Republicans pledged to change; those from 18 to 19, who voted for Obama by a 60-37 percent margin, are more concerned about deficit reduction than their elders.