Posted on 05/29/2013 8:08:27 AM PDT by blam
It's High Time America Did Away With Senior Discounts
Alex Mayyasi, Priceonomics Blog
May 29, 2013, 10:44 AM
You’ve seen them on the bus, in museums, and at movie theaters: senior discounts.
As a reward for being old, senior citizens pay a quarter less for bus fare, a small fortune less for movie tickets, and receive discounts generally all over the place.
If you’re a twentysomething, or part of what some journalists have colorfully called “the screwed generation,” you may be wondering: why not me?
The idea that seniors are a group in need of help and protection dates back to the thirties, when America’s senior citizens were disproportionately poor and affected by the Depression wiping out everyone's savings.
In 1935, President Roosevelt passed the Social Security Act, which gave federal assistance to the elderly. This became the norm. Aid to seniors increased over time, in particular with the creation of Medicare in 1965 and the passage of an amendment indexing social security to cost of living increases and creating an additional Supplemental Security Income for seniors in 1972.
As two poverty economists note, “One of the most striking trends in elderly well-being in the twentieth century was the dramatic decline in income poverty among the elderly.” This can be seen in the graph below.
The United States only began measuring poverty in the 1960s, so we lack standard figures dating farther back than that. But it’s recognized that the trend of decreasing poverty among seniors dates back to the thirties and forties. 2011 Census figures place poverty among Americans aged 65 and older at 8.7%, well below the national average of 15%.
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(Excerpt) Read more at priceonomics.com ...
You mean that seniors are less destructive than teens and twenty-somethings, seniors spend less time on the rides with long lines and more time on the benches watching kids have fun, and seniors in general are less disruptive and less expensive to serve? Discounts for those who are more profitable actually make sense. Imagine that!
Senior discounts don’t add up to a hill of beans. How about getting rid of IRS!
It’s because in many countries, the elderly people are revered, cherished, admired and respected. They are considered wise and are to be respected. In the U.S., our senior citizens are often cast off and put away as if they are someone’s garbage. While it’s true that many seniors have children and grandchildren who love and respect them, so many others are forgotten and alone, living their last days in nursing homes, many of which are of very poor quality.
I believe that senior citizens worked in their youth and made contributions to society which have benefited the next generation of citizens. Their life experience, contributions and wisdom EARNS them the right to be treated with respect and care, whether or not they are rich or poor. For the simple fact that they have earned the respect of the younger generations, I believe they ALL deserve every discount they get. It is a small price for the rest of us to pay, in gratitude for all they have done for future generations.
Not only that, we paid our taxes and into Social Security and have served our country in several wars. We have contributed to the collective knowledge of many industries while trying to educate our children.
Most live on fixed income and still have to pay income tax on our Social Security payments.
Infidel special - two stonings for the price of one... ;-)
I am not saying you personally wanted to vote yourself your grandchildrens money but I hope you see my point
That is what is going to happen pretty quick, and deservedly so for the politicians who sold this crapola to us (I am 55 so I have 40 years paying into it too- I started working at age 15)
If they had put it all into a bank account for me, I would not feel so bad- but they SPENT IT and now the children have to pay me when I retire. I have been conserviative fore almost 30 years and this has NOT CHANGED- The GOP has gotten worse and worse over that time, despite the success of the Rush Limbacugh sweep that put the GOP in charge of congress for thew first time in 40 years, and Newt as Speaker.
Then the GOP BLEW IT
I meant those under 60, btw ;)
Who cares what Alex Mayyass thinks.
This is a weird thread—it appears that some are upset that our government and its politicians screwed-up Social Security (or otherwise tried to buy seniors’ votes), so they are targeting Waffle House.
Some day soon, we’ll cover just about anything you might want to buy or sell. Get the best prices on used rubber devices.
We’re based in San Francisco, CA. Come see our float in the city parade.
Those discounts were offered specifically to get THEIR business after all.
LOL!! So true ;)
Yes, if you buy Kroger brands, you get another discount. My Kroger is a Signature one so it is really big. It's almost a pure senior store. There are no kids running in the aisles, seldom see a kid, and customers, being older, help each other. And, it's not jammed with people with food stamp cards with the kids trailing behind them or running into you. Also, they don't allow more than two people standing in line to check out. They immediately open another check out. Usually, a Kroger employee stands where he/she can see all the lines and if one gets three people waiting, she orders another check out opened.
You can get what you want/need and check out quickly. I love that store.
Those people with those food stamp cards go a couple of blocks west where there is a Walmart. You can get knocked down in that store by running kids who are not controlled by the parent(s). Plus, in that Walmart, you have to stand in line like 30 min. or more to check out. I quit going there.
I have a question, not quite related to your description..
I am curious if there are still sign in the USA in the front of businesses that say, No Shirt, No shoes, No service”..
Honest question.. been out of the states 15 years.
:-)
Well, I got news for you. The disabled parking passes aren't given out 'like candy' to elderly folks.
Many of the 'folk' I see USING the handicap spot are neither disabled, nor elderly. Some of them actually have GRANDMA'S parking pass, however none of them ever let grandma in their car.
I'm dumber for wasting 5 minutes on this article.
That’s because we WORKED AND SAVED all our lives and didn’t pi$$ away every dollar on colorful gimcrackery. We didn’t buy $200 sneakers when $20 tennies would suffice and we didn’t take flying weekend ski vacations to Aspen or Vail but stayed at home and played with our children. Now that we have the resources to do what we want when we want to do it, the Marxists and a lot of their empty headed enablers see us as another piggy bank to be broken into to satisfy their insatiable lust for other peoples money.
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