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 ...
So... what you are saying is that the 'baby boomers' restructured it so that it no longer benefits the baby boomers ?
And just where is the MARKETING PLOY of a Senior Citizen Discount written into law as an 'entitlement' ?
I went to the gas station the other day and asked for my SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT, and the clerk at the window just laughed.
Most seniors did not work for the government and get big salaries, so that is wrong. When I reached 70, my county froze the amount I had to pay in property taxes, it is not a 50% discount. If seniors managed to pay off their house note before they retired, they own the house IF they can pay the taxes. Freezing the amount of taxes allows many seniors to stay in their houses and not cause you to have to pay for their upkeep in a retirement group home through Medicare or Medicaid.
I have never met a “gossiping” senior who doesn't want a young person to have property or start a business.
You need to take your meds now.
I think the author is referring to his 'friends' in San Francisco.
...and a little blinky red LED embedded in their palms for their free trip to Carousel.
Just the opposite.
No, I call those 3rd generation entitlement. Note who is coddling them.
Pretty much.
I posted the following comment on the article and it was deleted within an hour. I suppose it was deleted because it pointed out that the website is suppose to be written from an informed “economics” point of view. Actually it was written purely from a class envy point of view... a young person that believes it is unfair that older people have managed to save a portion of what they have made and on average have more than young people just starting out.
“Let me check again... this is suppose to be a business oriented website right? Shouldn’t someone working with you be aware that the senior discount is a way of attracting customers not some sort of giveaway? Businesses are not required to give a senior discount and many do not. Restaurants, casinos, theaters, motels and many other businesses who make money from elderly customers give discounts to encourage them to come back.
Who do you think costs a casino buffet more to service... an elderly couple or an active 20 something? Who do you think is more likely to cause damage to a motel room or be disruptive to other guests? Who is more price conscious and would pay attention to which businesses give discounts? It doesn’t really matter what you think... businesses know from past experience that certain groups respond to getting discounts. Thsy also know that certain groups are less trouble and cost less to service.
The Motel 6 for instance gives a senior discount; they also give a discount for holding a commercial drivers license. Many motels give a discount for being a AAA member, Good Sam member of some other travel or discount club. This is marketing 101. Businesses target groups that they feel they have the best chance of making money from. It is quite amusing that the author of an article from an “economics” website feels slighted by this.”
No one talks about ending foo stams, Obamafoams, Section 8 housing, and countless other welfare programs for the permanently unemployed for generations, they only talk about ending discounts for retired working people. Uhm, OK.
They already did. Your parents got a tax 'deduction' or 'discount' when you were born.
Haven't noticed you complaining about that.
California does not give discounts for its services either Statewide or local. (At least to my knowledge.)
In Egypt the Senior Citizens ‘discount’ consists of cutting off your legs so you can sit on the street and beg.
Yet.... the government waste and senior citizen discounts are two totally different things. SC discounts are just a marketing ploy 'offered' by RETAIL MERCHANDISERS. It has nothing to do with government 'spending'.
Exactly. It’s very similar to airlines charging less for fliers who stay over a Saturday night or other attempts to stratify the market for optimal pricing at each level.
It does perhaps push up against our ideas of acceptable ‘discrimination’ perhaps, as do ladies nights at a bar, for example; but we allow all sorts of pricing and offers to be qualified by age. Recent college grads often get discounts, and nonprofits often have lower membership fees for younger members.
I love my Senior Discount on my property tax in Mississippi! I applied for Homestead Exemption years ago and last year I turned 65, so next year in January I will have 0 property tax, a savings of over $500! The December - January time frame, every year has been a struggle money wise. Home and Auto insurance due in December and then Property tax in Jan.
I don’t think I have ever received a Senior discount when shopping or eating out. I never even thought of asking for one. I may have to rethink that!
Well... we didn't vote for this crazy Obamacare crap. IF those workers don't get the same benefits, it should be blamed on the 'law-makers' and not those who ALSO PAID IN THEIR ENTIRE LIFE and now find themselves being cut off from those same benefits.
Apparently, from EGYPT.
Where do false accusations in costly gossip against neighbors in rural areas and suburbs come from? The answer to that might be part of the answer.
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??? I don’t understand...
“that was before reverse mortgages”
Whose getting screwed there? The banks are paying out the current value of the house, probably not the market value, and then getting the house back in the near future to sell at a higher fee. Its the same scam the banks ran with mortgages. I hate the banks.
“AARP”
I am a senior citizen and I don’t like AARP. They are a bunch of leftist commies. They send me stuff and I tear it up.
“adult only housing,”
I don’t like adult only housing. Who wants to live in a community where everybody is dying? I don’t!!
“children banned on some airlines, restaurants, etc.”
I love children - they are living proof God hasn’t yet given up on us.
“there was time when older voters would never vote to make things worse for their children and their grand children..”
?????????????????? Obama got the college vote. He didn’t get the senior vote.
“I’ll take whatever discount I can....but seniors don’t need it....most seniors have more than enough money...”
SOME seniors have more than enough money. A lot of them have to live on dog food on fixed incomes.
“I think families with young children should get lots of discounts...”
I agree. We need more American children so we don’t have to import foreigners to do our work for us.
“...they should get their own close in parking spots too....now that would make sense..”
Nahh. Unless you are physically handicapped - regardless of age - first come first served.
When governments do it it’s still generally marketing. Retirees are a favored demographic for areas with economic struggles, they bring in money from external sources which they spend locally, and they don’t need jobs. Now we can discuss whether or not layers of government should be trying to lure people and businesses into an area, but that discussion won’t have any results because they’ve been doing it for a long time and will continue to.
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