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%.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at priceonomics.com ...
A few of the young men who came of age during the 1960s enlisted or were drafted and went to Vietnam. A few of the young sons of business and government leaders tried to dodge the draft, while most working class young men were willing to fight. In 1969 or so, noticeable numbers of younger men of all classes and career directions feared the draft and started finding ways to dodge it.
The voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971. In the early 1970s, more than half of us Baby Boomers were allowed to vote.
Around 1968, some of the neighborhood teenagers started smoking pot, especially in tourist areas, and later trying other drugs.
Around 1969, some of the girls my age in tourist areas started using foul language in public, and the first few relatives in the extended family were pregnant outside of marriage. Girls in junior high schools started dressing very promiscuously in the late 1960s or early 1970s, depending on what part of the country they were in (jeans, very short miniskirts, halter tops without bras, “hiphuggers” no different from the contemporary “low riders,” etc.).
Boys spoke more commonly and crudely about sex with girls and less about dates, “steadies,” girlfriends, marriage, etc.
By the late 1970s, quite a few manufacturers looked for cheaper labor in foreign countries. Contrary to myths, most manufacturing jobs didn’t pay much during the 1970s (one example, $3.80 and hour for new laborers in shops working with steel $7-something starting wage for experienced custom machinists). But one or two southern states were a little cheaper, and countries like Mexico far cheaper than that. During the 1980s, many more followed, and so on.
Remaining manufacturing shops generally rejected men and tried to hire more women (pressure from business, academia, all). Rates of repetition injuries in women in those jobs skyrocketed, and those operations were sent to other countries. By then, fatherhood in the context of traditional families was effectively outlawed for working class men, while the serial monogamy we see exhibited by managers and moguls was more legalized (no-fault divorce and associated big government social offices against implemented).
From a retired senior...When the costs remain at the same growth rate as a fixed income, this would be a good idea. I think all price increases should be banned forever. Makes as much sense! My food costs more, but it isn’t more or better. My health care costs go up, and it gets worse. Everything costs MORE but nothing has MORE value. But my fixed income is FIXED!! And this means, relatively, my income decreases with every price increase. You want to fix something, go fix THAT!
Isn't 'him and his buddies' WEBSITE all about getting DISCOUNTS ?
Sadly, yes. Although, I'd like to say I avoided disco and stayed with ELP and Grand Funk Railroad...
As far as city owned buses? Senior discounts should stop... most city bus services should stop too. But that's another story.
Good argument. But does that mean we should outlaw all 'discounts' ? Or should we only outlaw it for the elderly?
For instance, they offer a discount to those who are carpooling, in various states.
Should we discontinue that ?
OK OK, I missed the ALL. I blame Obama. Can't he be held responsible for something?
No, I don’t live in the West but I can somewhat understand what you are writing about.
It is a bit from the other side that I’ve noticed it. I grew up in a fairly rural area and I absolutely loved our neighborhood, 2 whole streets worth and plenty of woods.
Mostly nobody bothered the other and we helped each other when needed. We always had some newbie to the neighborhood who wanted to start a civic association and all the garbage that entails—they usually didn’t get too far. They also usually moved after a short bit. That was good, they were better suited to some other way of life.
I’m grown and moved on but my mother still has to fight this non-sense. Young people move in and want to pretend like they live in some structured, rule strangled, neighborhood. They want to change this and make a rule for that...it’s tiring.
My mother also goes and swings a hammer at habitat for humanity and gives much back to the community in many areas. I wish she would stop, many of the families don’t always show up and when they do, they don’t want to work very much at all. My senior mother out there sweating her arse off and some whiner give-me twit complains about the heat. pshaw!
I had a single mother who worked full time and busted her hump keeping her place beautiful and still does. I don’t know many who could out-work my mother. She didn’t hire it done, she did it. I would have benefited having a father around ( her too) as I was a bit of a wild child but overall, I think it all turned out OK.
If my mother can get a discount for something, I think she dam* well earned it. And if all these young people keep going off on seniors and it starts to hurt my mother, there’s going to be a problem.
When in doubt, fish without
IF we consider the post-war generation as the parents of the baby boomers, what do we call the current crop of fatherless children from their 'baby-daddies', who often have so many children, they can't even keep track of them all ?
Just so we are clear, there are two different subjects going on in this thread.
One is the subject of the article, which is private industry offering ‘discounts’ to increase their ‘income’.
The other is state,local, and federal government giving tax breaks to the elderly.
You appear to agree with the first, and object to the second (or at least think that the second should be reconsidered and debated).
The Obama generation...
good book...if I could only remember it...hahaha
So would "later '60s" sound better to you?
The last of it is considered 1964, so 1964+18=1982 not 1984.
I don't remember many discounts for seniors before the mid '90s.
Nevada MILF’s been takin advantage of us to long Larry !
Time to use those coupons damn it !
Them must be really old movies ...
Yer the one that drove the Bugatti Veyron up to the drive up for a corn dog and asked for a senior citizen discount aren’t ya .....:o)
Economically sound decision my friend....
Stay safe !
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