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 ...
Do they give Senior Citizens discounts in Egypt ?
Things make a lot more sense when you strip away the bs.
It’s not a senior discount, it’s a youth surcharge.
It’s high time America did away with uninformed idiots who write articles.
I hope the author is unable to find work when he reaches 60 and has to work at MacDonalds.
I can easily ask how the discount 'helped' the wealthy older couple? 'Help' is generally offered to one "in need". So we automatically assume all seniors are in need of 'help'? Why does all this entitlement mentality pervade a conservative website? What if the concept of a senior discount didn't exist in the first place? Would you still feel entitled to one? It kind of reminds me of the tale of the man that sets up a hot dog stand on a street corner and gives away free hot dogs two weekends in a row. On the third weekend he doesn't show up. A crowd of people gather and start cussing out the "SOB" because he's not there providing them with the free food.
OK, so now the progressives/commies are simply adding a new dimension to class warfare: youth vs. elderly. That’s all this is about. Divide society against itself in as many ways as possible and the effort for the elites to keep their dachas is so much easier.
BTW, expect the age-class warfare to grow exponentially in the coming years as our society ages and upward mobility for our youths dries up. It won’t be very long until the progressive/commie/obammuists have low information voters convinced that the elderly are an unnecessary burden on society and must go. You know, unnecessary eaters. It’s pretty much SOP for fascists.
If a business can increase its profit with price
discrimination,then it should consider doing it.Another example is the difference between tourist and first class tickets.
Well.... at least one or two of the 'baby boom' generation spent their money RAISING YOU and didn't opt out for an ABORTION.
When a business voluntarily chooses to give discounts to certain groups of people it’s not an entitlement, it’s a business decision. If you choose to not take advantage of the discounts available to you that’s your choice, I myself don’t coupon or sale hunt, but there’s nothing wrong with the people who decide to take advantage of the discounts voluntarily offered. Those discounts were offered specifically to get THEIR business after all.
there was time when older voters would never vote to make things worse for their children and their grand children..
there was a time too when children were revered...
I'll take whatever discount I can....but seniors don't need it....most seniors have more than enough money...
I think families with young children should get lots of discounts...they should get their own close in parking spots too....now that would make sense...
They successfully became a part of a targeted and desired demographic.
You should back up a bit and ask yourself, does a business-owner offer a senior discount because he feels seniors "need help," or for another reason?
Once you discover what the other reason is, you'll stop complaining.
“My life story. Now that I qualify. Some expletive person wants to cancel it?”....
Yes, the Libs want to take the SENIOR discounts away and give them to the illegals here in the U.S. They give the illegals everything else,why not discounts too?
The seniors pay the price for being honest all these years and actually paying taxes. They SHOULD be honored with discounts.
I rant about this all the time. Age discrimination pure and simple.
“Alex Mayyasi, a graduate of Stanford University’s International Relations program, “
One wonders WHO paid for Alex’s EDUCATION ? Would it be his ‘senior citizen’ parents ?
There are two sets of Baby Boomers: the younger ones and the older ones. Many of the younger ones (like myself) getting into technical/trade jobs during the 1970s have had too many low paying jobs since then. We’ve seen some benefits for old folks overused and revised away from us.
Even at this late date, I’ll join the younger folks in seeing the seniors’ discounts (especially on property taxes) go away as soon as possible. Most of the local government jobs and other higher paying jobs around me continue to be held by the older Baby Boomers, and they’ve been getting mighty socialist about their politics for some time. They’re the established, and they do their best to try to prevent all others from even having homes (feeds rental business, excessive energy uses for current and former government employees investing in all local energy distributors, rental properties, etc.).
More recently, when they see something that they want (something that can be swiftly resold), they simply take it, file charges based on any one of several crazy, new laws and/or judicial incursions against civil rights, and make excuses as they go. They own both political parties.
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