New census data apparently shows that the wealth gap (net worth) difference between people 65 and older and people 35 and under is the highest it has ever been in American history. - With a ratio of 47 to 1.
Compared to 10 to 1 twenty-five years ago.
"It makes us wonder whether the extraordinary amount of resources we spend on retirees and their health care should be at least partially reallocated to those who are hurting worse than them," said Harry Holzer, a labor economist and public policy professor at Georgetown University who called the magnitude of the wealth gap "striking."
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The 47-to-1 wealth gap between old and young is believed by demographers to be the highest ever, even predating government records.
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Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty, noted skyrocketing college tuition costs, which come as many strapped state governments cut support for public universities. Federal spending on Pell Grants to low-income students has risen somewhat, but covers a diminishing share of the actual cost of attending college.
"The elderly have a comprehensive safety net that most adults, especially young adults, lack," Danziger said.
I wrote a while ago about the inherent bias in American fiscal policy towards supporting older people at the expense of the young.
I saw this headline and just thought I'd throw some fuel on our fire of our discussion of the generations.
