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Robert Samuelson's Post column today should have the effect of diluting the rampant "Mediscare" rhetoric on the Left (I said "should," not that it "will"). Poor old grandma, it turns out, isn't so poor.
Paul Ryan and the Republicans have been adamant that the GOP's plan won't affect people over the age of 55. Liberals continue to demagogue the issue (which Republicans once-upon-a-recent-time have also done), even though - were the plan adopted - the reforms wouldn't kick in for a decade.
The reality of today's older population shows just how much a political calcuation the GOP plan is. In truth, many older Americans would be just fine if they had to comply with the terms of the GOP plan starting next year.
Consider the following:
- Half of the nation’s wealth is owned by people 55 and older (a third of the adult population).
- The proportion of elderly living in the “high income” group — defined as four times the poverty line, or almost $52,000 for a couple in 2009 — rose from 18.4 percent in 1980 to 30.6 percent in 2007.
- In 2007, the median net worth (that is, assets minus debts) of 65-plus households was $237,000, about twice the amount for households aged 45 to 54. Among 65-plus married couples, median net worth was $385,000.
- During the recession, 68 percent of 18 to 49 year olds reported that they “cut back spending” in the past year; for those 65-plus, that was 36 percent.
- For the richest fifth of seniors in America, Social Security accounts fo only 18 percent of their overall income on average.
Samuelson concludes this way:
People do not lose their obligations to the larger society by turning 65. We need to refocus these programs on their original purposes. Social Security was intended to prevent poverty, not finance recipients’ extra cable channels. Medicare provides peace of mind as well as health insurance; wealthier recipients can afford to pay more for their peace of mind. Burden-sharing needs to include the elderly. This is the crux of the budget problem.
He's right. But because of politics, for at least another ten years, we're going to see a lot of Social Security checks spent on those extra cable channels.
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