Christy wrote an interesting post about seniors:
While there is nothing wrong with respecting seniors and what they have accomplished, and their wisdom, I do believe that there is something wrong with the belief that they are entitled to something simply because they have not died.
I agree. Lots of seniors think they are entitled to stuff because they are old. This poses great dangers to our democratic society, because with our low birth rate and people living longer, seniors are predicted to become an ever larger percentage of the population.
Seniors are already a powerful voting bloc because they vote with greater frequency than any other age group. With their increasing numbers and their attitude that they are entitled to stuff, an easy prediction is that in the future seniors will vote for higher taxes to pay for their social security benefits.
As much as I might like it, I don't think I should get a discount simply because I have reached the elite height of 5'11".
Not fair, she's taller than me!
6 comments:
This post is vague enough to be dangerous.
... something wrong with the belief that they are entitled to something simply because...
... and their attitude that they are entitled to stuff...
You're going to have to get behind these sentiments and spell out what you really mean here.
Until you pin some detail onto your argument so that everyone can see precisely what you mean, this vagueness belongs in the rubbish bin of life.
Seniors suck - they're slow and they drool all over everything.
They should be exterminated!
First, things like senior discounts at movie theaters may just be good business. Seniors generally have more time to go to the movies, especially during the day, when movie theaters are usually empty.
Up until about 100 years ago, most people had very large families. There were many reasons for this, including lack of birth control, but one of the reasons was so there would be many children to help take care of them in their old age. In many third world countries today, this is still part of the reason for large families.
In many societies children are obligated to take care of their parents. Wives that cannot bare children are divorced and discarded. Your children are your retirement plan. With today’s smaller families this just doesn’t work anymore. Who would let their only son join the army, if his death meant they would have to live out their old age in complete poverty?
Recognizing that there is at least a limited collective need to help take care of our seniors is part of the adjustment society must make to move toward a sustainable birth rate. Of course people also have to recognize that they are responsible for their own retirement too.
How tall are you?
As always, there's a Simpsons quote on-point:
Lisa: Old people deserve our respect. Look at Jacques Cousteau and Goldie Hawn; you wouldn't shut them away like second-class citizens.
Homer: Pftt... second class? What about social security, bus discounts, Medic-Alert jewelry, Gold Bond powder, pants all the way up to your armpits, and all those other senior perks? Oh, if you ask me, old folks have it pretty sweet.
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