One score and 14 years ago, our president's denial of federal assistance to a strapped New York was captured in a famous headline: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.”
Now we are engaged in a great civil war over healthcare, and the greatest generation is standing on the battlements against federal assistance to the uninsured. They’re the old man in the neighborhood yelling "Get off my lawn!"
Their lawn is Medicare, and alone among generations, our elders are virtually 100 percent insured. There is that ancient injunction to honor our elders, and we currently honor them so much that they get far more out of Medicare than they pay in.
More of Ira’s musings:
Polling by the Annenberg Institute indicates that old people have historically been the most opposed to spending more on healthcare for children.
So much for the idea that Grandma will do anything for her grandchildren.
Another stereotype of the elderly is that they are confused, and these polling numbers may partly explain the senior citizen who stood up at a town hall and exclaimed, "Keep the government’s hands off my Medicare!"
I can accept the idea that they’re worried about change, but I’m chagrined by the attitude that I’m OK, but I don’t care if you’re OK.
Spot expressed it this way: We got ours; screw you.
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