Michael Hiltzik: Is America cheating its children to subsidize old people? Refuting a common falsehood
Whether it's because the current partisan environment has us fixated on age in America, or because everyone is seeking an explanation for Americans' discontent with a growing economy, or for some other reason, an old yarn about a generational war in the country has been making the rounds lately.
Over just the last four weeks, the idea that America is subsidizing its seniors at the expense of future generations has surfaced in the Washington Post ("Why we're borrowing to fund the elderly while neglecting everyone else"), the Wall Street Journal ("Older Americans Are Better off Than Ever") and twice in the New York Times ("For the Good of the Country, Older Americans Should Work More and Take Less," and "Older Americans are Winning the Battle of the Generations").
It also played a starring role in an exceptionally dumb article about Social Security at Slate.com that I deconstructed just last week. But since it appears in many contexts other than Social Security, and seems fated to become a common meme in the coming presidential election, I think it's worth a focused examination all its own.
Some of
