Download Controversy 8

Controversy 8
Should Age or Need Be the Basis for
Entitlement?
Generational equity
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Two different meanings of generation:
 1) an age specific group, such as “the elderly” or “children under
age 18”
 Or, 2) a historical cohort consisting of a group of people born in
the same year or in a certain period (e.g., those who experienced
the Great Depression or World War II)
Four issues underlie generational equity:
1. Questions about the allocation of resources between older adults
and children
2. Concerns about large government deficits
3. Controversies over rationing health care resources
4. Questions about the fairness of how Social Security is financed
Poverty Among the Old

Over the past 30 years, there has been a large
reduction in poverty rates among the elderly
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Although the most gains in income for people were in the
1960’s and 1970’s
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – a cash
benefit program for the elderly poor, blind, and
disabled

SSI is a means-tested program – it is only available if
your income and assets fall below a designated range
Poverty Among Children and
Young People

International comparison shows that U.S.
poverty rates among children are higher than
every other industrial nation in the world
This high poverty rate may be caused by family
structure, unemployment, and/or declining
wages
 Some people also blame the declining well-being
of children on the voting power of older adults

 Families
with children today form a smaller part of the
electorate than in the past
Taxation and Power

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The U.S.’s tax system has far-reaching impacts on different age
groups and cohorts
Many “tax breaks,” or “tax expenditures,” go disproportionately
to older people with higher incomes

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Generational accounting – analyzes how government tax and
spending policies affect different cohorts

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The elderly poor get only 2% of the benefits from tax breaks
Adds up all the taxes paid to federal, state, and local governments over a
lifetime, then subtracts benefits received such as Social Security,
Medicare, and schooling
Must distinguish between the notion of conflict between
generations and competition for different public programs
The Least-Advantaged
Older Adults

How do we define “least-advantaged” among
older adults? Possible answers include:
The entire older population
 People above a certain age
 Elders in minority ethnic groups
 Older women
 Rural or inner-city elderly
 The physically or mentally frail
 Older people who are vulnerable to abuse or
neglect

The Least-Advantaged
Older Adults (cont.)

Today there are many people in their 60’s and 70’s
who are healthy and active

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The so-called “well-derly” cause some people to argue
that disability and frailty, not chronological age, should be
the basis of access to services
Socioeconomic Status (SES) – a term used by
sociologists to describe what is often known as
“social class”
Cumulative disadvantage – lower SES over the
life course tends to produce cumulative
disadvantage, which is perpetuated in old age
The Targeting Debate
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Cost-sharing – an approach that combines elements
of both means testing and taxation
The Older Americans Act (OAA) directs the agingservice network to target its services to:
 “Individuals with the greatest economic or social
needs, with particular attention to low-income
minority individuals”
But there is still debate over how universal programs
such as the OAA and Social Security can properly
give preference to some needy groups