Why are Republicans trying to kill America’s old people? After all, senior citizens are more likely to vote for the GOP than for Democrats. They were the only substantial demographic segment John McCain won in 2008. You’d think Republicans would want them to hang on as long as possible. The problem is that because of the Democratic programs Social Security and Medicare, the aged are expensive for government to keep around. Some years ago, my former colleague Jodie T. Allen suggested a reason for what she called the GOP’s “pro-death” policies: Faced with an unpalatable choice between cutting benefits and raising taxes to pay for the growing costs of entitlement programs, Republicans gravitated toward a third alternative—restraining growth in life expectancy. If you want lower taxes and aren’t willing to risk cutting spending, you need fewer beneficiaries. Jacob Weisberg ☀
Monday 31 August 2009
12 notes
-
mariaaa liked this
-
turkeydinner liked this
-
romeojulietsierra liked this
-
muhhself reblogged this from dalasverdugo
-
dalasverdugo reblogged this from azspot
-
buffleheadcabin liked this
-
racheumeuneu liked this
-
twinsters liked this
-
vruz liked this
-
think4yourself liked this
-
think4yourself reblogged this from azspot
-
nerd-gasms liked this
-
azspot posted this
A GNT creation ©2007–2011
