Class War vs Generation War

[ComradeAllende]

The current depression has been hard on everyone, especially young people. Ever since the rise of the "austerity coalition" (Tea Party, PM Cameron, the Troika, etc), many have sought to gain support for cutting pensions and public health programs by appealing to Millennials. Many of them claim that society is being divided into two "groups"; wealthy retirees on government pensions and poor unemployed teens and young adults. Was wondering if there was any discussion on countering this trend and any data on this "development."

[Hatshepsut]

...[M]any have sought to gain support for cutting pensions and public health programs by appealing to Millennials. Many of them claim that society is being divided into two “groups”; wealthy retirees on government pensions and poor unemployed teens and young adults.

As for background on generational groups, Pew Research surveyors have found that Millennials in the USA (people born from 1981 to 2000) are less trusting of other people than the generation born 40 years earlier. Fully half the Millennials think the Social Security system will leave them stone cold, having been shut down and no longer providing benefits when it’s time for them to retire.

Drake 2014 @ Pew
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/03/07/6-new-findings-about-millennials/

This belief makes it easier for politicians to propose diversions of funds from the old age system. Our U.S. economy has supposedly lifted from recession and younger folks are optimistic about future finances, despite lacking faith in government as provider. Though median household income has remained level since 1999, featuring larger rich-poor gaps, higher student loan debt, and other unfavorable factors.

Chief method for cutting benefits is raising the retirement age, perhaps to 70. U.S. Senators Lindsay Graham, Paul Rand, and Mike Lee proposed this in 2011 and they’ve floated a bill every legislative cycle since then. If such a bill is passed, some people will be hit twice, as their retirement age had already gone up from 65 to 67 under Reagan in 1983; now an extra 3 years will be tacked on. The minimum eligibility age where, for a penalty, you could take out early benefits will also be raised, from 62 to 65. And we note Rand is running for prez again.

The Hill 2011
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/155715-gop-senators-raise-retirement-age-to-70

I dunno. The Social Security folks have long been pondering what they’ll do with all the chocolate a major cut would buy, for instance 15 years ago in

Wittenberg et al @ SSA, 2000
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v63n4/v63n4p17.pdf

Thing is, as funds will be raided to pay for more corporate welfare and military expenditures, no “savings” will materialize and the government will remain saddled with the solvency problems it has now, if it hasn’t gone bankrupt by then the way Greece has. Admittedly the USA is a lot bigger and more productive technologically than Greece, but no fiscal or monetary system can live beyond its means forever and the USA’s been on a debt and trade shortfall binge for 30 years running. Dodging class by playing off race may be losing currency with Millennials. Where today’s beaches look less like Easter lily patches, it seems natural for bourgeois interests to switch to the young-old game instead.