Letters: Paying for the old folks

Re “The new generation gap,” Opinion, Feb. 22

Great column.

Ronald Brownstein only left out two points: The Republicans really do want to reform entitlements, including Social Security and Medicare — apparently President Obama does not; and the young and their families are going to be paying for our out-of-control spending with higher taxes for Social Security, for Medicare and their regular federal income taxes as well as their state income taxes.

It will be very hard for them to save enough money to send their children to college.

Everyone knows that many federal government employees are substantially overpaid. If we just paid them what the private sector would, we could save enough money to properly care for our seniors.

Doug McDermott
El Segundo

Brownstein complains that graying Americans are endangering the future by not demanding entitlement “reform” (read “cuts”).

Yet the data show that Americans who lost the most wealth from the Great Recession are between ages 50 and 65.

Our investments were ravaged, our pensions are shrinking or gone, and now, our entitlements are under attack, at the very moment when it is harder than ever for the older unemployed to get hired, due to rampant ageism in the workplace.

Of course we’re reluctant to reduce our entitlements! What are we supposed to live on when we’re too old and sick to find or continue to work?

Gayle K. Brunelle
Brea

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