Whey do Republicans think seniors don't care about their children and grandchildren?

Why do Republicans assume older people only object to the elimination of the current Medicare system out of self-interest, rather than caring about the future of their children and grandchildren? This is particularly bizarre because they claim cutting back on such benefits is for the purpose of reducing the federal deficit, which they claim they want to do for the sake of these same children and grandchildren.

http://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-06-2011/paul-ryan-medicare-voucher-plan.html

by: Patricia Barry | from: AARP Bulletin | June 1, 2011

Republicans' proposed Medicare voucher system, which experts say would shift more costs to beneficiaries, has set off a firestorm of opposition from older Americans and brought loud protests from Democrats — a response that for the moment has stymied Republicans' timetable for forcing the issue.

Under the proposal by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and passed by the House, future Medicare enrollees now younger than 55 would no longer receive guaranteed benefits. Instead, the government would provide a set amount of money for them to buy their own private insurance.

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An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that by 2030, under Ryan's voucher system, typical 65-year-olds would pay 68 percent of the cost of their Medicare coverage out of pocket, compared with the 25 percent they pay now.

Angry older Americans confronted Republican members of Congress at town hall meetings during the spring recess. Several opinion polls found that two of three current beneficiaries prefer to keep Medicare as it is now.

"I think there's a nervousness among seniors that if Congress ends Medicare as they know it for younger people, they could also decide to do away with it for everybody else," says Robert Blendon, Harvard professor of health policy and political analysis.

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