(CNN) -- The coming elections seem to have fired up an intergenerational war, with the older population cast as the "greedy geezers" eating so much of the pie that they leave only crumbs for the younger generation. Both Republicans and Democrats say that entitlements must be cut. The main losers of these cuts will be Americans older than 65 who collect Social Security and cash in Medicare checks. At the same time, both parties agree that we must spend more on the education of the young if we are to remain competitive in the world markets. Taking from the old is justified on the grounds that they take more out of Social Security than they paid in, while the young, who pay for Social Security, will find that the program has gone belly-up by the time they retire. Well-heeled older people are said to be enjoying the good life while the young can't find jobs and are saddled with debt.
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Amitai Etzioni: The idea is growing that the old get all the benefits while young suffer
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But retirees have earned and saved more over the years and should live in comfort, he says
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Curbing costs of health care would curb Medicare; he writes: Social Security can pay for itself
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Etzioni: In terms of private money, older people give trillions of dollars to the young in gifts
@placeholder comes close to paying for itself, after some recent revisions.