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  3. We are locked in a generational war. No one wants to admit this, because it’s ugly and unwelcome. Parents are supposed to care f

We are locked in a generational war. No one wants to admit this, because it’s ugly and unwelcome. Parents are supposed to care f

admin2022-07-28  54
问题     We are locked in a generational war. No one wants to admit this, because it’s ugly and unwelcome. Parents are supposed to care for their children, and children are supposed to care for their aging parents. For families, these collective obligations may work. But what makes sense for families doesn’t always succeed for society as a whole. The clash of generations is intensifying.
    Last week, a federal judge ruled that Detroit qualifies for municipal bankruptcy. This almost certainly means that pensions and health benefits for the city’s retired workers will be trimmed. There’s a basic conflict between paying for all retirement benefits and supporting adequate current services. The number of Detroit’s retired workers has swelled, benefits were not adequately funded and the city’s economy isn’t strong enough to take care of both without self-defeating tax increases.
    The math is unforgiving. Detroit now has two retirees for every active worker, reports the Detroit Free Press; in 2012, that was 10,525 employees and 21,113 retirees. Satisfying retirees inevitably shortchanges their children and grandchildren. Though Detroit’s situation is extreme, it’s not unique. Pension benefits were once thought to be legally and politically impregnable (不受影响的). Pension cuts in Illinois, Rhode Island and elsewhere have shattered this assumption. Chicago is considering reductions for its retirees.
    What’s occurring at the state and local levels is an incomplete and imperfect effort to balance the interests of young and old. Conflicts vary depending on benefits’ generosity and the strength—or weakness—of local economies. A study of 173 cities by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found pension costs averaged 7.9 percent of tax revenues, but those of many cities were much higher. Health benefits add to costs.
    At the federal level, even this sloppy generational reckoning is missing. The elderly’s interests are running roughshod (冷酷无情的) over other national concerns. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—programs heavily for the retired—dominate the budget, accounting for about 44 percent of spending, and have been largely excluded from deficit-reduction measures.
    Almost all the adjustment falls on other programs: defense, courts, research, roads, education. Or higher taxes. The federal government is increasingly a transfer agency: Taxes from the young and middle-aged are spent on the elderly.
    The explanation for this is politics. For states and localities, benefit cuts affect government workers, while at the federal level, it’s all the elderly, a huge group that includes everyone’s parents and grandparents. As a result, the combat has been lopsided (不平衡的). Younger Americans have generally been clueless about he shirting demographics threaten their future government services and taxes.
Why are the elderly’s interests above other national concerns in the U.S.?
选项 A、Because they are respected as parents and grandparents.
B、Because they are too old to support themselves.
C、Because their interests are protected by the law.
D、Because the elderly consist most of the U.S. government.
答案D
解析 细节题。根据题干中的the elderly’s interests above other national concerns可定位到原文第五段第二句The elderly’s interests are running roughshod over other national concerns，但通读该段可知，该段并没有给出老年人利益凌驾于其他国家利益的原因，而在原文最后一段作者给出了解释The explanation for this is politics…while at the federal level, it’s all the elderly, a huge group…，因为联邦政府几乎由老人组成，削减老年人福利就会影响他们自身利益，故选D。
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