婴儿潮一代的好日子到头了

In France, many people took to the streets, saying that all the good houses are in the hands of the elderly.

After the elderly retire, they can still get quite a lot of money every month.

Young people are different: houses are too expensive, and jobs are unstable.

There is a professor at Yale University in the US named Samuel Moyn.

This year he published a book titled 'Gerontocracy in America'.

He says that all the big matters in America are decided by the elderly.

But a new study says things have already changed.

Someone studied thirty-two rich countries.

In twenty-six of them, young people are catching up with the elderly.

The best times for the elderly may already be over.

Long ago, being old meant being poor.

In 1960s America, three out of ten elderly people were very poor.

At that time, only one out of ten young people was very poor.

Canada and the UK were the same: the elderly were much poorer than the young.

Later, governments began giving money to the elderly.

Pensions rose year after year, and seeing a doctor became cheap.

In this way, the lives of the elderly gradually improved.

By about a decade ago, the elderly had about as much money as young people.

In some countries, the elderly were even richer than the young.

But now the direction has changed again.

In Greece, the elderly used to be richer than the young.

Now it is the opposite: young people earn more than the elderly.

The UK is the same: the elderly earn less than the young.

There are several reasons for this.

Over the past twenty years, these countries did not encounter big troubles together.

Jobs remained, and wages did not fall.

But in recent years, things have become more and more expensive.

The pensions of the elderly do not change; when things get expensive, their money is not enough.

When things are expensive, the elderly suffer more than the young.

Governments are also changing.

The US government gives the elderly less money than before.

The retirement age is also being pushed back.

China began reforms last year: men have to retire later.

Governments have also started spending money on children.

Germany, Japan, and South Korea all give more money to children.

The US saves a sum of money for newborn children, to be used when they grow up.

The people who run politics are also getting younger and younger.

However, the pensions of the elderly are still very high.

Economic growth has slowed, and governments do not have that much money either.

The good days of the elderly may soon be over.