The rash of articles and books blaming older generations, particularly the 'baby boomers'*, for taking all the cash and making later, younger generations pay, seem unfair. After all, the average worker in each generation simply pays their taxes and seeks as much as they can in return.

Yet the fact remains that the current lot is likely to have it worse than the last lot. It is going to be much more difficult for younger generations to build up a pension and equity in their houses than the older generations.

They face housing and education-generated indebtedness and no state pension until as late as 72 – at least if current projections from the Pensions Policy Institute think tank are accurate.

The break of the ‘intergenerational contract’ as it has been described – whereby the baby boomers hoard all the wealth – should be considered when the current spending cuts are made. After all, some choices that government departments must make will have a greater impact on one generation or the other.

The provision of free bus passes for the elderly is one such benefit. Costing a mighty £1 billion a year, there is currently debate over whether this boon should continue. If it does, the cuts will have to be found elsewhere, by raising rail fares for example (to help reduce the government's rail industry subsidy).

There are discounts such as Young Persons Railcards, but beyond age 25 – and even before then, with the discount – rail transport is so expensive as to be prohibitive, particularly for those yet to earn the higher wages of later life.

These are tough choices – a free bus pass is a great benefit for pensioners. But it shouldn’t come at the expense of a younger generation that already faces a disproportionate financial burden. All generations must share the burden.

Bus passes for pensioners should be subject to means testing. Or, at the very least, we should consider a suggestion made by the chief executive of transport group Go-Ahead, Keith Ludeman**, for a one-off fee when applying for a free bus pass.

What do you think?


*http://citywire.co.uk/money/retirement-radio-how-the-baby-boomers-stole-their-childrens-future/a411254

**http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/02/bus-pass-fee-budget-deficit

Another pointless idea.
Think about it. Pensioners are some of the few regular users of town and village centres. If they have no bus pass then they will go maybe once a week into town if at all. With passes they travel into town much more often. They will spend more and contribute to the local economy.
Taking free passes away will save nothing. The buses will still run as do the trains. The drivers still have to be paid. The routes will have to be subsidised. There is no gain to the economy whatsoever.
Jeez but some people are thick!!!!!!!
The only way out of the shit we are in is to work our way out of it. Stop looking for bean counter solutions.

The respondents have clearly a better grasp of the situation than the blogger.
Fred Collier

As a Tory Voter at the recent election, I would never vote again if they remove the free bus pass! David Cameron is on record stating that Gordon Brown (The now invisible man) was lying when he stated that the free bus pass would be scrapped if the Tories get into power!

Should the bus pass be scrapped then I intend to mount a massive protest (with already overwhelming support from Senior Citizens), plus look at the possibility of taking legal action against the Tory Party for misleading Voters.

I would strongly suggest that you write /e-mail to your local Tory MP putting them on notice of the guaranteed backlash they will receive should they even consider scrapping the free bus pass!

If they want to balance the UK Limited books, then take a serious look at reducing our massive contribution to the European overbloated members club.

Good Luck to all likeminded Seniors

Chas

"Bus passes for pensioners should be subject to means testing"
There's provocative!
Who would set the threshholds? The government: a trusty lot
Carefully omitting the COST of administering the means testing. Are we trying to reduce or increase the civil service?
Most of the people using bus passes would be below the threshhold and so the saving would be small and might be swallowed up by administration costs.
"Bus passes for pensioners should be subject to means testing"
There's stupid

They only cost 1 billion - because the bus companies get overpaid for their services. Cut the MP's travelling to work allowances first - nobody else in the country gets expenses tax free for travelling from home to regular (oops I take it they appear regularly) base of operations.

I stillhave not got my Bus pass,because they claim that "Viking" is not an apt desciption of my ethnicity.Why are we disciminated against?

In reply to George, I suppose we should have voted for good old Gordon and reduced Britain to be dictated to by the IMF. That is the usual outcome of years of profligate socialism. There is no FREE anything in this world so you better hurry and get used to the facts. I know that as long as it is not you who is paying it must be FREE. The whole Free bus pass idea is a farce. Spend the money if you must on having lower fares for all. Then you might get a healthy public transport system that the rest can afford to use. Nobody walks anywhere down here. The population spend their lives in Cars. Walking down the road I feel like Dr Livingstone as the 1000s of cars grind past. Where they are all going heaven knows I guess to pick up the lazy kids or going to get the car washed by immigrants in the Supermarket car park. I bet if you stopped the lot 90% would be unnecessary journeys.. No George Britain does not need the Labour party and the lefty zealots telling us how to live our lives,but radical and profound rethink as to how to make this Island a better place to live in. Replace the Car for superb public transport, then we would all benefit.

As you're asking Graham... Yes. You should have voted for Gordon. An honest man who ran the economy well, despite *issin* into the wind fighrting the City all the way. Dictated to by the IMF? Inevitable. The money isn't real anyway. Remember it was our fellow citizens who put us where we are today. With a little help from the banks. Luckily, I'm retired (and walking distance to town anyway) and comfortable off - paid for by today's taxpayers and a lot of dosh invested in my pension. We NEED immigrant workers - and we NEED OUR youngsters to start to train in worthwhile disciplines. Nursing? Pharmacy? Science? Medicine. Plenty of openings... that's why we use foreigners (who CAN be bothered to train) The "bottom" end is where we need a whole lot more workers - but THAT'S beneath most youngsters I talk to today. There is NO chance of the mass of voters in UK thinking sensible - that's why I MIGHT have Socialist tendencies but I am NOT a Democrat. Most people are too stupid to be allowed the vote. By the end of this Tory term, there will Be NOTHING LEFT IN PUBLIC HANDS - THE PROFITS WILL ALL BE OFF ABROAD. and Thatcher's/Pinochet's dreams will all have come true.

Thanks, Graham, for your well reasoned comments.

The basis for this whole thread started by stating that today's taxpayers seem to believe they have a right to an easy leg-up onto the property ladder. Most comments (here and elsewhere) have this idea that we (I speak as a baby boomer) had it easy. Wrong, wrong, wrong! When I left school, unemployment, where I lived, was above 10%. So I moved. South, as it happns, where the comptition was easier. lol, After saving for several years, we managed to get together the deposit for our first home. Struggled and worked hard for a while, then things got a bit better financially. It was worth all the pain, skimping and saving and delaying having a family... eventually. Meanwhile, no-one gave ME ANYTHING. PLEASE DON' T TELL ME THINGS WERE CHEAPER THEN, OR SOME SUCH NONSENSE - proportionately, it was JUST as difficult THEN (late-ish sixties?) to save the 10 or 15% deposit as it is today. Call it a year's wages, roughly. My advice, children? Get off your sofa and start sacrificing "things" for your future. It's worth it in the end.