This paper discusses the intergenerational and intragenerational equity issues of the aging policies in the United States and the lessons Korean society could learn from the U.S. experience. Over the past two decades, there have been growing concerns about intergenerational inequity. At the same time, American society has been witnessing growing within-cohort variations. Elderly people have benefited economically due to government programs. In addition, various other factors, such as the graying of the federal budget, increased poverty among children, fiscal pressure, and the influence of interest groups and media, have helped foster an image of greedy geezers. Many aging policies and programs demonstrate the debate on intergenerational and intragenerational inequity issues. Proponets of intergenerational inequity argue that older people receive too great a proportion of government support at the expense of younger people, but this argument is largely political and ignores the diverse needs and preferences of older people.
In the future, increasing diversity within older cohorts and political strategies to reduce generational tension will increase our attention to the intragenerational inequity issue in the United States. This U.S. experience suggests that, while it is necessary for Korean society to pay attention to meeting the basic needs of poor elders, the potential intragenerational inequity issue should be properly addressed in the unique context of Korean society, in which the risk of advanced age is oftentimes considered an individual issue, and public benefits for the elderly are limited.
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