Letter

In response to Taking from the young, giving to the old: How our tax system is letting us down

Our elders deserve respect

Robert Breunig needs a reality check. Every single older Australian I know is financially struggling. This includes self-funded retirees and pensioners. How dare this man talk about a retiree living on the income of a 40-year-old “without the pressures”?

Breunig has neglected the fact these retirees have paid taxes for an average of 55 years, through many global crises and scrimped and saved to buy their home through the years when interest rates were 17%. I remind Breunig that superannuation only started in 1992, meaning many retirees do not have the amount of super that the young will have when they retire.

I challenge him to manage on a pensioner’s wage of less than $500 a week — paying rates, house/car/health insurance, medical, electricity, not to mention food — then being lumped with a yearly tax bill of $2000. It’s a disgrace an elder in our society has to pay $80 a hour to an aged care provider to have a shower or change a dressing.

But don’t worry, Breunig, you’ll know what it’s like to be hit with ageism, bias and the ignorance of young soon enough.

Our elders deserve respect.

— Alyssa Aleksanian from Hazelbrook