[quote=EconProf]
Of course much of this change is due to simply getting old. As Winston Churchill said, paraphrasing, “To be young and not liberal is to have no heart. To be old and not conservative is to have no head.”[/quote]
When I was in my 30s and 40s, I used to say that quote a lot.
I haven’t said it for about 10 years.
The reason is that, as I began approaching “old” I did not turn very conservative and I started to think about why that is, in relation to that quote. I’ve come to this conclusion: it is describing (young & liberal then old & conservative) a self-centered person.
Young folks are typically poorer and often need to leverage public benefits like student loans or grants, assistance with health care, child care or even food. As one ages and acquires wealth, those public benefits no longer benefit them and they view them as expenses. They vote to minimize the public benefits that they themselves once used. Think school bonds to support their local school district.
