The generations game

‘When the Cold War ended, we thought we were going to have a clash of civilisations,’ wrote the American author and businessman David Rothkopf. ‘It turns out we’re having a clash of generations.’ As the aftermath of last week’s ­Budget demonstrated, this clash is well under way in Britain. Behind it lies the idea that the baby-boomers have stolen their grandchildren’s future, hoarding all the property, accumulating debt and then running up NHS bills as they enjoy a retirement funded by the young.

This analysis was first advanced by the right, notably by the universities minister, David Willetts, in his book The Pinch. But the left bolted on its own conclusion: that it is time to tax the oldies, and claw the money back. This is the so-called ‘intergenerational fairness’ agenda, a political hybrid that could be one of the most dangerous ideas of our time. Once, the right would have dismissed the whole concept as un-conservative: don’t moan about what others have; go out and get your own. But the feeling has become so strong, the resentment from the young so deep, that it is impossible to ignore.

Younger people have much cause for grievance. As young Daniel Knowles writes on page 14, his generation can expect to be in their mid-forties before they can afford to buy a new house (unless they can levy their own private intergenerational tax, by wangling cash from their parents). They pay thousands for university courses that until a few years ago were free. Once last week’s changes to child benefit have gone through, a person repaying student loans while trying to support a family of four on £50,000 a year will be facing an effective tax rate of 69 per cent.