
Gerontocracy(老人政治) in America. By Samuel Moyn(作者:塞缪尔·莫恩). Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 288 pages; $30
《美国的老人政治》。作者:塞缪尔·莫恩。法勒、斯特劳斯和吉鲁出版社;288页;30美元
Talk to young people in any rich country and similar complaints pop up(突然出现). Housing is “not affordable at all(完全负担不起)”, says Elijah Edwards, a 20-year-old attending university in Washington, DC. Prices are “ballooning(急剧膨胀) up, and it seems like nothing [ever makes them] go down”. The young want homes near where the good jobs are. But it is so hard for builders to build that legions of(大批的) 20-somethings are stuck seething(强忍怒火) in their parents’ basements. Could the culprit(罪魁祸首) be…old people?
在任何一个富裕国家,和年轻人聊天,都会听到类似的抱怨。住房“完全负担不起”,在华盛顿特区上大学的20岁青年以利亚·爱德华兹说。房价“不断膨胀,似乎没有什么能让它们降下来”。年轻人想要在好工作附近安家。但建房太难了,以至于大批二三十岁的年轻人只能憋屈地窝在父母的地下室里生闷气。罪魁祸首会不会是……老年人?
“Show up to any planning commission meeting, and you can clearly see the generational divide,” says Joh Gehlbach, a YIMBY(支持在我家后院发展) organiser in Virginia. Silver-haired NIMBYs(邻避主义者) oppose any new construction that might spoil their view or make parking slightly trickier. The young typically don’t show up(出席) at all. “If you have a public hearing on Tuesday at four o’clock, it’s a little easier for a retiree to [get there(到达那里)] than it is for, you know, a 35-year-old working professional(在职专业人士) who’s got a kid at home.”
“随便去参加一个规划委员会会议,你就能清楚地看到代际分歧,”弗吉尼亚州的一位YIMBY组织者约翰·盖尔巴赫说。银发的NIMBY们反对任何可能破坏他们视野或让停车稍微麻烦一点的新建筑。年轻人通常根本不会出现。“如果你在周二下午四点举行公众听证会,退休人员比一个35岁、家里有小孩的职场人士更容易到场。”