American culture and popular political sentiment is rarely about supporting the next generation and fostering new opportunities. It's almost always about shoring up the last of your resources as you live out the end of your life.

Think about it: financial support for elderly homeowners, overspending on end-of-life healthcare, political influence wielded by dead or dying industries, NIMBYism... People in the US firmly believe that government is for the old, holding back global changes so that old people can live the lives they are used to.