Remember when Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick went on Fox News last March and suggested older Americans should sacrifice themselves for the economy during the pandemic? Let s get back to living, he said. Let s be smart about it. And those of us who are seventy-plus, we ll take care of ourselves, but don t sacrifice the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of intergenerational family households in the U.S. |
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His comments sparked an immediate backlash. But remarks like those have also given momentum to a perspective embraced by a disturbing number of scholars and members of the media commentariat: Segregate those over 60 or 65, since they re at greatest risk of dying from the coronavirus, and let the younger generations go about their business.