Elderly people in America live alone on fixed incomes in drab apartments. They struggle for the necessities of life, ignored by their children and sick most of the time. That is the stereotype of old folks in America. Last week, however, the annual report of the President's Council of Economic Advisers challenged such conventional wisdom. Said the report: "Thirty years ago the elderly were a relatively disadvantaged group in the population. That is no longer the case." Most elderly people today live in paid-for homes, with enough money to enjoy their leisure years.
The council pointed out that the graying of...