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PAGE 6 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1994 Hold on to your seats folks, the war between Canada‘s generaâ€" tions has begun. It will pit the old and the young in this country against one another in ferocious combat. And it will rage on for the foreseeable future. What‘s this all about? A week or so ago, a senior Toronto tax lawyer named Norman Loveland wrote a serious piece for The Globe and Mail in which he called for Canada‘s semiors to sacmifice more by paying greater taxes to get md of the country‘s debt. Why? Because he said, that same debt was run up during the past 20 years when today‘s semiors were in their peak earning years and benefited from a good economy and high government spending. So now, he argued, they should pay more than the younger folks to help pay it off. No sooner had he said that than seniors from all over the country reacted angrily. We didn‘t run up the debt, they proclaimed. It was the government. And besides they pointed out, just look and see who benefited from that debt: it was all those young people who are now entering the labor force Letters of outrage from seniors poured in from everywhere in Canada. They all had a similar tone: it was one of anger. Don‘t blame us, they emed. We‘ve done our bit. We‘ve paid our share and we‘re not paying anymore. We‘re not paying anymore. That‘s a declaration of war by the old against the young. It‘s also a warning to governments that they‘d better not touch seniors in the war on debt. It‘s an even greater warning to the young because it asks them to shoulder the primary burden of the debt. So who will pay? Who is it that will ultimately bear the burden of shouldering the enormous debt? The young or the old? _ By 2011, some 8.4 million Canadians will reach retirement age. That is the same year in which the retirement benefits that baby boomers helped fund for their parents‘ generation will be gone. The current old age schemes will have run dry. And thus begins the age war between the generations. But beware: this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real battle of the future will be over retirement benefits Why? Because all you have to do is put together a volatile little formula: add the huge aging baby boomer population with the rapidly increasing number of senior citizens and throw in the soâ€" called birth dearth. Together they spell trouble. The chances are that if you were born between 1946 and 1964 and aspire to a comfortable and leisurely retirement, you are a member of a doomed generation. Retirement will be neither com:â€" fortable nor leisurely. In fact, it may not even be possible. Since 1900, average human life expectancy in Canada has increased by 28 years. Twoâ€"thirds of all the men and women who have lived beyond the age of 65 in the history of the world are alive This undermines the basic assumption of payâ€"asâ€"youâ€"go, governâ€" mentâ€"sponsored retirement incomes â€" namely, that there would always be a large working age population to support a small numâ€" ber of retirees. And consider this: for every Canadian who retired in 1940, there were more than 40 workers to support retirement benefits. By 1950, there were 17. By 1990, 3.4 and by 2010, there will only be 1.78.. This will create a crushing burden on those who are still working and set the stage for an age war the likes of which no one has ever seen. It will make the debate raging over abortion today look genâ€" teel by companison. If we‘ve got an argument starting now over whether the old or the young should pay the nation‘s debt in 1994, just wait until retireâ€" ment benefits run out for seniors by 2010. Then you‘ll see a real batâ€" tle Waterloo Town Square 75 King St. South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario NJ 1P2 Telephone 886â€"2830 News Line 886â€"3021 Fax No. 886â€"9383 But who will pay? Meanwhile Fred Sagel Melodee Martinuk (Sports Editor) Deborah Crandall Tom Brockelbank Major Accounts: Bill Karges Linda Howard Maureen McNab Gerry Mattice Sheri Gervais Darlene Royle Millie Martin Heather Mitchell The water in Waterloo â€" and I know this is no news bulletin â€" is wretched. Every time I‘m thirsty and it‘s all I‘ve got, I am reminded that the "loo" in Waterloo is a British word for toilet. I‘m the first one in any crowd to admit that Waterâ€" loo is a fine place to live. But every city has its flaws, and Waterloo‘s is a big wet one. _ â€" I figure it all boils (hey, good idea) down to the simâ€" ple pronouncement that people, if forced, can get used to anything. People can grow to accept any physical environment eventually. I grew up in Burlington, where, in the 70s, we actuâ€" ally swam in Lake Ontario. Sure, there was often a dead smelt on your head when you surfaced, but it was no big deal then. Yet, amazingly, many lifelong residents drink heartily from their calcified taps. _ â€" When we moved to Clarkson, there was a smelly oil refinery a few blocks away, but no one there seemed to notice. After a bit, I stopped noticing, too. _ When I moved to Maiton for college, overhead pasâ€" senger jets would actually rattle dishes in my baseâ€" ment apartment, but after a few months I could usually tune the noise out in my head. An example that still amazes me is how people in pulpâ€"mill towns like Dryden, Espanola and Fort Frances can bear to inhale. I definitely couldn‘t when I was in those towns, and tourists are understandably scarce, but the residents were used to it. It‘s incredible what we can get used to. Just look at the brave Bosnians of Sarejevo, many of whom defiâ€" antly go about their business while their city (and country) is torn up all around them. Here‘s hoping it won‘t be for much longer (are you listening, NATO?). ... just don‘t drink the water Sandy Baird will be back. He‘s been sidelined by a stroke that‘s been described as minor. Right now he is undergoing therapy, and the outlook is good. Sandy thanks all the readers who called to ask what happened to the column. Andrew Pearen Mary Baycroft Jerry Fischer Rick Campbell Paul Winkler Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by The views of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the newspaper. > Sm\ & © International Standard Serial Number ISSN 0832â€"3410. The Fairway Group 215 Fairway Rd. S., Kitchener, Ont. But back to Waterloo. Unlike the Sarejevans, Dryâ€" denites and Maltonians (!), who have little choice but to grin and bear their environment, we can do someâ€" thing about ours. People in Dryden correctly refer to their town‘s perâ€" petually putrid odor as the smell of money, ie., withâ€" out the pulp mill, they‘d all be on welfare in Toronto or somewhere. But the chlorinated stench of the waterâ€"like substance we fill our kettles with smells like trouble to me. What is in the stuff? How much? Why? Bushels of chlorine may be needed to kill all the bacteria, but then why is there so much bacteria? Even if there is no danger, it‘s clear that there is something strange about Waterloo‘s water. I dare anyone who has to compare it to water from Toronto or London. This is one time where acceptance just isn‘t acceptâ€" able. I say it‘s time we all head down to the most beautiful building we own (the regional health palace on Regina Street) and demand some answers and solutions. Angles Tom Brockelbank nce over Ofi Sandy Baird Subscription rates $45 yearly in Canada. $90 yearly outside Canada. +GST.