John Howard's longest lasting 'gift' to Australia would undoubtedly be the divisions he created in society, with intergenerational jealousy against older people being one of them. Of course John Winston Howard didn't invent this whipping boy, Hawke and Keating (Banana Republic) can take credit for that, but JWH was a master of wedge politics and he knew how to capitalise on fear and greed.

It is typical of superficial articles like this that the target group is never properly defined, however some say that the demographic even extends beyond Bernard Salt's birth dates of 1946 to 1961. It is a bit rich to blame 'the Boomers' for policy of the Whitlam government when many of them were too young to vote at the time.

Still, if one already has a solution in mind, the problem and in this case a convenient group to blame, are very easily found. However the author might as well blame fat people, or some other easily labeled group, maybe white men. But wait, that is already happening to the obese and as for white men, well they might as well wear this one too.

How to improve health? Probably start by increasing the terms of State and federal governments. Then have a re-think about using doctors as the gate-keepers for medical benefits - perhaps a primary health model might be better. Now what the policy of both sides of government of bringing in record numbers of migrants without first ensuring the necessary infrastructure is available?

Fact is, health delivery is complex and there are no simple solutions. All user pays would do is move the cost burden to those who can least afford it, as has happened elsewhere in government.