The Graying of America and Support for Funding the Nation's Schools

Surveys spanning more than 35 years show that older Americansare less likely than younger citizens to endorse increased spendingon public schools. The conventional explanation for this generationalcleavage presumes that citizens’ interests change as theyapproach or transition into retirement—the absence ofschool-age children and fixed incomes combine to lower theirinterest in supporting spending increases for public education.We show that the conventional wisdom is incorrect, based ona confusion of age and cohort effects. Cohort-period analysisshows that every cohort becomes more supportive of educationalspending, rather than less, as they reach their 60s and 70s.The implications are important, for they suggest that the predicted"gray peril" to educational spending will not occur. Rather,our results suggest that public support for educational spendingwill continue its remarkable rise.