Several days ago Ken Dychwald, founder of Age Wave, sent out an email titled: “It’s time to move aging/longevity to the political main stage.”
By Steve Moran
I confess . . .
I am not going to offer an opinion on this question. I do have some thoughts on it, but no clear opinions one way or the other. If I were on a high school or college debate team and was forced to argue one side or the other, I could do a pretty good job for either candidate. Likewise, I could also give you powerful reasons why either would be terrible for seniors.
Taking a Different Approach
Several days ago Ken Dychtwald, founder of Age Wave, thought leader on all things related to aging, and the impact Baby Boomers will have on the country and the world, sent out an email titled:
“It’s time to move aging/longevity to the political main stage.”
His proposition is simple. Every single person and organization that has any position or influence or power needs to be saying to both presidential candidates (and I guess given the current political climate, 3rd party candidates):
YOU NEED TO BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE AGING POPULATION
He is right on. We are facing huge issues related to our aging population and none of the candidates seem to be talking about the issues at all. Here are the 4 key areas he is focused on:
-
Healthcare – Boomers have radically changed everything they have been a part of. Sometimes for the good of society and sometimes for the not so good. As we Boomers age many more of us are living longer and better. But we need and will need more healthcare. We are facing at least two health care crises: the cost and availability of medical care and the crushing impacts of Alzheimer disease.
-
Elder Poverty – For a variety of reasons, elder poverty has the potential to overwhelm us. For sure there will be some Boomers who saved and planned for retirement. There will be some who inherit significant sums. It seems likely that the elders who will be worse off are those who have just a little savings and just a little extra retirement income.
-
Ageism – Popular culture is youth obsessed. It has very little care, concern or interest in older individuals, completely disregarding the reality that everything the popular youth culture has is the fruit of those who came before them.
-
Purpose – Largely because people are living so much longer, there needs to be a huge focus on figuring out how older Americans can continue to live with purpose. They have energy and wisdom that will serve the country and society well.
If we can figure it out, melding the generations will yield unbelieveable benefits for American society and the world.
This is your opportunity, this is our opportunity.
You can read Ken’s document below:
