Older Americans essay
Which do you think has a more powerful effect on an aged person’s economic well-being gender, race, or ethnicity?
First of all, the determinant of an aged person’s economic well-being is race. There exist income disparities according to race among working adults, and these disparities are very likely to hold after retirement. The second important variable is gender: there still exists gender discrimination pertaining to income, and women are more likely to have low retirement payments.
What can government do to increase the economic security of minority group members in old age?
Minorities generally have lower incomes and shorter life spans compared to whites. It might be possible to increase their economic security by introducing a formula that matches the size of help to the size of income and provides more substantial assistance (expressed as percentage) to low-earners. In addition, using disability benefits and benefits for survivors it would be possible to compensate for shorter life expectancy of minorities.
What ideas do you have to increase the well-being of minority groups in old-age that do not involve the government?
It would be helpful to provide more educational opportunities to minorities and to emphasize the importance of retirement planning and long-term planning in general. Such educational initiatives can be launched by volunteers or nonprofits. Another way of increasing well-being is to introduce preventive healthcare measures and lifestyle management programs.
What long-term economic effect does divorce have on elderly women?
Divorced women are very vulnerable in economic sense, especially after retirement. Their benefits are different from widows’ benefits and their retirement incomes are often lower than those of married women. Most of divorced women either have low incomes or haven’t worked for a long time, so their retirement perspectives are unsatisfactory.
Today’s older Americans tend to engage in the same kind of political activity they engaged in when they were younger. When members of the baby boom generation retire, what kind of political activity can we expect to see from them? Be specific.
Baby boomers represent an active generation, and they are politically active as well. In retirement, it is expected that political activities will be replaced by less vigorous forms of activity. When baby boomers retire, they are likely to engage in voting (actively), in reaching out to public officials. They will also self-organize using technology and the web and deliver certain political messages to the public.
Now that Americans are living longer, should there be an upper limit on the age of candidates for high public office? Why or Why not?
Americans are not only living longer, they are working longer and stay functional for a longer time. Although human cognition deteriorates over time, this process is different for different people. It would be discriminatory to set an upper limit on the age of candidates for high public office because their ability to perform their functions might be sufficient and their experience might benefit the country. Therefore, there should be no age limit; however, it would be reasonable to have a mechanism of early elections due to changes in physical ability to fulfill the requirements of the high public office position.
Do you think children in the United States deserve the same degree of support from the government as do the aged?
Children and the aged are different social categories with different context. There are vulnerable categories of children and vulnerable categories of the aged. The degree of support from the government should be adjusted to the needs of each category, and the needs of each vulnerable category should be addressed.
What are the major interest groups that represent older Americans, and what have they accomplished?
Key groups are: AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), NCSC (the National Council of Senior Citizens), ASA (the American Seniors Association), NAOCS (the National Association of Conservative Seniors), etc. These organizations contributed to the improvement of well-being of seniors in America. In particular, they initiated the creation of Medicare part D, stimulated Social Security changes, introduced health insurance programs, etc.
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