Aging in America, Part Four :: Economic, Social and Cultural Implications

Exploring the impact of an aging America runs too broadly and deeply to fully address in this article. But we will scratch the surface with quotes from numerous credible sources to help paint a picture.

Fact 1: An agingcare.com survey found that an estimated 34 million Americans are personally providing care for older family members and/or footing the bill.

CONCERNED?

Fact 2: National Center for Health Statistics data shows the life expectancy of Americans in 1900 was 47 years and increased 68% to 79 by 2010. Those who had reached the age of 65 in 2010 could expect to live to 84.

Simultaneously, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the birth rate at an all-time low in 2013.

ALARMS SOUNDING?

Fact 3: More seniors are outliving savings, investments and pensions. The February 2015 report from The Institute On Assets and Social Policy states,"In the wake of the Great Recession, ...the number of seniors at risk of outliving their financial resources remains unacceptably high." "...one in four older Americans were found to be insecure in 2004, and that number increased to more than one-in-three by 2008."

MAN THE LIFE BOATS?

I highly recommend The Pew Research Center article by D'Vera Cohn and Paul Taylor (December 2010), "Baby Boomers Approach 65 - Glumly" where it reported, "Every day for the next 19 years, about 10,000 more will cross the [senior] threshold. By 2030, when all baby boomers will have turned 65, fully 18% of the nation's population will be at least that age..."

I read somewhere recently that projections are currently running closer to one out of five.

The 2010 Census shows the 65 or older population growing faster and their November 2011 press release stated that between 2000 and 2010, the Western U.S. grew at the fastest rate (23.5 percent) and for those 85 or older (42.8 percent). According to the Pew research, "Fully 80 percent [of baby boomers] say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country today... [they] are also more downbeat than other adults about the long-term trajectory of their lives - and their children's... 34 percent of boom- ers believe their own children will not enjoy as good a standard of living as they themselves have now."

With census data reflecting birth rates lower than the rate at which our population is aging, a heavier burden on a smaller work force seems inevitable. That portends cumulative effects on our economic, social and cultural fabric impacting Americans of all ages.

In 2012, the U.S. National Alliance for Caregiving, Washington, D.C., estimated that at least 65.7 million caregivers make up 29 percent of the U.S. adult population providing care to someone who is ill, disabled or aged. The June 21, 2012 AARP The Magazine article by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, "Aging Parents Moving In..." questions if children have the necessary and right space to accommodate their aging parent's needs and limitations. Have we considered the physical, emotional and financial effects on baby boomer children caring for elderly parents at a time they themselves are about to retire? How does it impact their income, job performance, marriages, families and all other conditions?

In Part Five, we will discuss the upcoming political implications. I recommend a look at Jonathan V. Last's book, "What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster." It discusses, with great humor and insight, the implications of an aging America. For a preview, type the link below into your web browser for a 55 minute C-Span interview with Jonathan: c-span.org/video/?310316-1/ words-jonathan-last