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Senior Citizen Politics
Senior Citizen Issues Becoming an Issue for South
Carolina Primary
Lt. Gov. Bauer lays out list of boomer, elderly
issues he wants addressed
 Sept. 12, 2007 – Issues of particular importance to
senior citizens have received little attention, so far, from the
presidential candidates. That may change soon, however, as André Bauer,
Lt. Governor of South Carolina, which is a key primary state, has
started a campaign to get the candidates to talk about how they will
deal with senior issues and the “baby boomer tsunami.”
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“The number of adults aged 65 and older in South
Carolina and in the United States is doubling. It is time – in fact it
is well past time – for the candidates who are asking for our votes to
tell us how they will manage this demographic age wave and its impact on
the health, independence, and quality of life of millions of people,”
said Bauer, 38, in a speech to be delivered to the state’s Silver Haired
Legislature yesterday.
“In about 120 days the candidates will be asking
South Carolina voters to set them on the path to the White House. Do
they understand that more than one out of every three votes cast in
South Carolina primaries last spring came from seniors?” asked Bauer.
South Carolina is expected to host the first
presidential primaries in the South.
“For the record – and the candidates’ contemplation
– voters who were 65 and older accounted for 33.9% of the Republican
primary ballots last spring and 31.2% of the Democratic ones,” he said.
Bauer, as Lt.
Governor, is responsible for the
state's office on aging.
He laid out a list of general issues, and asked candidates to respond. He said he would place their responses on his
website.
Early Social Security impact:
Before our next president takes the oath of office in January 2009,
the first of 78 million baby boomers will be turning 62 and applying for
early retirement. They will turn 65 before the end of that first term.
Size of Baby Boomers:
Bauer said the 78 million baby boomers is an increase of almost 150%
in the number of people who received Social Security Administration
benefits in 2005.
Alzheimer’s:
We now have almost 5 million people 65 and older with Alzheimer’s
and other dementias, and 70% live at home, cared for by family and
friends. Direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s now cost more than
$148 billion annually, but in less than a decade the Medicare portion
alone is projected to be $189 billion.
Elder Justice Act:
Which man or woman asking for our vote here in 2007 can promise us
that he or she will stand with seniors in 2009? Who will declare
that protection from exploitation, abuse and neglect should be the
accepted norm? Who will ensure that those who prey on the frail, ill or
elderly will suffer swift punishment? We have bipartisan support for an
Elder Justice Act before the Congress of the United States– but we have
no White House candidate demanding its immediate passage.
Geriatrician shortfall:
One of South Carolina’s most innovative efforts has been to create a
geriatric loan forgiveness program which has resulted in 12 board
certified geriatricians agreeing to accept forgiveness of medical school
loans in return for coming here to treat our seniors. We have increased
our state’s number of geriatricians by one third.
Still, the American Geriatrics Society says 36,000
more are needed nationally by 2030 to handle the baby boomers. Yet, each
year America manages to certify only a little more than 300
geriatricians largely because the massive federal health programs that
spend billions of dollars each year on senior medical care do not reward
these critical skills.
Caregiving:
Aging is the single common experience of our diverse time. It
touches us all in ways that we don’t always anticipate. Our youngest
baby boomers are building careers, and suddenly find themselves
sandwiched between their care giving obligations to their aging parents
and to their young children – while still working to establish their own
secure future for retirement.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
on Monday announced the South Carolina Seniors for Hillary Committee,
according to the Associated Press. The New York senator, a co-chair of
the Congressional Alzheimer's Task Force, has said she will work to make
Social Security long term without cutting benefits or increasing the age
of eligibility. She fought proposals to privatize benefits.
"This isn't a new issue to Hillary," her spokesman,
Zac Wright to the AP. "She's put forth an aggressive plan to protect
seniors in their golden years from those who would prey on them."
>> Aging
Committee, South Carolina
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