About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

111444 1 (1980-01-01)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadpda0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Aging in America: An Overview Neal Curtin Mr. Curtin is a supervisory management analyst in the Human Resources Division. He is currently assigned to HEW programs for the elderly. He began his career with GAO in 1970 after earning a B.S. degree in economics from Bradley University. He worked in the Chicago regional office and the European Branch before joining HRD. What's it like to be old in America? For Annie Jones', it's lonely. She's just returned from the ceme- tery and feels like a member of the Funeral-of-the-Month Club. She had her 72nd birthday last month and she just buried the only friend who celebrated it with her. Since her husband died 6 years ago, she's lived alone, and because her friends are dying or going into nursing homes, she is becoming more and more isolated. Her two daughters are at opposite ends of the country, and she really doesn't want to intrude in their lives any- way. For Stanley Miller, it's painful. He's 76 now, and for the past 3 years his arthritis has become increasingly inflamed and debilita- ting. Since his wife died last year, he has had to fend for himself and he is finding it more and more difficult just to move around in the 7-room house they owned for 25 years. Keep the house clean? Cook three good meals a day? Paint and repair the exterior of the house? Forget it. His social security check and meager private pension doesn't permit him to hire help for these things and his health doesn't permit him to even attempt them alone. He wonders how long he can stay out of a nursing home; once he gets there, he feels he'll never leave. For Mildred Armbruster, it's frus- trating. She's 68 and feels better about herself now than she did when she was 48. She's healthy, active, and secretary of her senior citizens club. She and her husband have a nice apartment and a modest retirement income. She doesn't feel old. But something's not right. Something's missing. They've been able to do only a fraction of the things they planned for retirement. Their pension is eaten away by inflation and just doesn't go far enough to allow them to travel, to see the country, or to visit their children and grand- children. Their friends are starting to look old; they seem to visit the hospital a lot to cheer up friends with arthritis or cancer or heart trouble. Some neighbors were robbed last week, and for the first time, Mildred realized how vulner- able she was. Now she's reluctant to walk or ride the bus alone carrying her purse. She can feel through her friends the inevitability of deteriorating health and eventual death, and it is depressing. These are 3 of the 24 million Americans age 65 or over in 1979, and all of us probably have friends, relatives, or neighbors who sound a lot like Stanley, Annie, or Mildred. These senior citizens, older Ameri- cans, Golden Agers, whatever you call them, now represent 11 per- cent of the U.S. population, and their problems, needs, and desires are gaining increasing attention. No wonder. In 1900, only 3 million Americans were 65 or older, a mere 4 percent of the population. Now the 65+ age group grows by 1,500 every day. About 40 years from now, when the 1950's baby boom generation reaches its gold- en years, experts estimate there will be 45 million seniors, repre- senting 18 percent of the popula- tion. By 2020, the median age of Americans, which has been about 28 since the 1930's, will jump to 37. The combination of improved medical care and disease control for the elderly along with continued low birth rates will transform Amer- ican society in ways that are still largely unknown. Former HEW Secretary Joseph GAO Review/Winter 1980

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most