Life in an Older America

by Butler, Robert N.

• ISBN13: 9780870784385
• ISBN10: 0870784382
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Brookings Inst Pr

Summary

Today, one in eight Americans--32 million people--are aged sixty-five or older. That proportion will rise to one in five by 2020. The number of elderly Americans is growing faster than the U.S. population at large, with those aged eighty-five or older representing the most rapidly increasing segment of all. Because most of the elderly are no longer in the workforce, and because they are especially vulnerable to chronic illness, disability, and social isolation, the projected explosion in their numbers has enormous ramifications for American society and public policy.This collection of essays, cosponsored by The Century Foundation/ Twentieth Century Fund and the International Longevity Center, explores the wide-ranging economic and social consequences of the aging of America. Compiled under the supervision of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and gerontologist Dr. Robert N. Butler, the volume presents essays by some of the nation's foremost experts on economics, demography, public policy, health care, and the media. The authors include Marilyn Moon of the Urban Institute; Robert H. Binstock, professor of aging, health, and society at Case Western Reserve University; economist James Schulz of Brandeis University; former NBC News president Lawrence K. Grossman; William Gale of the Brookings Institution; and Sara Rix of the American Association of Retired Persons.

Table of Contents

Foreword	v
Richard C. Leone
Introduction Life an Older America: The Revolution in Longevity	1	(8)
Robert N. Butler
Lawrence K. Grossmand
Mia R. Oberlink
Dispelling the Myths about Social Security	9	(16)
Robert J. Myers
Medicare, Medicaid, and the Health Care System	25	(24)
Marilyn Moon
Long-term Car: Coming of Age in the Twenty-first Century	49	(26)
Robyn Stone
Older Persons and Health Care Costs	75	(22)
Robert H. Binstock
The Distinctive Needs of Women and Minorities	97	(24)
Charlotte Muller
Saving, Growth, and Social Security: Fighting Our Children over Shares of the Future Economic Pie?	121	(30)
James H. Schulz
Are Americans Saving Enough for Retirement?	151	(20)
William G. Gale
Family Finances and Aging	171	(16)
Linda K. George
The Older Worker in a Graying America: Innovation, Choice, and Change	187	(30)
Sara E. Rix
The Maturing of Marketing	217	(14)
John Zweig
The Media's Role: Life in an Older America	231	(8)
Lawrence K. Grossman
Notes	239	(34)
Index	273	(10)
About the Contributors	283