Political Embattlement related to programs for the aged

Outline for Political Embattlement Related to Programs for the Aged Population

Thesis Statement: To address the political embattlement of the programs related to the aged such as Medicaid, Medicare, disability, welfare and supplemental security income, and the older Americans Act

Introduction

In the United States, the older population has increased 10 times from the 19th century to 21^st century.

Effects

As the number of aging population continues to increase, the United States have implemented various programs such as Medicare, disability, welfare and supplemental security income, and the older Americans Act to support the ageing population.
The country obligates younger generation to pay taxes to support the elderly population in a great need of social and financial support.

Aging population in the United States

The population of the aging has increased tremendously from the 19^th century to the 21^st century.

Statistics indicate that an aging population is expected to increase by 135% between 2000 and 2050.
The number of people from age 85 years and above is expected to increase by 140% come 2050.
There has been an increase of 30% of people between 60 years and above in the United States since 2000 to date and the number is expected to increase gradually by 2050.

Problems faced by the ageing population and need adequate attention and care.

Face high poverty rate.
Lack adequate health access.
Most suffer from chronic diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes, and high blood pressure among others.
Cannot work effectively in the employment sector like the younger generation.
Discrimination from the society and employment sector.

How the American Government has responded to the needs of the ageing population.

Implementing programs for the aged such as Medicaid, disability, Medicare, welfare and supplemental security income, and The Older Americans Act.
Encouraging those in the employment sector to pay taxes to support the ageing population.

Consequences of having an increasing older population

The ageing population requires adequate support, which may be costly such as home based care.
The government obligates younger generation to pay taxes to adequately support the needs of the increasing ageing population.

The young generation is forced to pay heavy taxes to finance the programs of social security

The increasing population of older people impacts the younger generations in relation to political power and the need to finance and support the group socially.

Actions currently taken to address an increasing older population.

There has been a global initiative on aging advocated by the United Nations to create a favourable or stable society that respects the rights of the ageing population.
The United Nation has taken an initiative to encourage the American government and other nations to address and meet the needs of the ageing population that continues to increase at a high rate.
The American government has implemented various programs for the aged such as Medicaid, disability, Medicare, the Older Americans Act, and welfare and Supplemental Security Income to support the needs of the increasing older population.

Results of actions taken to address the increase in the ageing population.

The working group is fully supporting the ageing population through taxation.
Many people have understood the importance of valuing the ageing population.
To some extent, the society has fully understood how to take care of the elderly.
Despite various challenges faced by the ageing population such as discrimination, there has been an improvement on how the society and the family of ageing population offer support.

What Experts believe on the ageing population?

Health experts believe that ageing population should be given adequate health care as most are vulnerable to chronic diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes, and high-blood pressure among others.
Psychologists believe that ageing population should be given emotional and psychological support as most are prone to be depressed.
Economic analysts believe that the government should be economically prepared to help the ageing population who are often in need of financial support.

Conclusion

Personal Opinion

Support health experts, economic experts, psychologists, and the American government that the society should effectively address the needs of the ageing population.

Political Embattlement related to programs for the aged

Introduction

During the 20^th century, the number of elderly population in the United States of the age 65 and above has increased tremendously compared to other centuries (González et al, 2009). Gonzalez et al continues to argue that, the oldest age group of those ages 80 and above have also grown rapidly for the past centuries. It is important to note that, the perception of aging has changed in that, and records around the world indicate that people are living longer more than ever before in other centuries. This is evident in the United States in that, the older population has increased 10 times from the 19th century to 21^st century (González et al, 2009). As the number of aging population continues to increase, the United States have implemented various programs such as Medicaid program that provides important medical services to the aging population. Overall, the Older American Act (OAA) has placed emphasis on taking care of the aging population. To meet various needs of the growing population of the elderly, President Johnson Lyndon enacted OAA with an aim of providing community based services for the Older Americans together with their families. Thus far, the aim of this paper is to address the political embattlement of the programs related to the aged such as Medicaid, Medicare, disability, welfare and supplemental security income, and the older Americans Act.

Aging population in the United States.

Just like the rest of the world, the United States is an ageing nation in that, the aging population is expected to increase by 135% between 2000 and 2050 (González et al, 2009). Yang & Waliji (2010) continues to argue that, the number of people from age 85 years and above are projected to increase by 140% come 2050. This research indicates that, the population aged 80 years and above is a group that require adequate health and long-term medical services. The population of the age 65 and above is expected to increase by 20.3% from 2000 to 2050 (Morrison & Bryan, 2010). Based on Morrison and Bryan research, the population of the age 80 years and above will increase gradually in the United States based on the previous statistics done. As argued by Morrison & Bryan (2010), the population of the elderly has increased gradually, and as a result, this creates the fact that the aging population is increasing annually. For the past years, the number of people aged 60 years in the United States has increased gradually since 2000 to date by 30% (Davis, Stremikis, & Drake, 2010). As mentioned earlier, the number is projected to increase by 2050, which will be as large as that of children population from 0 to 14 years

Different researches indicate that, the growing elderly population has so much affected the United States in that the population demands both financial and social support (Williams, McClellan & Rivlin, 2010). Although the country has implemented various programs to assist and care for the aging population, the truth of the matter is that there is a lot of political embattlement related to programs for the aged population. Most people believe that the programs for the aged are expensive and demanding to cater for and this impact the younger generation in terms of their earnings. Compared to other communities, aging population face many barriers as well as profound disparities that make them to be in great need of social and financial support. Williams, McClellan & Rivlin (2010) research indicates that, the elderly have less sources of support compared to other age group such as youths who are often in the employment sector. With this in mind, Guterman, Davis, Stremikis, & Drake (2010) argues that, the elderly face high poverty rate and experience poor health access. With this profound concern, the United States has placed emphasize on having programs for the aged such as Medicaid, disability, Medicare, welfare and supplementary security income, and The Older Americans Act.

To understand the consequences of having an increasing older population, it is important to understand why the aging population may affect the United States or any other nation. It is important to acknowledge that, the future problems of an aging population in the United States is much derived from the growth rate of the elderly population, but because of the slow anticipated growth in the working age population. It is a matter of concern that, the population of the age 15-65 is expected to increase by only 30% from 2000 to 2050 (Yang & Waliji, 2010). Yang & Waliji continue to argue that, the ratio of individuals age 15-65 for those that age 65 and over is expected to decline. With this in mind, it is clear that the increase in the older population will negatively affect the U.S. In other words, the slow growth rate in the working age group that range between 15 and 65 will indicate that, there will be few people to pay necessary taxes to support programs for the aged and still few people to provide medical and social services that the older population require. Thus far, the following section underlines various consequences of having an increasing older population to the society and on an individual basis.

Consequences of having an increasing older population

Income and financial resources

As mentioned earlier, the ageing population requires adequate medical, social, psychological, and emotional support. This population requires adequate health care and support in that many suffer from chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, high-blood pressure, and osteoporosis just to name a few. To some extent, it is expensive to take care of this population since the style of living and medical attention given may change from one time to the other. While in hospitals, doctors have to take care of the elderly and give them adequate care and attention. Having in mind aging population suffers most from chronic illness such as heart diseases, disabilities, diabetes, and high blood pressure just to name a few. Chronic illness requires adequate care such as nursing home and personal care. With the mentioned facts in mind, the first consequence of an aging population is that it is difficult to finance health care systems that the elderly population requires.

Social security

The implementation of programs for the aged such as social security benefits is a major aspect affecting young workers who are heavily taxed to support the ageing population. According to Williams, McClellan & Rivlin (2010), the U.S Federal Social Security System ensure that the large number of young employees supports the ageing population with security support through taxation. With this, it is evident that as the number of ageing population continues to increase young workers will face a big challenge supporting the population through heavy taxation. The number of workers supporting the cost of social security for the ageing population will increase unless the patterns of future employment changes. It is pertinent to acknowledge that, the United States is aging in that by 2050, one in six Americans will be age 60 years and above, up from about one in ten in 2000. Having in mind that young people are more likely than older generation to pay taxes and finance the programs of social security, Medicaid, Medicare, and all other programs for the aged, population aging could negatively affect the government. In other words, the increase in population aging could strain the government’s budget and in turn augments high standard of living. With an increasing aging population in the United states, the main question that lingers in many in who will pay for the aged programs such as welfare and supplementary security income, disability, Medicare, and Medicaid among others. The following section seeks to answer this question and in doing will highlights the political embattlement related to the mentioned programs for the aged population.

Who will pay?

According to Morrison & Bryan (2010), the ageing population has a strong effect on the nation’s economy in that the aged cannot work and cater for their basic needs like the young population can. With this in mind, it becomes a big challenge for a nation to take care of their needs at all levels ranging from security, health, and social needs among others. This explains why the American President Lyndon Johnson signed a law on July 14, 1965 of the Older American Act (OAA) to meet the needs of the growing population of older people. Since then, the OAA has created a strong platform for maintaining dignity, coordinating, organizing, and providing community services for older population along with their families. Despite the effectiveness and benefits of programs for the aged, population aging has a strong impact on young workers and the government. This is because the government obligates young workers to pay taxes to finance and support the older people. In turn, increasing population of the elders impact the younger generations in terms of political power and their need for financial and social support. In other words, younger generation becomes vulnerable to supporting the ageing population, which directly affects the cost of living.

How will it be paid?

For the past years, there have been political embattlements related to programs for the aged on how it will be paid. This subject has been a contentious issue in the United States in that many Americans believe that the government does not fully support the ageing population (Yang & Waliji, 2010). Yang & Waliji continues to argue that, despite the American government having the interest in helping the ageing population, it does not fully comprehend that younger generations are the one with a heavy burden of heavy taxation. Although the government claims that it support the elderly population with programs that improve their well-being, the truth of the matter is that the younger generation is held responsible to support the older population through taxation. With the mentioned consequences of an ageing population, there various actions currently taken to address the issue of an increasing older population as discussed below.

Actions currently taken to address an increasing older population

There are various actions that have been currently taken to address an increasing older population in the United States. For instance, there has been a global action on aging advocated by the United Nations in New York to create or build a better and favourable society for the ageing population (Yang & Waliji, 2010). As the number of older people increases rapidly, United Nation Member State perceives this as a tremendous social and economic challenge for the U.S. The UN calls and beseeches the governments to address and meet the needs of the ageing population, who happens to be the fastest growing population. The United Nation emphasizes on the fact that the ageing population requires adequate strategies, laws, and policies to ensure and enhance their well-being.

As the UN diligently campaign for enhancing a better society for the ageing population, the American government agrees with the global action that aging population affects social and economic life. With this in mind, the American government has implemented programs for the aged such as Medicaid, disability, Medicare, the Older Americans Act, and welfare and Supplemental Security Income. These programs create a strong ground where the ageing population can live in good health and a suitable environment.

Although the mentioned programs for the aged affects the younger generation in terms of heavy taxation, these programs are crucial in supporting the current ageing population and adequately prepare for the predicted increase in 2050. Still, non-governmental organizations have participated in creating awareness to the American society on how to support and meet the needs of the ageing population. González et al (2009) research shows that, today’s young generations will be part of the older generation in 2050. This research indicates that, with adequate actions taken now, the United States will adequately address the needs of the ageing population and develop in the future.

What Experts believe on the ageing population?

Psychologists argue that, governments should deter age discrimination that is mostly affecting older people (Morrison & Bryan, 2010). In this regard, the American government should put policies and place emphasizes on the age discrimination in employment act to deter discrimination. Health experts believe that, the government should ensure that the ageing population are treated with dignity without any discrimination. For those who cannot afford to retire, the government should implement policies that encourage the elderly population to go for retirement since their bodies may be weak to perform and fulfil their assigned duties at the workplace.

As poverty increases in late life, economic analysts believe that the government should be adequately prepared to help the ageing population who are often in need of social and financial support. To fully support the ageing population, experts believe that the American government should tax every employee depending on his or her salary (Guterman, Davis, Stremikis & Drake, 2010. This ensures that the government has adequate funds to meet the needs and supplemental income of the ageing population. As racism continues to affect the older population, the government should ensure that the aged population lives a fulfilling life free from any type of discrimination.

The results of the current actions taken

As many agencies emerge to address the increasing ageing population, the results have been amazing. Currently, the American Government has tremendously taken care of the ageing population by ensuring that they are living in conditions and in good health. As a result, this has promoted a friendly society that takes care of the ageing population who often are in need of social and financial support. To fully support this population, the American government obligates employers to give out taxes to take care of the elderly population. As UN and Non-Governmental Organization create awareness to the society on how to support and take care of the elderly, the society has better understood how to respond and meet the needs of an ageing population.

Conclusion

In my opinion, I support health experts, economic experts, and psychologists on the fact that the society needs to address the needs of the ageing population. For this to be successful, the working population should be taxed to full cater the needs of the elderly. With the increasing number of elderly needing health care, every working citizen should pay taxes to support the ageing population (Williams, McClellan & Rivlin, 2010). This would increase funding to support the population along with its family.

References

González, H. M., PhD, Ceballos, M., Tarraf, W., West, B. T., M.A., Bowen, M. E., PhD., & Vega, W. A., PhD. (2009). The health of older Mexican Americans in the long run. American Journal of Public Health, 99 (10), 1879-85. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215088858?accountid=45049

Guterman, S., Davis, K., Stremikis, K., & Drake, H. (2010). Innovation in Medicare and Medicaid will be central to health reform’s success. Health Affairs, 29 (6), 1188-93. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/504017105?accountid=45049

Morrison, P.A., & Bryan, T.M. (2010). Targeting spatial clusters of elderly consumers in the U.S.A. Population Research and Policy Review, 29 (1), 33-46.

Williams, D. R., McClellan, M. B., & Rivlin, A. M. (2010). Beyond the affordable care act: Achieving real improvements in Americans’ health. Health Affairs, 29 (8), 1481-8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/744045666?accountid=45049

Yang, Y., & Waliji, M. (2010). Increment-decrement life table estimates of happy life expectancy for the U.S. population. Population Research and Policy Review, 29 (6), 775-795.

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