Our National Conversation on Aging

A version of this article first appeared in Smerconish on April 28th, 2023

Now that President Biden officially declared his run for a second term, what are we to make of the countless warnings about his age? Clearly, voters have already considered age a major factor – Google Search results for ‘Biden age’ hit an all-time-high just before the 2020 election – and speculation has only heightened four years on. Unfortunately, these concerns are misguided and even dangerous because they conflate age with poor health and confuse ideas about work and retirement.

While age is undoubtedly a risk factor, dismissing poor health symptoms as signs of ‘being old’ impedes early detection, prevention, and better and more effective treatment. Assuming shortness of breath is because of age instead of a warning of heart failure or heart valve disease hurts people and costs unnecessary billions. A fall leading to bone fractures is because of osteoporosis and not older age. Signs of senility are not simply getting old, but perhaps signs that one might have Alzheimer’s. All of these ailments can be managed better, less painfully, and at a lower cost if we only recognized them for what they were: opportunities for prevention and better, earlier treatment. The world’s most advanced and sophisticated digital health tools are useless if our attitudes go in the opposite direction. We must abandon outdated notions about age, or we risk worse health outcomes costing more.

Let’s get rid of the idea that our careers end by our early 60s. If nothing else, the fact that the two leading contenders for the White House would be 86 and 82 at the end of their terms shows what’s possible deep into our careers. In fact, the arbitrary retirement age was created by Otto von Bismarck more than 130 years ago. Our world has reached an unimaginable milestone since then – for the first time in the history of humanity, the prospect of growing old has become the norm. Coupled with stunningly low birth rates, we now have more old than young in every society. Simply put, 19th century arithmetic of who retires when will no longer be possible in the 21st century. Boldly reimagining work and retirement should also include how we think about our political, business, and community leaders. Isn’t it past time to change our ideas and attitudes on what constitutes old age in the workplace and the community?

Finally, recognize that a 21st century view of aging – growing old – can be a lens through which to realize economic growth and productivity advances for everyone. The global Silver Economy represents a $17 trillion market, with those aged 65+ estimated to spend $3 trillion annually in the U.S. by 2030. The right conversation about the role of an older person in today’s America will lead to positive transformations in ways we haven’t even considered. Take elder caregiving as an example. It is one of the fastest growing sectors in America today, and it’s benefitting from innovative technology to scale and make it more efficient, much like the impact of Henry Ford’s assembly line on manufacturing  a hundred years ago. All companies from all sectors could grow their business through the framework of “an aging strategy” by tapping into the 2 billion of us on the planet over 60 who constitute that vast and growing Silver Economy.

If you have concerns about President Biden’s reelection, base them on his policies, ideas, or actions. Don’t hide behind his age. Instead, let’s take this announcement as an inspiration for a national conversation on how we reimagine all of our lives in 21st century aging America. And with it, like so much else, America can export our Silver Economy around the planet.

Source: Smerconish

Latest Developments

We keep our members and partners in touch with the most recent updates and opinions in the worldwide dialogue on population longevity and related issues.

Global Coalition on Aging Workshop Calls on G7 Countries to Fund Pull Incentives to Spur Antibiotic Innovation

The Global Coalition on Aging, in partnership with JPMA, today announced the release of its workshop report on the AMR crisis facing G7 countries and the world, “The Value of Pull Incentives in Japan to Encourage Investment in Antibiotic Innovation to Solve the AMR Crisis.” If strong action is not taken to address AMR, we will lose the antibiotics we need to cure infections, which is likely to outpace cancer as a major cause of death, killing an estimated 10 million by 2050.

Our National Conversation on Aging

Now that President Biden officially declared his run for a second term, what are we to make of the countless warnings about his age? Clearly, voters have already considered age a major factor – Google Search results for ‘Biden age’ hit an all-time-high just before the 2020 election – and speculation has only heightened four years on. Unfortunately, these concerns are misguided and even dangerous because they conflate age with poor health and confuse ideas about work and retirement.

World Immunization Week: Best-Kept Secret for 21st-Century Healthy Aging

The tremendous success of childhood immunisation campaigns across the 20thcentury is one of the greatest triumphs of public health. Along with advances in sanitation and antibiotics, childhood immunisation has resulted in the miracle of modern longevity: the once extravagant prospect of growing old has become the norm. Now, in our 21st century, isn’t it our great challenge to build on this achievement by realising a healthy longevity?

South China Morning Post Letter to the Editor

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the defining global problems of our time. Drug-resistant bacterial infections killed an estimated 1.27 million people in 2019. By 2050, 10 million lives annually could be lost to antimicrobial resistance, and annual global gross domestic product could fall by between 1.1 per cent and 3.8 per cent. Fortunately, Chinese policymakers, physicians and patients have shown what is possible when they focus collective efforts on antimicrobial resistance.

Medicine Price Setting Might Appeal to Voters but Will Cost Patients

As policymakers search for potential cuts to the national budget, they risk jeopardizing the country’s most cost-effective use of healthcare dollars: biomedical innovation regarding vaccines , prescription drugs, and emerging therapies, including antibodies. As the nation rapidly ages, protecting this pipeline of medicine will not only improve health outcomes but will do so at a lower cost by reducing more expensive hospital and primary care.

Global Coalition on Aging Hosts Cross-Sector Roundtable to Tackle Heart Valve Disease in Aging Societies

The Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) and the Global Heart Hub have released a global position paper “Heart Valve Disease: Harnessing Innovation to Save Lives, Mitigate Costs, and Advance the Healthy Aging Agenda.” The report builds upon on a December 2022 GCOA-GHH roundtable of cross-sector experts and examines how behavior and policy change can best address heart valve disease in our 21st century.

New York City Twins with Ireland to Develop Age Friendly Communities

The twinning commits both sides to share knowledge on age friendly programs and builds on the 2011 Dublin Declaration of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. The agreement was signed by the Cathaoirleach (Mayor) Nick Killian of Meath County Council which hosts the Irish Age Friendly Programme and Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Commissioner for Aging.

Just Getting Started at 75

In the latest charge against the promise of healthy aging, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, oncologist and bioethicist, doubled down on his infamous 2014 essay stating that 75 is the ideal age to die. Now 65, he maintains that after age 75, he will no longer receive medical screenings and interventions like colonoscopies, cancer treatment, flu shots, and heart valve replacement.