Impact of the Aging of America

While the number of people under age 65 in the U.S. has increased by a factor of three during the 20th century, the number of people over age 65 has increased by a factor of eleven. "Consequently, the elderly, who comprised only 1 in every 25 Americans (3.1 million) in 1900, made up 1 in 8 (33.2 million) in 1994. Declining fertility and mortality rates also have led to a sharp rise in the median age of our Nation's population -- from 20 years old in 1860 to 34 in 1994." (Hobbs, Damon; 1995). The manifold ways that this one change affects society render the aging of America a highly significant factor in a number of different areas, all of which need to adapt to their changing consumer base.

One of the major areas affected by the aging population is medicine. As people live longer, they acquire multiple conditions; those conditions require more medication. "A new study shows that physicians are prescribing medications to their patients at a far greater rate than they did just two decades ago. In fact, the prescription rate rose 34 percent between 1985 and 1999, from 109 to 146 prescriptions per 100 visits, according to a federal study released today in the journal Health Affairs;" at the current rate, prescriptions will double in just 5 years. (Firshein, 2002). Aging people require more medical care than younger ones, as well. Furthermore, many conditions such as Alzheimer's disease that did not used to be significant in our society are so now that people are living l

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em started out, there were about a dozen young people paying the bill for one retired senior; now after several decades of abortion and lower numbers of children in families there are only three young people paying the bill for one retired senior. The system has been crippled by social choices. "Part of the problem that we're seeing now with Social Security has to do with the fact that 40 to 50 million people who have been killed through abortions have not taken their role as productive citizens," Church of God in Christ Bishop George McKinney said in a recent article in the Catholic World News. Since prices are currently very high, many seniors are not even able to retire and must continue working into their 70's and 80's. This shifts the proportion of elderly in the workplace also, and "seniority has increasingly been replaced with meritocracy. Younger, supposedly better educated, workers are cheaper. They pose fewer problems of authority, as younger managers can feel threatened by older and more experienced subordinates." (Social Gerontology: Aging and the Economy). Mandatory retirement policies are being enforced in increasing numbers of companies as well, forcing some educated seniors to take low-paying jobs in fast-foo

Category: Psychology - I