The 2005 White House Conference on Aging ended without being sanctified by the President of the United States for the first time in the history of an event that occurs but once every decade.
Mr. Bush decided not to address the conference, a final conclave reflecting the work of 115,000 public and private sector professionals who have been meeting earnestly over the late fourteen months to inform and shape national aging policies.
Perhaps to deflect abject criticism that he might not even care about this nation’s aging citizens, Mr. Bush instead chose to drop by an assisted living facility south of the capital city where retired supporters reside. There he touted the administration’s earnest belief in the advantages of Medicaid Part D, the recently launched but controversial prescription drug benefit.
Lest my observations aggravate partisan fury, I can assure you that I would level this criticism at any president, Republican or Democrat, neoconservative or liberal.
A conspicuous absence of the 2nd Boomer president was not the only element missing in this conference. Of the 73 resolutions put before delegates, not one included the word "ageism."
Only Resolution 11 appealed for removal of "barriers to the retention and hiring of older workers, including age discrimination." But, age discrimination is just one aspect of ageism; rather, antipathy toward aging is an entrenched, multidimensional social carcinoma that pervades all aspects of our society and popular culture.
The final speaker squarely addressed the untouched subject. In his closing remarks, Robert Butler, MD, a renowned Pulitzer-Prize winning gerontologist, psychiatrist, and professor, spoke eloquently of the "fearsome thought of growing old." And although the founding director of the National Institute on Aging has dedicated the last 30 years raising awareness of this pervasive syndrome, he struck a despondent chord in this talk.
He observed that during the course of this conference, the House of Representatives ironically voted not to continue funding Title VII, the primary source of educational subsidies for the nation’s geriatricians-in-training at 50 centers around the nation. Although this country has over 600,000 physicians representing all specialties, less than one percent specializes in geriatric medicine. And we can surely expect this abhorrently inadequate number of doctors serving the aging to decline in the future since geriatricians sacrifice economically, with average annual compensation at less than half that of other specialties.
Dr. Butler’s team at the International Longevity Center in New York will release in February 2006 their "Report Cards of Ageism in America." A preliminary summary available at the conference reveals how endemic and insidious ageism still is today.
For example, in 2004, 192 pension plans were terminated due to underfunding, reflecting losses to present and future pensioners of $450 billion. Those working for governments are not free of worry either, with $300 billion in pension underfunding.
In spite of greater public awareness and criticism of ageist media images, discrimination in media has not abated. One study reveals that 70 percent of older men and over 80 percent of older women seen on television are portrayed with disrespect, dismissively and in negative character roles.
The fifth White House Conference on Aging sorted through thousands of significant social and political issues involving the aging population. Fifty noble resolutions survived, but for inexplicable reasons that remain a mystery to me, this conference did not fully address the precipitating source of the social and economic penalties for being old.
Yet, in spite of the many political constraints, Dorcas Hardy, chair of the policy committee, and her team — volunteers and paid staff alike — worked extremely hard to give this significant event the historical import and impact that it deserves. The aging network grew larger, as did our collective resolve to make America a better place to grow old. This alone justifies the long journey from concept to culmination ... and demonstrates that the will of the people can overcome the lassitude of any elected official. Sorry you didn't join us, Mr. Bush. Maybe you'll see things differently in 2015.
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