Generations United’s Response to the State of the Union Address

“…what I believe unites the people of this nation, regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor, is the simple profound belief in opportunity for all…”

President Barrack Obama called on Americans of all generations to unite in common purpose in his 2014 State of the Union Address. Several of his policy recommendations connected directly to Generations United’s recently released, Out of Many, One: Uniting the Changing Faces ofAmerica, in which experts used the lens of America’s changing race and age demographics to discuss key issues in employment, transportation, civic engagement.  The President touched on other important intergenerational issues including education and healthcare.

Employment and Infrastructure

Building off the four years of economic growth, President Obama proposed policies to protect middle class security and opportunity at work while expanding jobs and economic opportunities. We applaud the President for raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for federal contract workers and call on Congress to follow his lead.  President Obama also called for building a 21st century workplace for America’s working families which includes grandfamilies and multigenerational families.  Recognizing the important role of caregivers, the President said: “A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running into hardship – and you know what, a father does, too.” We would add a grandparent or other caregiver does too.

Generations United supports these ladders of opportunities that lift poor Americans into the middle class, especially the President’s proposal to increase the number of innovative apprenticeships in America. The President can take his bid a step further. That’s why we are suggesting that employers encourage innovation and incentivize the most effective internship, apprenticeship, fellowship, and workforce development programs for younger and older workers. Another ladder of opportunity is the Earned Income Tax Credit and President Obama was right to call on Congress to work together to strengthen the credit, reward work, and help more American get ahead.

Civic Engagement

Speaking on the need to strengthen the Voting Rights Act, President Obama insisted that all Americans support everyone’s right to vote. “It should be the power of our vote, not the size of our bank account, that drives our democracy.”  As we consider reforms to fully engage all Americans, it must include strategies that ensure engagement of all ages of eligible voters.  Voter turnout is 72 percent among older adults and just 45 percent among young people.  Registration is the biggest hurdle among young people. Yet when they are registered they vote at the same rates as older adults. That’s why Generations United believes that allowing same-day registration for voting nation-wide ensures everyone has a stake in driving our democracy. Since low voter turnout undermines the basic premise of self-governance and self-presentation, the federal government can clear this unnecessary roadblock by adopting a uniform standard allowing eligible voters to register to vote and cast their ballots on the same day. Our report found that states that allow Same-Day Registrations (SDR) lead the nation in voter participation—and have a narrower age-based gap in voting.

Education

In his push for the most dynamic, educated workforce, President Obama proposed legislation that helps children and youth succeed in the 21st century. “Research shows that one of the best investments we can make in a child’s life is high-quality early education,” the President said. Generations United affirms that investments in quality early childhood education, experiences and environments benefit not just children but people of all ages by reducing crime, improving  community safety, contributing to family stability, enhancing the quality of our workforce and strengthening our economy. That's why older-adult advocates in 42 states and DC have pledged to raise their voices in support of children as part of Generations United's Seniors4Kids.

The President’s policy for education also includes transforming America’s high schools and making college more affordable for American families. “We’re working to redesign high schools and partner them with colleges and employers that offer the real-world education and hands-on training that can lead directly to a job and career,” President Obama said. “We’re shaking up our system of higher education to give parents more information, and colleges more incentives to offer better value, so that no middle-class kid is priced out of a college education.” Generations United offers a range of intergenerational approaches to "shake up our system of education" and help college graduates with student loan debt such as promoting home-sharing. The home-sharing model, outlined in our report, matches older people who want to stay in their homes, have extra space and need modest care or companionship with young people who need affordable living spaces and have the time and energy to contribute to maintenance and care in exchange for housing. Going a step further in addressing the student debt crisis, the federal government could cut student loan debt by offering to lower rates by a point for students who take part in a formal home-sharing arrangement that helps older adults stay in the community.

Healthcare

President Obama recognized Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear – whose wife, First Lady Jane Beshear, has a strong history as an intergenerational champion in her role as honorary co-chair of Generations United's Seniors4Kids in Kentucky program. Governor Beshear has modeled effective outreach to improve healthcare access to Kentucky families. Thanks to health care reform, three million young Americans under 26 have coverage on their parents’ insurance, while nine million Americans signed up for private health insurance or Medicaid. And in the process of fixing America’s health care system, being dropped or denied coverage for a preexisting condition is a thing of the past. Generations United applauds the President for urging young and old to work together to help those without health insurance get signed up by the March 31st deadline. “Moms, get on your kids to sign up,” he said. “Kids, call your mom and walk her through the application. It will give her some peace of mind – plus, she’ll appreciate hearing from you.”

Generations United also agrees Americans need to save more for retirement to supplement Social Security benefits they have contributed to throughout their working lives. Calling on employers to help through the creation of ‘myRA’ savings account may be a helpful tool. However, this proposed new program should in no way weaken Social Security which is a critical family protection program.

Throughout his remarks, President Obama reaffirmed the critical interdependence of generations. “After all, that’s the spirit that has always moved this nation forward,” he said. “It’s the spirit of citizenship – the recognition that through hard work and responsibility, we can pursue our individual dreams, but still come together as one American Family to make sure the next generation can pursue its dreams as well.”

Well said, Mr. President. Our reliance on each other matters. Because we are stronger together.

For nearly three decades, Generations United has been the catalyst for policies and practices stimulating cooperation and collaboration among generations, evoking the vibrancy, energy and sheer productivity that result when people of all ages come together.  We believe that we can only be successful in the face of our complex future if generational diversity is regarded as a national asset and fully leveraged.

University Students and LBFE Elders Share Lessons on Aging and Friendship

Back to school for elder Ginnie and North Park student Kathryn

This post -- along with the photos -- appears courtesy of 2014 edition of Friendship, a print newsletter of Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly, Chicago Chapter.

“When we go to visit Ginnie, it’s not school work, it’s not going to see an elderly lady. For me it’s getting to visit a friend,” wrote Phoenix, a student at Chicago’s North Park University. She is one of many students who benefited from Stories from a Graying America, a college course that brings students into direct contact with LBFE elders.

The course was developed by Lee Strickland, affiliate instructor of dialogue at North Park, in partnership with Christine Bertrand, LBFE’s intergenerational program coordinator. LBFE elders and North Park students are brought together for the duration of the course about aging in America. It’s a general education course with a service learning focus, which incorporates ways for students to give back to others.

“At North Park, we train students for lives of significance and service with a special emphasis on urban engagement,” says Strickland. “We encourage students to develop authentic relationships in the community and get out of the classroom to do meaningful service.”

Students learn about the issues and challenges of aging in society through reading, watching films, participating in classroom discussions and, most important, interacting with those who actually are aging in America.

A North Park University Student working with elder Dorothy

The students meet once a week in class and count their visits with elders as their second weekly class. Two students are paired with an LBFE elder. “By forming friendships with elderly neighbors, we learn their stories, needs and contributions,” says Strickland. “We participate in intergenerational dialogue, which is also intercultural.”

Vital Opportunities

The first course offered in partnership with LBFE was in fall 2012. By the end of the spring 2014 semester, more than 80 students will have participated. A core group of 10 elders volunteers each semester, with some new elders joining and others occasionally opting out. Strickland and Bertrand continue to revise and refine the course as they get feedback from students and elders.

Says student Christiana: “Before, I never paid attention to the elderly I saw on the streets. The determination and will to do things is what I admire most about the elderly after taking this course. I also learned that elderly people like to interact with different age groups and not just people their own age.”

Students and elders also have a lot of fun. “My partner and I agree that neither of us has ever met an elder like Marguerite who was more active than us!” says student Dontrell.

For elder Joyce, who has participated since the first semester, the interaction with the young people is invigorating. “You forget your aches and pains when they come over,” she says.

Bertrand appreciates the chance to offer elders a way to be engaged in the community and to benefit others by sharing their experience. Strickland notes, “The most important thing you can do for elders is not let their talents be wasted – the elders have so much to give.”

Understanding “Sequestration”

Last year, Congress and the President worked together to pass the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) to address immediate and long-term fiscal concerns for our nation. (Read Generations United’s full statement on the BCA.) Because Congress couldn’t agree on how to cut the federal budget, automatic across the board cuts – known as sequestration - will kick in in January 2013.

These automatic cuts will be applied in a 50-50 split between defense and non-defense spending. This represents $54.7 billion in domestic spending which will be cut from a wide range of programs, including programs that are vital to children, youth and older adults.

Sequestration will affect both mandatory and discretionary domestic funding sources. Mandatory cuts will include:

• Cuts in Medicare payments to providers and insurance plans; those cuts are limited to 2 percent of such payments in any year, or $11 billion in 2013.  This means that Medicare providers will continue to bill Medicare in the normal way but will be reimbursed at a rate of 98 cents on the dollar.
• About $5.2 billion in cuts in the other mandatory programs, the biggest of which supports farm prices; other affected programs include student loans, vocational rehabilitation, mineral leasing payments, the Social Services Block Grant, and dozens of smaller programs.

Other domestic programs, which are funded through discretionary spending, would face even more drastic cuts of $35.5 billion – or 8.4%. The bulk of the cuts to domestic spending would be to important programs for children, youth and older adults. These include Head Start and K-12 education funding, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), employment and nutrition programs for older adults, and funding to implement the Affordable Care Act.

(For a listing of projected cuts, see the Coalition on Human Needs’ report Self-Inflicted Wounds: Protecting Families and Our Economy from Bad Budget Choices.)

Congress is currently discussing ways to avoid sequestration, but some proposals would protect defense spending at the expense of even deeper cuts to domestic programs, or even those exempted from cuts under the BCA (such as, Medicare, SNAP, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)).

Generations United urges Congress and the President to protect our nation’s most vulnerable and invest in our country’s future by supporting proposals which would provide adequate revenue to address the needs of our citizens.

Want to stay up-to-date on the federal budget debate? Subscribe to Generations United’s Policy Alerts.

Response to Ryan’s Budget Plan

Yesterday, Congressman Paul Ryan presented his latest “Pathway to Prosperity” budget. After examining the document, Generations United was deeply troubled by many of the proposals contained in it because they would significantly reduce funding to the critical social safety net for America’s most vulnerable children, youth and older adults. Here is our analysis of the Ryan budget.

Food and Nutrition

If enacted, Ryan’s plan would convert the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into a block grant. In the long term, this would harm tens of millions of children, families, and older adults who rely on this critical safety net program. Hunger, food insecurity, and poverty are significant problems affecting millions of people in the U.S. and are expected to persist at high levels due to the weakened economy.

Higher Education

Additionally, the Ryan budget proposes to restructure Pell grants by “limiting the growth of financial aid and focusing it on low-income students.” Without specific language, it is hard to gauge the full impact of this proposal. When combined with additional budget cuts, this would surely limit access to this critical program that serves nearly 10 million college students.

Health Care

Proposed changes to essential health programs are even more concerning. The Ryan budget calls for repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The act provides critical health benefits to an estimated 19 million children and older adults by 2019 and includes provisions that would save $418 billion in Medicare costs over 10 years. In place of the ACA, the Ryan budget proposes that employers provide a cash supplement for their employees to purchase health care on the open market. That proposal ignores the troubling question of how our nation’s most vulnerable, including the unemployed or underemployed, will access health care.

The budget also proposes to convert Medicaid to a block grant, shifting the costs and risks to states, providers, and beneficiaries. With state budgets already overstretched, that move could jeopardize access to critical health services and put states in the difficult position of choosing between providing health care coverage for children's doctor visits or long-term care for older adults.

While ensuring existing Medicare benefits for those over 55, the Ryan budget would provide an unspecified amount of money directly to younger workers and require them to buy their own coverage in a way that may not guarantee the same coverage seniors have come to trust from Medicare. While Generations United believes the nation must address Medicare spending, this proposal sets up the potential for younger workers to not receive the care they need when they age.

Social Security

While the specifics in Ryan’s plan are unclear, we know his claims that it will “strengthen” Social Security are false. In reality, the provisions he has outlined would result in cuts for beneficiaries, many of whom increasingly rely on Social Security as a safeguard against poverty. Despite knowing first-hand the role Social Security plays in the lives of children and youth, Ryan refers to Social Security solely as a retirement security program. Social Security is more than a retirement program. Nearly seven million children receive part of their family income from Social Security today.

The Federal Budget

To balance the budget and reduce the deficit, the Ryan budget proposes measures that would dramatically slash spending and place children, youth and older adults at risk. These measures include relying on six separate committees to recommend cuts. These cuts would be directed at domestic spending including nutrition, Medicare, and Medicaid. Additionally, the Ryan budget would require caps on both discretionary and mandatory spending, beyond what was agreed to in the final budget agreement reached in fall 2011. Any increases to mandatory spending would require Congress to reduce other spending to pay for the increases and to “review mandatory spending programs” regularly. This sets up a dangerous situation where vital safety net services could be cut to pay for needed increases in mandatory spending. Generations United opposes any deficit reduction plan that puts the burden of cuts on the backs of the most vulnerable Americans. We must ensure that budget reduction is done in a responsible manner that truly reflects shared sacrifice, without disproportionately burdening the most vulnerable.

We at Generations United strongly support investing in our country’s economy and people. These investments include creating opportunities for vulnerable people to overcome hunger and poverty, extending the rights of today’s youth to continue their education through college, and for today’s older adults to receive affordable care on a fixed income. These investments are needed more than ever in today’s economy. If we fail to support them, we fail our commitment to the generations before and after us. The true path to prosperity is through strengthening our safety net and investing in our country; not by cutting critical supports to Americans in need and balancing the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable.

-Eric Masten

Generations United Responds to the State of the Union Address

In his State of the Union address this week, President Obama called on the nation to throw aside our differences and create an “America built to last”—one that revives the “basic American promise that if you worked hard you could do well enough to raise a family, own home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.” As our name implies, Generations United believes that we all must work together to revive America…because we’re stronger together.

Education

As President Obama noted, “A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstances…. Teachers matter. So, instead of bashing them…. Give [schools] the resources to keep good teachers on the job…” Generations United applauds the President’s recognition that investing in our education system is essential to the rebuilding process.

We believe that older adults can play a key role in that rebuilding process. Older adults are one of our nation’s few growing natural resources and can offer the individual attention and wisdom of experience that children need. A prime example is Experience Corps, an evidence-based program that engages adults over 55 to provide literacy coaching, homework help, consistent role models, and committed, caring attention to young people. Independent research has shown that Experience Corps boosts student academic performance, helps schools and youth-serving organizations become more successful, and enhances the well-being of older adults in the process. Currently, 2,000 older adults are involved in Experience Corps in 19 cities across the nation. Given the number of Baby Boomers now retiring, we could easily increase that number.

Older adults can play a critical role in promoting high-quality early education and care, as well.  While not highlighted in his address, President Obama is a strong supporter of early learning, a critical element of any rebuilding process.  Statistics have shown over and over that children who are exposed to high-quality learning early in life do better in school--and later in life.  That makes sense.  After all, 75 percent of brain development and 85 percent of intellect, personality, and social skills develop before age 5.  

Research has found that funding for early childhood education provides the greatest documented return for the expenditure.  That is why Generations United has rallied thousands of older adults to advocate on behalf of our children through our Seniors4Kids initiative.  These dedicated adults keep lawmakers focused on the need for and efficacy of early learning.

Along with revitalizing elementary education and investing in early learning initiatives, we must also focus on higher education. As the President rightly noted, “Higher education can’t be a luxury—it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.” At the same time, he acknowledged that the cost of college can be daunting for today’s students. While we applaud the President’s support for extending the tuition tax credit, Generations United urges Congress to do more to assist particularly vulnerable young people, those whose parent(s) are diseased or disabled. One way is by reinstating the student benefit under Social Security. That provision would help young people who have lost a parent or whose parent is disabled to receive survivor benefits through the age of 22 as long as they are enrolled in college. Social Security survivor and disability benefits can be a deciding factor in whether or not these young people can continue their education.

Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Health Care

“I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy and deny your coverage.” With those words, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to the Affordable Care Act that will extend health care coverage to millions more Americans when it is fully implemented by 2014. We applaud his determination to ensure the program is preserved and continues to provide new critical health care coverage and protections to our nation’s younger and older people.

We are also heartened by the President’s statement that, “I’m prepared to make more reforms that rein in long-term costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and strengthen Social Security, so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors.” But, we urge President Obama to ensure he—and Congress—do not overlook the critical role Social Security also plays in the lives of nearly 7 million children today who receive part of their family income from it. The Social Security program is sound because, like America, it was “built to last.”

Economy

Appealing directly to lawmakers of both parties, the President said everyone must work together to renew Americans’ belief that we can solve today’s economic and social challenges. The answer, he said, is in a “…return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility. [This] will help us protect our people and our economy.

“Tax breaks either add to the deficit or somebody else has to make up the difference –like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet. That’s not right. Americans know it’s not right. They know that this generation’s success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other, and to their country’s future, and they know our way of life will only endure if we feel the same sense of shared responsibility. That’s how we’ll reduce the deficit. That’s an America built to last.”

We couldn’t agree more. We ardently believe that we cannot achieve recovery by placing an even bigger burden on those who need our protection the most: our children, youth, and older adults. Giving tax breaks to the wealthy and protecting corporate tax subsidies only shift the burden to the middle class. Rather, as the President noted, our fellow citizens’ well-being should “…guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future.”

Investing in our future means ensuring Americans have an adequate safety net of programs and services that can help them get back up on their feet and moving forward. It means looking out for each other and, together, creating an America built to last. Because we’re stronger together.

Applauding SCHIP and Staying Vigilant on Economic Recovery Act

Legislation is moving at a fast place on Capitol Hill and each day brings its own opportunities and challenges.

Yesterday, a vital expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program was signed into law by the President Obama. The new law will provide health insurance to four million uninsured and vulnerable children. This is a crucial victory for children and the country, particularly during this economic downturn. During the signing-ceremony President Obama said providing health care for children was the, “duty of any decent society.” I couldn’t agree more.

Today, the news was decidedly different. The Senate is debating the economic recovery plan to kick start the economy and provide for long-term investments that will grow our economy for years to come. While no bill is perfect, especially one that has almost a trillion dollars of spending in it, I believe that funding initiatives like Head Start and school construction are the epitome of what Congress should be trying to pass. These initiatives provide tremendous intergenerational opportunities that should be promoted rather than pared.

Florida's Governor endorses BA degreed teachers for PreK

We salute Governor Crist for speaking in support of high quality early learning for Florida's four-year olds. Like Florida's former governors who serve as honorary co-chairs of Generations United's Seniors4Kids, the current governor recognizes that the most effective preschool teachers are those with at least a four-year degree and specialized training in early childhood. Age 50+ Floridians participating in GU's Seniors4Kids have cause to celebrate Governor Crist's statements, and will continue to educate state legislators about why high quality pre-Kindergarten is so important to them and the future of their state.