Last night President Obama’s message was clear: “We the
People…Our Constitution begins with those three simple words,” he explained, “words
we’ve come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist
we rise and fall together.”
Generations United agrees. This inclusive preamble speaks to
how the lives of Americans - young, old and in between- are inextricably
linked. And together, he explained we face “a time of extraordinary change
that’s reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet and our place in
the world.” At the heart of the change
are our dual changing demographics. In our
signature report Out of Many One: Uniting the Changing Faces
of America, Generations
United explains- “Americans are living longer and healthier lives. We are more
racially and ethnically diverse. There
is a growing generation gap. Today more than half of Americans under the age of
five are people of color compared to less than one in five Americans over 65.”
The president said that as a nation we should come together
to embrace the change, rather than face it with fear. At Generations United we see an incredible opportunity
to use innovative approaches to stimulate 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.
The president noted “Progress is not inevitable. It is the
result of choices we make together. And we face such choices right now. Will we
respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and
turning against each other as a people? Or will we face the future with
confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can
do together?” Because we are stronger
together.
Three areas the president touched on stand out as
opportunities for intergenerational solutions: Employment and Economic
Security, Education, and Civic Engagement.
Employment and
Economic Security:
The president highlighted how economic trends have squeezed
workers even when the economy is growing. It’s made it harder for hardworking
families to pull themselves out of poverty, harder for young people to start on
their careers and tougher for workers to retire when they want to. Generations
United’s highlighted key recommendations to address employment challenges and
opportunities facing our nation’s younger and older people in Out of Many, One.
President Obama also affirmed the critical role of Social
Security and Medicare in income security.
These programs should be strengthened, not weakened. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who sat
behind the president as he spoke, experienced the value of Social Security
first hand as a young child. Read his
story and learn about the value of social security for all generations in our publication
Social Security: What’s at Stake for
Children, Youth, and Grandfamilies.
Education
The president highlighted the connection between opportunity
and education to ensure “every American has…the training needed to land a
good-paying job.” He called for Pre-K for all and the importance of making
college affordable for every American. For
many years, Generations United’s Seniors4Kids program has advocated for early
investments in children, Pre-K in particular because of the impact on all
generations. Learn more about Seniors4Kids here.
Civic Engagement
The president explained that “our collective future depends
on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen. To vote. To speak
out. To stand up for others especially the weak, especially the vulnerable,
knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for
us.”
He highlighted how that spirit of engagement and interconnectedness
is evident across the ages. “I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late to
finish her science project, and the teacher who comes in early because he knows
she might someday cure a disease….. I see it in the elderly woman who will wait
in line to cast her vote as long as she has to; the new citizen who casts his
for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should
count, because each of them in different ways know how much that precious right
is worth.”
Intergenerational strategies are key to civic engagement and
passing the value on from generation to generation. In a study with MetLife
Mature Market Institute, Generations United found 73% of grandparents said
voting is a value they are currently or are interested in passing down and
nearly 50% are passing down the value of volunteering and civic engagement.
Read more in Grandparents Investing in Grandchildren and find strategies in Out of Many, One.
In closing the president proclaimed “I stand here, as
confident as ever, that the State of our Union is strong.” And it is, and will
continue to be, if we understand our changing race and age demographics are our
country’s greatest assets. We are stronger together.
