Generations United 2015 Intergenerational State of the Union Response

“I want future generations to know that we are a people who see our differences as a great gift, that we are a people who value the dignity and worth of every citizen — man and woman, young and old, black and white, Latino and Asian, immigrant and Native American, gay and straight, Americans with mental illness or physical disability.”

Tuesday night, President Obama’s State of the Union Address highlighted why intergenerational cooperation, understanding, protection and support underpin our country’s strength and its future.

In addressing our changing demographics, the President rightly recognizes that our differences are “a great gift.” Young people of color will drive the future growth in our workforce, and their ability to earn good livings will strengthen Social Security and the safety net on which young and old depend.

Making Affordable High-Quality Childcare a Must-Have
We applaud the President’s plan, which calls for more investments in children and families. It will do this by creating more childcare slots and a new tax cut of up to $3,000 per child annually. Affordable high-quality childcare is a must-have because children with quality early experiences are 29 percent more likely to graduate high school. They also grow up to become adults more likely to be employed and earn 33 percent more than the average salary. Those returns on investment are a huge win for Americans, especially since children in quality early experiences are 70 percent less likely to be arrested for a violent crime before the age of 18. Generations United’s Seniors4Kids get this and that’s why they raise their voices on behalf of investments in children.

Pushing for States to Adopt Paid Leave Laws
In speaking to the need for paid leave, the President rightly identified some of the tough decisions working grandfamilies are faced with, explaining that “…too many parents [are forced] to make the gut-wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home.” A bill that lets every worker earn seven days of paid sick leave helps the 58 percent of the 2.7 million grandparents responsible for grandchildren who are working. A law allowing workers to earn paid leave is just the beginning. To best support grandfamilies Congress must move policies to better coordinate and enhance services for children and youth in relative care, evaluate and collect data on kinship diversion and prevention models, and preserve existing flexible funding sources. Not only is supporting families a must-have, but as the President said: “It’s the right thing to do.”

Making Community College Free
To boost our economy, the President called on Congress to pass legislation that makes community college free to help those “young and starting out” as well as those “older and looking for a better job.” We applaud President Obama for wanting to make free community college as universal “…as high school is today.” Generations United urges policymakers to go even further and reinstate the Student Benefit, which extended Social Security child benefits that helped thousands of young adults pursue higher education. Reinstating the Student Benefit helps today’s students become the educated workforce our country’s economy needs.

Throughout his remarks, the President called on all Americans to work together towards a common ground. President Obama cited examples with the 50th anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery, which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led to advocate voting rights for African-Americans living in Alabama.

This past weekend, Generations United challenged older adults to take a young person to see Selma and have a discussion about the Voting Rights Act, one way of passing down the value of civic engagement. Policymakers should go even further and incentivize 100 percent voter turnout through state competition. They can also allow same-day registration for voting nationwide and promote participatory budgeting experiments at the federal, state and local levels.

Over and over again, the President used the tight-knit family metaphor for America. Generations United agrees that young and old should stand united as an interdependent American family. Why? Because we are stronger together.

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.

Obama's Appeal For Cooperation Could Yield Positive Congressional Results

In his State of the Union address this week, President Obama issued a strong appeal to lawmakers to move into a new era of cooperation. Echoing this sentiment, members of Congress sat side by side with colleagues from opposing parties, rather than their tradition of party divide on either aisle. In the same spirit, Congress and the president should join together to promote and preserve policies that serve children, youth and older adults mutually, because we're stronger together.


Obama addressed the fiscal challenges ahead and announced a 5-year freeze on domestic spending. But, he made clear his commitment to preserving protections to those who need it most my making sure we "are not doing on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens."


We applaud the president's challenge to find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security, without putting at risk current retirees or people with disabilities and without slashing benefits for future generations. His call should not overlook the critical role Social Security also plays in the lives of 6.5 million children today that receive part of their family income from it.


Reiterating his commitment to education, the president noted in order to achieve innovation to produce jobs in America, then we must win the race to educate our children. We support early investments to provide every child with an opportunity to succeed.


The president's call for a review of government regulations presents an opportunity to reduce barriers and streamline efficiency. Not only will this facilitate better communication and partnerships between government agencies, it will create opportunities for the government to work together to identify ways in which communities can deliver critical services to all generations.


Finally, President Obama's openness to improvements in the Affordable Care Ace is laudable, as is his unwillingness to return to practices that allowed insurance companies to deny coverage to someone of any age because if a pre-existing condition. He affirmed making prescription drugs cheaper for senior citizens and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their parents'coverage have been crucial facets of an important protection to families.

The president rightly declared "the future is ours to win." The path to that victory is paved with cooperation and intergenerational solutions to our nation's challenges. We urge Congress and the president to keep working together -- because we are stronger, together.

Rich Robinson is press secretary for Generations United. You can reach him directly at rrobinson@gu.org

GU's Response to the State of the Union

President Barack Obama issued a strong appeal to lawmakers of both parties in his Jan. 27 State of the Union address to continue their vital work on healthcare reform, an issue that affects all generations.

At Generations United, we are heartened by this commitment to improving America’s health care. We join President Obama in urging Congress to keep working for reform, as he said last night: “Don't walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.”

The current economic crisis has challenged Americans from all walks of life. President Obama rightfully addressed plans to promote job creation and business recovery. However, we must remember that true economic recovery is not limited to the workplace. Our nation’s most vulnerable children, families and older adults – the populations hardest hit by economic losses – need care, resources and support. As we await details about President Obama’s deficit commission and plans for a spending freeze, we caution that any conversation on deficit reduction must be viewed through an intergenerational lens. We hope that the proposed deficit commission and spending freeze do not become part of short-sighted fixes detracting from the far-reaching goals President Obama has pledged to achieve for all Americans.

We are pleased with President Obama’s emphasis on education and child care, recognizing that despite difficult economic times, he is emphasizing long-term investments that benefit all generations. Investing in our youth, and in education across the lifespan, has immediate payoffs as well as long-term gains. So does the announced increase in the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), which provides critical services to support family caregivers, including grandfamilies – grandparents or other relatives raising grandchildren.

“The only reason we are here,” President Obama said, “is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and their grandchildren.”

We join President Obama in paying respect to the many generations who have sacrificed and worked for a brighter tomorrow. We also stress that connecting the generations is key in solving the problems facing our country. Intergenerational programs have been shown to successfully fight childhood obesity. Workforce mentoring across generations improves communication and productivity. Grandfamilies provide care and support to our most vulnerable children.

Our country is rich in both history and in opportunity, in wisdom and in possibility. As we move into 2010, we must recognize the interconnectedness of the generations and look to solutions that benefit and engage all ages.