The Senior Rights Movement ― Framing the Policy Debate in America

As the life expectancy of the average American continues to increase and the baby-boom generation moves toward retirement, the near future will see ever larger numbers of older citizens whose welfare and guarantees of equity and social justice are the subjects of heated debate in Washington. In recent years Medicare, Social Security, and other federal programs that aid older Americans have come under attack by political conservatives who claim that such programs drain the budget at the expense of people under age 65. At this critical period in the history of the senior rights movement, Lawrence Alfred Powell, John B. Williamson, and Kenneth J. Branco provide a comprehensive and enlightening analysis of the dynamics of aging-policy reform and its development over the past two centuries. Using examples of political rhetoric and media images dating from colonial days to the present, they trace the conflict between progressive senior-rights advocates and conservative opponents of reform in order to frame the debate over societal definitions of fairness and social justice in old age, emphasizing the role played by symbolic politics in these struggles. Their account underscores the importance of the symbolic gestures and countergestures that have been used by both senior-rights advocates and their opponents to influence the direction of events and to sway public opinion on aging issues.

Lawrence Alfred Powell is assistant professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio.