Good morning. From all reports, yesterday was a huge success. And I have great confidence that today’s discussions
will be as stimulating and engaging.
Anticipating this, let me acknowledge the leadership provided by Neal
Lane, Duncan Moore and their staff and the generous support offered by
Secretary Gober and Undersecretary Garthwaite of the Department of Veterans
Affairs and their staff.
It was almost two years ago that Duncan
Moore, Kelly Kirkpatrick, Moya Benoit Thompson of my agency, the Administration
on Aging, and I first discussed the potential impact of technology on the
quality of life of persons who happen to be chronologically gifted.
It seemed clear to us that at least two revolutions will change the world as we know it. These - the technology revolution and the demographic revolution - hold both incredible promise and the expectable set of challenges. I think we would all agree that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, technology and aging are here to stay. In fact, we could say, technology is the future, and the future is aging.
I am pleased that Joe Perkins, the
Immediate past President of AARP joined us yesterday. I know he would strongly agree that our discussions must
eventually go beyond this room, as they need to be informed by the perspectives
of older persons and by the values and aspirations that would undergird, for
them, a good quality of life and an optimism that is essential to people who
happen to be older. Most older folks
whom I know want to be able to live as independently as possible. They want to live lives of dignity. They want to participate and contribute as
members of their families and communities.
They want to feel safe in their own homes and familiar environments, and
they want to continue to learn and develop as citizens of a dynamic world.
More and more older Americans are using
existing information technologies in their daily lives. However, the feedback they have shared with
me and my staff tells me that we may have to give serious consideration to how
people learn as new products are developed and designed for older
consumers. Not everyone, young or old,
has the time or the inclination to sit down and read through pages and pages of
instructions. Lots of us proceed
intuitively, only to discover that the complex design of a device is an
impediment to its usage. Nor can
everyone read fine print unassisted.
Nothing can seem more demeaning to individuals who have successfully
handled the exigencies of life than to find themselves frustrated by a new
gadget, a new appliance, a new "convenience."
The fact that this forum is being held
says that we all recognize how senseless it would be to ignore the older
adult population in the development of new technologies. We, in fact, need to better
understand this mushrooming segment of society and appreciate how far
from homogenous they are as a group of the whole.
In colonial America, half of the nation
was younger than 16. Most people did
not reach older adulthood, much less old age.
As of July 2000, we have a population of 34.8 million persons 65 years
of age and older, representing 12.7% of the U.S. population, or about one in
every eight Americans. Between 2010 and
2030, the baby boom generation will come of age. The latest Census Bureau projections place the 65+ population at
70.3 million in 2030, more than twice their number this year. In thirty years, one of every five Americans
will be 65+.
As we see America gray, we will also
increasingly think of aging as a woman's issue. Perhaps you already know why.
At age 65 to 69, there are 118 women to 100 men. At age 85+, them are 241 women for every 100
men. Add to this the fact that our
population, including our older adult population, is growing much more
diverse. One can almost go as far as to
say that to grow older is to grow less alike.
For we are most similar at birth.
And with time and differing life experiences, socioeconomic status,
health histories, work histories, and so on, we become more and more different.
Moreover, one could contend that there
are several cohorts of older Americans.
For example, those in their 60's may not have a lot in common with older
persons in their 80's or with centenarians.
In addition to differences in value orientations, these cohorts tend to
differ in their health and economic status.
That is not to say that each cohort is homogenous. There are within group differences, just as
there are between group differences.
The increasing diversity of the U.S.
aging population will test our ability to bring all older Americans into the
mainstream. It is expected that ethnic
minority elders will represent 25% of the U.S. elderly population in 2030, up
from 16% in 1998. Between 1998 and
2030, the white non-Hispanic population 65+ is expected to increase by 79%,
compared with 220% for older minorities.
By the middle of the 21st century, every third older person will be from
a minority group. Increasing diversity
will test how well we can get the right services, to the right persons, at the
right time, in the right settings.
Over the last two and a half years, I
have urged that we think as a society about the need for a longevity-based
action agenda for this new century. And
there is a reason for this. Let me tell
you about one remarkable person and then about some conclusions that researchers
are beginning to reach about old age.
In July, I had the privilege of introducing
Mark Powell, a centenarian, at the national celebration of Medicare's 35th
Anniversary. Mr. Powell had several
careers before he retired at age 91.
One career lasted 28 years, another 25 years. There also were others of shorter duration. Mr. Powell, all 102 years of age, is active
and engaged in his community. He is an
example of the kind of vigorous older American we all hope to become.
Researchers at the University of
California at Berkeley announced just last week they will be publishing an article
soon to appear in the journal, Science.
In their review of Swedish population records, they determined that the
oldest person to die each year in the 1860's in Sweden was about 100 years
old. In 1999, the oldest Swede died at
age 108. From this they have concluded
that the life span of human beings is expanding and that there is no clear
upper limit. I think you know that the
oldest known person, Jeanne Calment, died in 1997 at 122.5 years of age.
While America's population seems to have
aged rapidly and to be relatively large, aging has not been as rapid in our
country, nor is the shear number of older persons now and in the future, as
dramatic as in some other nations. In
fact, the International Institute on Aging in Malta has indicated that the
developing countries will have about 70% of the population 60 years of age and
older in 2025. In this same year, one
out of three people in Japan will be 60 years of age and older. By this time, the population of people 60+
in Latin America and the Caribbean will increase from more than 42 million to
over 97 million. And by 2050, one out
of every four persons in China will be 60+ ‑ more than 400 million older
persons!
The challenges and opportunities of aging
and longevity will thus be priority items in a global discussion in this new
century of ours. The discussion will
involve multinational players from the governmental and nongovernmental
sectors, likely interested in similar concerns: the affordability and
accessibility of health and long term care, the availability of a
community-based infrastructure of services, economic security for retirees,
productive/active aging and new roles and responsibilities of growing numbers
of older persons, and the need for a labor force trained for work with older
adults and their families. Countries
such as Japan and China are already seeking innovations to help them put into
place services and systems that can respond to the needs of their aging
population. I think it is telling that
Japan insisted that aging be an item on the G-8 Summit agenda a number of years
ago.
Surely, one of the questions for the
United States is whether the technologies developed to meet the needs of our
aging population will have appeal in the global marketplace. Thus, the discussions that are being
initiated at this forum have clear implications for economic development.
One of our commitments in the
Administration on Aging and in the larger Department of Health and Human
Services is to a modernized aging agenda and modernized service delivery
systems. Thus, in our reauthorization
proposal for the Older Americans Act, we advanced three new initiatives. One that would enable states to modernize
their service delivery systems using some of the federal funds that they
receive from the Administration on Aging.
A second called for the establishment of a National Life Course Planning
Program that would enable our aging network to make widely available
information that would help Americans of all ages anticipate and prepare for
the challenges that typically arise in the later years of life.
I believe a number of speakers yesterday
made mention of our third proposed initiative ‑ the National Family
Caregiver Support Program. We have
talked about aging, longevity, diversity, and technology. Now, let's talk about matters of the heart
and soul and family. Millions of family
members are caring for their older loved ones who are no longer able to get
through daily life without assistance.
These caregivers are typically
women. Many of them are balancing work
and the care of young children. Many
caregivers are foregoing opportunities for career advancement and salary
increases, electing instead to modify their work schedules so that they can
fulfill what they see to be their family obligation. In so doing, they are saving our nation billions of dollars. Some are also doing this at the expense of
their own physical and mental health.
We think it would be prudent and humane to continue to provide meals on
wheels and wheels to meals for older persons who are at risk, as well as to
support family caregivers. We would
like to have available, in communities throughout the country, information,
respite services, caregiver support groups, caregiver education, and counseling
‑ because depression often becomes part of the shroud that envelopes
caregivers.
We envision that the use of technology
will be part of the National Family Caregiver Support Program, especially in
rural communities or in communities in which professionals and
paraprofessionals are in short supply.
But, the program must be enacted first and the clock is running in this
second session of the 106th Congress.
In closing, let me say simply this. We will, more than ever, find ourselves to
be citizens of a global, aging community. Diversity will color and enrich our world. Advanced technologies will dramatically
alter how we interact with our environment, how we live our lives, and how we
engage with each other.
There is much that we must do to prepare
for the future. As only the human
species can, we can marry intelligence with heart and soul to achieve our
highest aspirations for our families and our communities. And in all of this there is a
certainty. I am confident I am not
biased in saying to you: In the new century the future is aging. Working together, we can be assured that the
best is yet to be.
Thank you for inviting me to be with you.