A Longevity Activist's Manifesto

June 01, 2010 at 04:00 AM
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In his book The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life (PublicAffairs; 2008), Dr. Robert Butler has created a wish list of goals that he suggests will benefit aging Americans. Among them:

o Support an equitable allocation of resources across generations

o Reduce income inequalities

o Establish universal health care

o Sustain Social Security

o Combat ageism through legislation

o Regulate nursing homes and assisted living facilities better

o Establish geriatric departments in all medical schools

o Allocate more funding to national and local health agencies

o Register everyone to vote

o Promote grassroots activism

o Advocate term limits and rotation in the seniority system

o Avoid gerrymandering

o Establish a mandatory youth corps and an intergenerational service corps

o Strengthen public education with a focus on lifespan perspective

o Create men's and women's longevity groups

o Support global harmonization of social benefits

o Protect the human rights of the elderly and disabled

o Make taxation more progressive

o Support freedom of science to pursue courses that promote better quality of life

o Provide sabbaticals for all

o Strengthen unions

o Establish a White House agency/counselor to coordinate age issues

across departments

o Elect more advocates to Congress like Claude Pepper!

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