We’re not getting any younger. In fact, more American adults getting older by the day, working, traveling, and living longer. Baby boomers are the fastest growing age group in the U.S.A. By year 2029 the national population of those age 65+ will be 20% of the country. While in Silicon Valley people with the power and money are preoccupied with living forever, for the rest of us, care is, with any luck, in our future. We’ve talked with care workers in the past about their drive for justice on the job, but what about the other piece of the equation, those who need care. What would an age justice platform look like? So that elders could age with dignity even if they weren’t tech billionaires?
Someone turns 65 every 8 seconds in this country, and as our elderly population grows, so does the need to build an economy around our future selves. In this episode, three leaders in the age justice movement share their ideas about how we can age with dignity, power, and change our society to reflect just that. Then, we visit the largest home care cooperative in the U.S. to take a look at age justice, and worker justice, in practice. In the past, we have covered the elder boom — but what does it take to age with dignity and without discrimination?
Guests
- Alice Fisher is the Founder and Director of The Radical Age Movement.
- Rachel McCullough is the Campaign Director of New York Caring Majority.
- Penny Cook is President and CEO of Pioneer Network.
- Ashton Applewhite is the author of The Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism.
- Adria Powell is the President and CEO of Cooperative Home Care Associates.
- Gladys Drew is the Worker-Owner of Cooperative Home Care Associates.
