Inequality in America's Elderly Population

   Recent research has shown that American has a negative view of elderly people. This finding has placed elderly people as another minority group. Despite the fact that elderly people spend more on health care and housing than younger people, the government assumes that older people require less money to live. 6% of the elderly population is considered to be near poor. 16% of those over age sixty five are poor. Most elderly Americans do now have sources of income beyond Social Security benefits.
   Elderly people who are also member of racial or ethnic minority groups are generally in worse condition than older white Americans. The poverty rate among older African Americans is three times that for whites. Elderly women constitute one of the poorest segments of American society. Women over age sixty five are twice as likely to live in poverty than their male counterparts. Because older women are discouraged from better jobs in their working years, they are unable to support themselves in their later years.

   Because of the limited economic resources of older people, it is clear that any power they hold in gained through the political process. The voting booth and political interest groups are important. Most researchers believe that the potential political power of elderly Americans as a group is not fully realized because of the diversity of the older population. Because many older people cut across many important divisions in American society, they do not speak with a unified voice.