The Elderly as a Political Community: the Case of National Health Policy

.B 5ETWEEN 1950 and 1970, the over-65 population increased at more than twice the rate of the under-45. One out of every ten Americans is now 65 or older; at the present rate of increase, by the year 2000, roughly half of the population will be over 50 years of age. Aside from its dramatic increase in size, the over-65 population is undergoing important sociological changes. Because of Social Security and private retirement funds, rural-to-urban trend and improved medical procedures, more and more older people are living apart from their families and the younger society. In this paper we shall explore the political consequences of the expanding numbers of elderly citizens. In particular we shall examine the argument that the rising ranks of the elderly presage significant political realignments which will result in bloc-like electoral behavior as millions of elderly begin to unite into a selfconscious political community.