ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS
Ideas such as old age, aging, retirement, and the elderly, are socially constructed. In other words, the meaning attached to these words (constructs), are created (constructed) by society. This is important to know because what is true in North America about aging, for example, may not apply in South America. Awareness of these differences is necessary to establish not only effective and feasible policies addressing and supporting aging but also to ensure these solutions are sustainable. From macro (policy/international) to mezzo (organizational efforts/agencies) to micro (individual/family) levels and systems, aging is grounded within a system’s welfare state.
Ageism in the political world is a form of discrimination that results in fewer aged people being active in the political forum. Age entitlement versus needs entitlement is a point of contention in policy discussions. Age entitlement programs, just like their name implies, use age as the criteria to determine eligibility. The U.S. Social Security program uses the age of 67 as its eligibility determiner for full retirement benefits, for instance. Needs entitlement programs, however, consider as eligibility criteria factors such as income, health, and housing needs (Morgan & Kunkel, 2016).
In this Discussion, you will take part in an informal debate. The resolution for the debate is: It is resolved that age entitlement programs are outdated and no longer relevant in our society.
To Prepare:
Choose to support or oppose the resolution, and compose an argument to support your claim.
BY DAY 5
Post by Day 5 a summary of your argument. Support your position with evidence from the literature or with references to recent legislation from wherever you are in the world.
RESOURCES
Required Readings
- Kunkel, S. R., &Settersten, Jr., R. A. (2022). Aging, society, and the life course(6th ed.). Springer.
- Chapter 9, “Politics, Civic Engagement and Aging in America” (pp. 252–278)
- Carreon, D., &Noymer, A. (2011). Health-related quality of life in older adults: Testing the double jeopardy hypothesis.Links to an external site.Journal of Aging Studies, 25(4), 371–379.
