Senior citizen-in-chief: Retirees can change U.S.

Social Security debates, aging baby boomers and potential health care crises have raised the question: Can the United States afford to grow old?

According to Bill Novelli, CEO of the AARP, yes, it can.

"We have a great need for change and that coincides with our power to create change," he said yesterday at the Penn Bookstore in a presentation of his new book, 50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America.

The book, which was released Oct. 3, calls on the 78 million baby boomers to "lead the charge" in demanding improved health care, Social Security, workplaces and communities.

According to Novelli, a Penn alumnus, the boomers have reinvented every other stage of life, and there is no reason why they should not do the same with retirement.

"I want readers of this book to help others discover opportunities to change America, to change the world," he said. "We can make this country stronger and better, and the time to do it is now."

And for Novelli, that "we" includes more than just the 50-plus generation. He contrasted his more inclusive view with the "inter-generational political warfare" he said that politicians promote.

"The generations in this country are very closely knit together," he said, citing the bonds between grandparents and grandchildren. "There is enormous solidarity."

That solidarity is important if we are to overcome political partisanship and polarization, which are some of the biggest obstacles to creating societal change, Novelli said.

In an interview after his talk, he said that voters of all ages should demand that elected officials "do their job in a bipartisan way" and carefully assess incumbents before re-electing them.

"Informed voters should ask: What have [incumbents] done in a bipartisan way to advance the country's agenda?" Novelli said.

He said he hopes that the solidarity and discussion between generations can bring about change.

"We're going to get people to raise their voices," he said. "That's what the revolution is about."

Audience member Margaret Stineman, professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Penn, agreed that inter-generational cooperation is fundamental as the U.S. population ages.

"We need to take care of each other," she said. "I think it's really, really important to have a dialogue about aging."

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