A GUEST EDITORIAL BY ELLEN BRANDT, Ph.D,
“Grays” – American voters age 50 and older – are the invisible disrupters within both major Parties right here, right now. But both major Parties refuse to acknowledge how extraordinarily significant we are.
For the Democrats, this complete lack of acknowledgement is mostly intentional, as their Party seeks to appeal to those voting blocs it still – rightly or wrongly – considers “belong to the Left” – the very young, black Americans, and union members, for example. This strategy, however wrongheaded, at least has some basis in voting precedent and preferences.
But for the GOP, blindly following the lead of the Dems and the “Mainstream Media” is the most egregious mistake they can possibly make.
That’s because “Grays” 50 and over will make up about 50 percent of the actual electorate in the 2016 – and 2020 and 2024 and 2028 – presidential cycles.
“Grays” – not Youth, not Black Americans, not Latinos, not Women, nor any other broad constituency – are the real and true and often most passionate “swing” voters this cycle.
And because Gray voters are skewing dramatically towards Republicans, we they will almost certainly guarantee a GOP victory this cycle – no matter what the MSM says – so long as our Party doesn’t “seize defeat from the jaws of victory” by continuing to ignore Grays abandon the GOP – or try to turn Grays towardsDemocrats out of sheer misunderstanding and prejudice.
First, some basic Demographic facts which everybody is studiously shying away from:
*People age 50 and over now make up about 43 percent of the U.S. population. In other words, more than 2 in 5 Americans are “Gray” citizens 50 and older.
* Barring massive new immigration or unexpected decreases – rather than expected further increases – in American longevity, the percentage of American citizens age 50 and older will escalate further over the next two decades. Some demographers believe it could approach 50 percent – at which point, 1 in 2 Americans will be “Gray.”
*Since American women still – alas – significantly outlive American men, women in the U.S. are fast approaching that 50 percent mark already. Close to 1 in 2 American women are “Gray” or soon will be.
* But in politicial terms, the key 50 percent mark is here right now. Since Americans age 0-17 still cannot vote, about 1 in 2 U.S. voters in presidential election cycle 2016 – and likely, in cycles 2020, 2024, and 2028 – will be “Gray” voters 50 and over.
*This astonishing statistic becomes even more dramatic, when we take into account that mature voters consistently vote at much higher rates than young voters – a situation which we do not see changing anytime soon.
* Moreover, it is not only possible, but entirely probable, that “Gray” voters over 50 have been responsible for most of the extraordinary Populism exhibited within both major Parties this primary and caucus cycle – Populism which we fully expect to continue into the nomination and election processes this year.
What Gray Voters Want
So what, exactly, do “Gray” Americans over 50 want from our parties, candidates, and government, and how can our renewed activism be harnessed productively and lead to positive political change?
(We’ve written about this broad topic extensively over the past few years, and at the end of this piece, we offer links to some recent stories.)
Here, a brief summary to whet readers’ intellectual appetites:
* Gray Americans want to be financially secure. Despite near-constant propaganda to the contrary, it is older Americans who have been the primary victims of the financial chaos and catastrophes of the past 30 years: downsizing, outsourcing, the decimation of middle management, housing crises, market crashes, and the hollowing out of both manufacturing and resources industries and Main Street small business.
A large proportion of Americans over 50 have lost much or all of their life’s savings and are hanging on for dear life, a crisis or two away from falling off the proverbial financial cliff. And despite the recent emphasis on “lunchbucket” Americans, particularly within the GOP, white-collar workers, professionals, and small business owners over 50 have been at least as hard hit and are struggling as much or more than blue-collar workers.
Handsome UP: It is sildenafil online no prescription a simple yet effective method of getting rid of sexual hurdles. If this does happen than it is advisable to take this herb after consulting with a physician. cheap cialis amerikabulteni.com You just need to take the cialis online mastercard pill an hour before you make love with your partner. In viagra cheap prices fact, men organ being active is not unique to you.
* Gray Americans want to be secure – period. Older citizens are more likely than other groups to be homeowners, business owners, and have strong ties to their local communities. And they want those homes, businesses, and communities to stay safe.
Mature Americans are concerned about national security and domestic safety. And many Grays are strongly opposed to unbridled new immigration, on economic grounds, as well as security grounds.
* Gray Americans want to be recognized. We’re already more than 2 in 5 Americans and close to 1 in 2 voters. But you’d never know it from the scant attention paid to us by the so-called Mainstream Media (MSM) – or by many politicians who follow the MSM’s faulty lead.
There is simply too little coverage of “Gray” attitudes, issues, and needs and too few programs geared to a constituency whose continued well-being and economic security is of make-or-break significance to our economy and our nation.
* Gray Americans want to get back on center stage. Recognizing this essential concept is especially important to my Republican Party right now.
The Democrats, many Grays feel, have touted a recovery, especially in terms of jobs, based on pure hocus pocus, a Ponzi scheme in which good jobs have been taken away from people over 50; financially engineered and repackaged; and subsequently gifted to much younger, less educated, and less experienced workers.
People over 50 make up a large proportion of the long-term unemployed and under-employed and are the greatest factor in what is now an historically low labor participation rate. Many – possibly most – older Americans have no desire to be forced into retirement against our wills, nor to become dependent on entitlements or charity. We want to work. We want to earn. We want to be productive. We want to contribute to America’s continued well-being.
* Gray Americans want to be cherished. Throughout history, societies which fail to respect and honor and protect their older citizens quickly become failed societies.
The Mature are supposed to be at the top, not the bottom, of the societal pyramid, valued for our experience, our sophisticated thinking, our accomplishments, and our wisdom.
At the moment, we have an inverted pyramid – and the problems that’s causing are fast engulfing our ability to correct them.
We’ve become trapped in a paradox of massive proportions: Through advances in healthcare and education, longevity in America – and the rest of the developed world – is increasing apace.
But what is the value of those extra years of life, if Americans are told they have to spend the last 30 or 40 – or soon 50 or 60? – years of their existence warehoused and isolated and unproductive?
In an economic sense, we Grays- especially we Republicans – seek less government intervention and an end to ever-escalating entitlements, fast bankrupting the nation itself.
But the best – perhaps the only – way to stop such a nightmare scenario in its tracks is by dramatically increasing the participation of Gray Americans over 50 in our economic life.
We need more growth, not less, and a bigger economic pie in which everyone is allowed to share. People should be encouraged and assisted to work as much as they want to work throughout their lifespans, until they are physically or intellectually unable to do so.
We need to harness Gray productivity, Gray creativity, Gray talent, intelligence, sophistication, and wisdom.
For the good of everyone. And the good of this nation.
Ellen Brandt, Ph.D., has been a high-volume journalist – and now blogger – for over 40 years, as well as a magazine editor, corporate financial communications executive, and college professor. She is the founder of the recently-launched Party of Yes group, which hopes to help to remake the so-called Mainstream Media, persuading it to be kinder, gentler, and more inclusive of Republican ideas, issues, and voices.
For additional reading, here are some links to Dr. Brandt’s recent stories on related topics: Ten Populist Issues in 2016; Restoring the American Dream; Of Course, We Should All Be Feminists; The GOP and the Restoration of Morality; The GOP and Mainstream Media.