Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter

Volume 1, Number 1, January 2007

This new bimonthly e-newsletter highlights key developments and viewpoints in the field of aging policy from a wide variety of sources, including articles and reports circulating in the media, academy, think tanks, private sector, government and nonprofit organizations.

The goal of this email publication is to reach teachers, students, and citizens interested in aging-related issues, especially those who may not have access to policy information disseminated both in Washington and around the country.

As editor, I will select the content, originally organized in the format that follows, and list websites and links where readers can obtain more information. Greg O’Neill, director of the National Academy on an Aging Society, and Rob Hudson, editor of Public Policy & Aging Report, will feed me newsworthy items for the e-newsletter. As part of the collaborative arrangement, Rob will contribute a brief opinion piece to each issue of the e-newsletter, designed to stimulate critical and actionable thinking about aging policy issues. I will be responsible for all other editorial content.

Each of us engaged in this effort hope that Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter fills a gap and finds a niche. I invite your suggestions to make it more useful.

– Andy Achenbaum

I. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON?

A. The 110th Congress: The new Democratically-controlled Congress will convene on January 4, 2007. Click here to view a list of the new Senate and House committee chairs, and the key aging issues that fall under their jurisdiction.

B. Older Americans Act Reauthorization (OAA): In late 2006, President Bush signed into law the five-year reauthorization of the OAA. Click here to view a summary of changes in the reauthorized OAA or click here to view the full text of the bill.

C. The White House Conference on Aging: To view the Conference's final report, “The Booming Dynamics of Aging," click here.

II. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY?

A. The Maturing of America – Getting Communities on Track for an Aging Population: This comprehensive report from The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) offers “Ten ‘Best Practices’ for Communities to Consider as Their Populations Age” and "10 Communities with Great Ideas." Click here for more.

B. Cash & Counseling: Click here to view an in-depth report on this innovative model of self-directed personal assistance services for elderly and young people with disabilities, from the original three-state demonstration project to its current expansion into 12 more states.

C. Across the States 2006: Click here to view this biennial report from AARP's Public Policy Institute that compiles data on long-term care and independent living and provides a comparative analysis across the 50 U.S. states.

III. THIS ISSUE'S POLICY STORY: OLDER WORKERS

1. “Working after Retirement: The Gap between Expectations and Reality":
Click here to view this Pew Research Center Report.

2. “Do Older Workers Face Greater Risk of Displacement":
Click here to view this Boston College Center for Retirement Research Issue Brief.

3. “Older Worker Training: What We Know and Don’t Know":
Click here to view this AARP Public Policy Institute Research Report.

4. “Discouraged Workers? Job Search Outcomes of Older Workers":
Click here to view this University of Michigan Retirement Research Center Working Paper.

5. “The Implicit Tax on Work at Older Ages":
Click here to view this Urban Institute publication.

IV. WORTH NOTING

A. Redesigning Health Care for an Older America: Click here to view this new policy report from the International Longevity Center-USA.

B. Is Social Security Progressive?: Click here to view this new Economic and Budget Issue Brief from the Congressional Budget Office.

C. Medicare Part D: For resources on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, visit the Families USA and Kaiser Family Foundation websites.

V. WHAT'S HAPPENING ABROAD?

A. U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Policy International Update: This monthly publication covers recent developments in foreign public and private pensions. Click here to view.

B. Global Aging and the Sustainability of Public Pension Systems—An Assessment of Reform Efforts in Twelve Developed Countries: This new (2007) report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies chronicles the efforts of the major developed countries to prepare for their coming age waves—and in particular, to reform their public pension systems. Click here to view.

VI. PERSPECTIVES ON POLICY: ROB HUDSON, EDITOR, PP&AR

As editor of the quarterly Public Policy & Aging Report, I am very pleased to be participating in this new venture wherein we will bring key trends covered by the hard copy Report to a new and expanding e-network.

PP&AR has just celebrated its 10th anniversary as a publication of the National Academy on an Aging Society. Greg O’Neill, the Academy's director, and I believe that joining forces with e-newsletter editor Andy Achenbaum and the Office of Academic Affairs at AARP will prove to be an innovative next step in aging policy dissemination and analysis.

This new e-newsletter is being inaugurated at a critical time for policies directed at the nation’s seniors. For our part, we will be paying particular attention to moves centered on Medicare Part D (likely to be initiated by the Democrats) and on Social Security financing (likely to be initiated by Henry Paulson, the President’s recently installed Secretary of the Treasury). We will also be tracking state-level developments in long-term care and other areas where the states have clearly taken the policy lead in recent years.

Our collective aim is to be both timely and substantive, and we trust that a loyal readership will both apprise and appraise our efforts in that regard.

Public Policy & Aging Report, published quarterly, explores policy issues in an aging society. To subscribe, click here.

The Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter is a free bimonthly email publication. If you have been forwarded this by a colleague and would like to subscribe, please click This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and type “Subscribe” in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please click This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and type “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.

Newsletter Editors: Ellyn Emsley and Greg O'Neill, National Academy on an Aging Society; Andy Achenbaum, University of Houston.

The Public Policy and Aging E-Newsletter is supported in part by a grant from the AARP Office of Academic Affairs.