What Are Older Americans Worried About? A Divided America

Americans age 50 and older are most worried about how divided America and Americans have become, according to a new AARP national survey of registered voters 50-plus. The poll showed that 73 percent of those responding said they very often or somewhat often worry about those divisions.

“We were very struck that across Republicans, Democrats and Independents, the poll showed the older voter very much wants to see bipartisan action,” says Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer. “Over the years they’ve seen a Congress that worked, that came together in a bipartisan way to pass landmark legislation in both Republican and Democratic administrations, and I think they long for that.”

When asked to rate the performance of elected officials in Washington, D.C., 50 percent of respondents said they disapprove of the job President Trump is doing and 45 percent approve. Congress gets even lower marks among members of both parties. Sixty percent of those polled disapprove of congressional Republicans, and 57 percent don’t like the job Democrats in Congress are doing. More women (54 percent) disapprove of the president than men (46 percent), but men from both parties give lower marks to members of Congress than do women.

The poll of 50-plus likely registered voters covered a wide range of issues from health care to retirement, taxes and caregiving. The survey is part of the organization’s “Be the Difference. Vote” campaign designed to encourage older Americans to make their voices heard at the ballot box this fall. Historically, older Americans vote in larger numbers than any other age group.

The survey highlights a trend in American politics: Voters aren’t all waiting until Election Day to cast their ballots. Sixty percent of those responding said they plan to vote on Election Day, while 19 percent say they’ll take advantage of early voting in their state and another 18 percent expect to vote by absentee ballot. 

When it comes to issues that older Americans say will directly influence their vote in November, lowering health care costs, strengthening and reforming Social Security and Medicare, and lowering prescription drug costs will be uppermost in their minds, the survey revealed.

“Despite all the divisiveness out there, older Americans have a pretty good consensus of what’s important to them: Medicare, Social Security, helping people live independently later in life,” LeaMond says, adding that the AARP poll shows that those sentiments are evident across party lines.