Jacoby: Entitlement Cuts Pose an Unrealistic Hardship to Elderly June 13, 2011

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2011/02/24/Susan_Jacoby_Never_Say_Die

While Washington and state governments alike continue to push for cutbacks on government entitlements like Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid, Never Say Die author Susan Jacoby argues that such cuts would disproportionately affect elderly Americans. "What we're not hearing is any realistic talk about who is going to take care of Granny twenty years from now if we do cut these programs," she says.

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Susan Jacoby is the author of The Age of American Unreason, Alger Hiss and the Battle for History and Never Say Die. Jacoby unmasks the fallacies promoted by what she calls 21st century hucksters of longevity -- businessmen predicting that 90 may soon become the new 50 and that a "cure" for the "disease" of aging is just around the corner, and wishful thinkers asserting that older means wiser. Today, as the oldest boomers turn 65, it is imperative, says Jacoby, to distinguish between marketing hype and realistic hope about what lies ahead for the more than 70 million Americans who will be beyond the traditional retirement age by 2030.

Susan Jacoby is the author of Never Say Die and The Age of American Unreason. She began her writing career as a reporter for The Washington Post, and has been a contributor to a wide range of periodicals and newspapers for more than 25 years on topics including law, religion, medicine, aging, women's rights, political dissent in the Soviet Union and Russian literature.