Voters ages 65 and older make up one-fifth of the electorate, according to
a 2015 census report, but some are concerned that issues close to them, such as Social Security, are not mentioned often during the current presidential campaign.
"Some people say they're going to change it, destroy it. And I live on Social Security, so we need more," Rudy Pavini, age 81, said in an
NPR report.
David Cole, age 60, was a delegate in the California Republican convention, but he told NPR that he has heard little about his concerns.
"I've heard nothing from any candidate other than some doublespeak we hear in every election," Cole said.
Candidates have mentioned Social Security on a few occasions, the NPR report said. It noted that Donald Trump has said he is against cutting Social Security. Democrats
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have both said they want to increase benefits.
Ken Dychtwald, CEO of research company AgeWave, told NPR that he is "absolutely outraged" that issues that concern older Americans have not been mentioned by the candidates.
He wrote an article in
The Huffington Post calling on the candidates to answer questions such as, "Do you think of yourself as 'old'?"
Hillary Clinton is 68 and Donald Trump is 69. Bernie Sanders, who has not officially left the Democratic presidential race, is 74.
Dychtwald said doctors are not prepared adequately to take care of seniors. The U.S. has 50,000 pediatricians, but only 5,000 geriatricians, according to Dychtwald's report. He wrote that "97 percent of U.S. medical students don't take a single course in geriatrics."
Donald Trump said, during a campaign stop in June 2015, that he would save Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, according to the
Wall Street Journal.
Los Angeles Times writer Michael Hiltzik said that might not be the case, based on the appointments he has made to his staff. His advisors include men who have campaigned to privatize or cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and disability benefits, Hiltzik said.
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