Social policy and the internal dynamics of the senior rights movement

To understand how the senior rights movement in the United States shapes social policy, it is necessary to look at the role played by large institutionalized organizations and those of smaller grassroots groups. This sociohistorical analysis compares AARP, the Alliance for Retired Americans (formerly NCSC), and the Gray Panthers as three key interest organizations contributing to the contemporary senior movement. Based largely on historical evidence, we examine how contemporary policy debates have been presented by various organizations and the impact of their framing efforts on old age policy outcomes and societal images of seniors. We discuss how decisions are made and why actions are taken (or not) by these groups. We outline the different strategies pursued by the various movement organizations on such issues as the proposed partial privatization of Social Security and the Prescription Drug Program as well as efforts to shape societal conceptions of aging. Our analysis shows how groups fighting for what are ostensibly the same interests—advocating senior rights—end up advancing different and at times competing strategies to achieve such ends. These differences have had two unintended consequences: (1) the movement's largely defensive approach rather than a concerted offensive for social change and (2) public portrayals of seniors that both diminish the social perception of their needs and homogenize their experiences of aging.