Columns

When the 19^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was finally signed, women were provided the right to vote in 1920. It had been introduced 42 years earlier. Sixteen other nations had already guaranteed this right… 

Why then, is an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution necessary? Because it would be designed to guarantee equal rights for women and men. Alas, that guarantee continues to be needed.  

Eleven states have adopted constitutions or constitutional amendments providing that equal rights under the law shall not be denied because of sex. Most of these provisions mirror the broad language of the ERA, while the wording in others resembles the Equal Protection Clause of the 14^th Fourteenth Amendment. 

It was Congressional Representative Bella Savitsky Abzug who said, “The inside operation of Congress—the deals, the compromises, the selling out, the co-opting, the unprincipled manipulating, the self-serving career-building—is a story of such monumental decadence that I believe if people find out about it they will demand an end to it.”  

Seventy-eight year old Bella (D-NY) introduced in Congress legislation designating August 26 annually as Women's Equality Day in the United States of America. Women's Equality Day this year is Wednesday, August 26. A few years ago there was a poll that queried, should Women's Equality Day be a federal holiday? The results were: 

• Yes, make it a federal holiday on August 26 (69%)
• Yes, but make it a moveable feast, something like the last Monday in August (25%)
• No federal holiday---just leave it (6%)

The U.S. Statistical Abstract records that in 2010, 72.5% of persons 65+ years old registered in Congressional elections (57.9% of males, 61.5% of females). And 58.0% of persons age 65+ voted (40.9% of males, 42.7% of women.) Why don’t women vote for women? When there is unanimity about reforms women want, why don’t they vote themselves into power? In the 2012 Presidential election, Barack Obama carried 55% of the female vote.  

Elections are decided by the people who show up at the polls. Senior citizens are more likely to vote than younger people because we have a vested interest in protecting the benefits received from the federal government-- Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid (California’s Medi-Cal), etc. If these popular government programs were to change, it would dramatically affect the lives of most retirees.  

The voter registration process is another reason older people vote in greater numbers than do younger people. They tend to be more stable in where they live, whereas younger voters tend to be more mobile. Every time a person moves to a new address, she or he must re-register to vote. The longer someone is in a place, the more ties there are to the community, and the more likely are campaigns to mobilize her/him. Older voters are thought to have more time and disposable income as well as willingness to contact politicians.  

Some political scientists contend that voters who are away from home, at college for example, are at a great disadvantage voting-eligibilitywise. Having lived in university neighborhoods and worked at polling places on election days, I am aware of a phenomenon of just the opposite-- young twice-voters.  

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RECOMMENDED CURRENT READING: 

http://savethebplbooks.org/ 

"New guidelines may encourage end-of-life discussions," (Public Broadcasting System Newshour, August 8, 2015). A print, video and audio (running time 9 minutes 49 seconds) transcript is available at the site. 

"GOP (Grand Old Party--Republican Party) wants to abolish Medicare," by John J. Dunphy (Alton [Illinois] Telegraph, August 11, 2015). Opinion piece. 

"Republicans (Party) think skimpy Social Security checks are too big," by Irwin Kellner (marketwatch.com, August 11, 2015). Opinion piece. 

"California's largest nursing home owner sued," by Marjie Lundstrom (Sacramento Bee, August 12, 2015). 

"(Presidential candidate) Donald Trump's political bluster part of a dinosaur's arsenal," by Rosemary Mcleod (Dominion Post [Wellington, New Zealand], via stuff.co.nz, August 13, 2015). 

"1 in 4 Senior Women in U.S. Has Osteoporosis: CDC (Centers for Disease Control)," by E.J. Mundell (HealthDay News, August 13, 2015). 

"Analysis Raises Concerns About Nursing Homes' Medicare Billing" (californiahealthline.org, Aug. 17, 2015).  

"Reauthorization of Older Americans Act needed to show our nation's elderly population is a priority," by Victoria Wasserman (Newark [New Jersey] Star-Ledger, Aug. 17, 2015). 

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