For older GLBT adults and others concerned with aging issues as they affect our community, the progress we need in federal policy is in some ways a matter of simply “getting to neutral.” Of course, there is nothing simple about it.
But the fact is that the federal government has a pervasive presence in the aging field, which is shaped to a substantial degree by federal funding and policy priorities. Given that the federal government plays such a decisive role, a strong argument can be made that we would make dramatic progress if the feds would do no more than consistently take account of the particularized interests of older GLBT people when making policy and funding decisions.
Part of the reason “getting to neutral” is such a big challenge, even under a friendly Obama Administration, is because for decades the federal government has made aging policy as though older gay people did not exist.
