September 2025

Consider this gloomy WSJ article about aging. More Americans Are Aging Alone, Who Will Take Care of Them? The premise? “More than 16 million people aged 65 and older in the U.S. live alone. That represents 28% of that age group, almost triple the share in 1950." Whoa!  First of all 20% of the 65+ population is working today. Why? Life expectancy at 65 has risen to the mid-eighties for both women and men, compared to late 60’s, early 70’s in 1950. And a shrinking percentage of Americans live in rural areas today, according to Pew Research. While the article is a compelling description of a heroic organization of underpaid workers serving an Appalachian community, mapping the article to the reality of older adults in the United States today is disingenuous.