Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the United States frame analysis is increasingly being used to analyze debates over social policy issues. This article explores how different frames help or hinder the advancement of alternative policy agendas, specifically how academic and media discourse shaped by two competing ideological frames are being used to influence age-related social policies. We present an overview of frame analysis followed by a description of the generational equity frame and the opposing generational interdependence frame. We then use these competing interpretative frameworks to discuss current debates over old-age security (Social Security) and health care (Medicare) policy. We argue that in recent years the generational equity frame has been the more influential of the two and that if this continues the health and economic status of older Americans will be put at risk. A major limitation of the generational equity frame is that it provides a rationale to base policy on age or age cohort and to discount other forms of equity based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation.