The New Longevity Isn’t Coming. It’s Here.

Esquire

America is on the cusp of a massive demographic shift that will see people living and working much longer. It will transform companies, government, and entertainment in radical ways—and offer huge opportunities.

It's 2040.

The American President has just been elected for a second term. She won as a third-party candidate as a result of the reforms to the electoral college in the 2030s that finally broke the stranglehold of the two-party system. While her platform for addressing climate change and disaster support for parts of East Coast cities that are now underwater was supported by most Americans, it was her policies around the New Longevity Deal that gave her the landslide win.

Much like landmark policy movements of the past such as the New Deal, The Great Society, and the Inflation Reduction Act, the New Longevity Deal ushered in changes that in this case impacted the rapidly aging American population. Nearly half of the country’s citizens are in their forties or older. One in five Americans, nearly 80 million, are 65 and over. By 2060, it is anticipated that over 90 million Americans will be 65 or over, including the Millennials. Life expectancies are growing, too. There are already several hundred thousand Americans who are 100 years old or older, and that number will grow to more than 3 million by 2100. This expanded voting bloc of the older population has had a profound effect on both elections and federal legislation.