Our seniors are struggling in America, there is an affordability crisis in America
This is Miss Ruby and she’s still forced to work as this age and physical state
But she’s not the only one, there is a horrifying growing trend for seniors in America
- A record 12.5 million senior households, more than 1 in 3 seniors, are “house poor,” spending over 30% of their income on housing
- 45% of Senior Households Can’t Cover Basics
- 80% Are Financially Vulnerable
- Nearly 12 million Americans aged 65+ are still working, the highest rate in decades
- Nearly 14 million seniors face food insecurity
- 58% of older renters are cost-burdened, spending over 30% of income on rent
Here’s the worst part. Low-income seniors die an average of 9 years earlier than high-income seniors
This can’t continue in America. We are going in the wrong direction
Japan: A typhoon is approaching the main island of Okinawa and is expected to make landfall June 1. Expect extremely high winds, dangerous storm tides, heavy rainfall, possible flooding, and landslides. Seek secure shelter and monitor local news. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at https://t.co/yQT0FfcCKN to receive safety and security updates from the U.S. Embassy. More info: https://t.co/mPKrbSm970
Japan: A typhoon is approaching the main island of Okinawa and is expected to make landfall June 1. Expect extremely high winds, dangerous storm tides, heavy rainfall, possible flooding, and landslides. Seek secure shelter and monitor local news. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at https://t.co/yQT0FfcCKN to receive safety and security updates from the U.S. Embassy. More info: https://t.co/mPKrbSm970
This is in fact true. I was privileged to have been one of the ones to receive a response letter from President @BarackObama along with a beautiful picture of the first family! A moment to remember!
As President, I would read 10 letters a day sent to me by ordinary Americans. At the Obama Presidential Center, we’ll have some of the letters I read — and responded to — every night. I still get emotional reading them, and it’s one of my favorite exhibits.
On July 3, 1976, Tina Turner waited until her husband, Ike, fell asleep in their Dallas hotel room. Her face was swollen and bruised from another beating. In her pocket were just 36 cents and a Mobil gas card. Nothing more.
She slipped out of the Statler Hilton and ran. Not toward a car. Not toward help she could call. She ran straight across Interstate 30, weaving through traffic in the dark, nearly hit by a truck, driven by nothing but survival. On the other side stood the Ramada Inn. The manager recognized her instantly, even through the injuries. He gave her a room on the eleventh floor and placed a guard outside her door. For three days, Tina stayed hidden there, too injured to even eat properly, letting her body begin to heal.
Three weeks later, she filed for divorce. When asked what she wanted from sixteen years of marriage, her answer stunned everyone. She wanted nothing except her name. No house. No money. No royalties. Just “Tina Turner.” A name created to control her, now the only thing she could use to rebuild her life.
She walked away with debt, an IRS tax lien, and an industry that believed she was finished. Nearly forty years old, a Black woman in a business obsessed with youth, with no ownership of her past music. The odds were stacked brutally against her.
But Tina refused to accept defeat. She turned to Nichiren Buddhism, chanting daily for strength. She took every job she could find. Game shows. Hotel lounges. County fairs. Corporate events. She even cleaned houses between performances. While the world called her a has-been, she was quietly reconstructing herself piece by piece.
Then came 1984.
At forty-four, she released Private Dancer. It changed everything. The album sold more than twenty million copies. “What’s Love Got to Do with It” reached number one, her first solo chart-topper. She won three Grammy Awards in 1985, performed at Live Aid, and starred in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The world finally recognized her as the Queen of Rock and Roll.
Her second act lasted decades. Record-breaking tours. Twelve Grammy Awards. Over one hundred million records sold. A career rebuilt entirely on her own terms.
And love found her too. Erwin Bach met Tina at an airport in 1986 and never left her side. When her kidneys failed in 2016, he offered her one of his own without hesitation. In 2017, he kept that promise and saved her life.
On May 24, 2023, Tina Turner passed away peacefully in Switzerland at the age of eighty-three, with Erwin beside her. She left behind more than music. She left proof.
It is never too late to reclaim your life. You can begin again at forty. At fifty. At any age. All it takes is the courage to cross the road.
Thirty-six cents. A gas card. And an unbreakable will.
That is how legends are made.