Sorry, Charlie. We Have Better Things to Think About

I hope everyone is moving on from Charlie Sheen. As I have endured the non-stop media coverage, I’ve been hoping for a story on the poll asking if we are sick and tired of his antics. If a poll did come out indicating America is fed up, I suspect there would be breaking news reports on Charlie’s reaction followed by updates on the reaction to his reaction. Which would be good for his Twitter rankings. And that’s a story worth reporting, too, followed by “What will Charlie do now?” and “Sheen’s next stop, Celebrity Apprentice?”

In an attempt to keep the world from spinning off its axis, I would like to slow things down by offering up some information from a poll that is, I admit, considered awfully dull compared to the Charlie Sheen Media Frenzy.

Earlier this year, AARP polled thousands of people age 50-plus across America. That data has been sorted by state. So boring is it by comparison to Charlie and his Goddesses, it was not reported by media outlets.

 Here are examples of the findings in Rhode Island.

•  93 percent of those polled said health care issues and the economy were their greatest challenges.
• 97 percent said “staying healthy” was “extremely important.” Close behind in the category were “adequate health insurance coverage” (92%), “receiving Medicare when needed” (91%) and “receiving Social Security when needed” (89%).
• 61 percent of people listed as their number one health care concern, “having to pay more for health care.”

The polling took place before Charlie Sheen was fired from Two And a Half Men. Nonetheless, I feel confident that if the polling was more recent, Charlie still would not have shown up as a major concern. Not in Rhode Island or anywhere else.

These are things people actually care about.

People over 50 are very concerned about their future. Staying fit, living well and being secure and cared for in retirement are things that truly matter. And if you are under 50 you no doubt will share this perspective soon enough.

We all should pay more attention to these issues. I encourage you to form an opinion on which way the country is going to go on health care, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, too. And then let your elected officials in Washington know how you feel. In the months ahead they will make some big, big decisions about our future.

Here’s something else in the AARP survey that I think we all should be proud of: When asked what they thought should be the top state budget priorities, Rhode Islanders ranked K through 12 education number one, followed by home care services so the elderly can stay in their homes.

In other words people here care a lot about opportunities for our youth and comfort for our elders.

This way of thinking is another reason why I love living here.