2006 State Report > Introduction > A Message from the Lieutenant Governor
Introduction: A Message from the Lieutenant Governor
I am pleased to present the fourth edition of Mature Adults Count: Opportunities, Challenges and Choices. The Mature Adults Count report is a statistical profile of South Carolina's mature adults that provides us with a framework within which we can begin to address the opportunities, challenges and choices that we, as a state and its citizens, face over the next twenty years – a time during which our state's senior population is projected to double. This change in the demographic makeup of our population will require a change in the ways that local and state governments, private organizations, individuals and their families view aging and a host of related issues that touch on economics, health care, employment and culture.
It's been said many times, but it bears repeating, the baby boom generation in the United States has reshaped our society at every step of their journey through life. There's no reason to believe that their senior years will be any different. Opportunities for economic development abound for South Carolina, as more and more affluent retirees from other parts of the country discover what we have always known: South Carolina is a great place to live.
We have the opportunity to utilize this engine of growth both to create jobs for our citizens and build the resources and infrastructure that can improve the lives of all of our retirees in their later years. If we are successful in meeting the challenges presented by an aging population with smart, evidence-based policies that keep our seniors healthy, independent and productive, then South Carolina will be a state where seniors enjoy an enhanced quality of life, contribute to communities, have economic security, and receive supports necessary to age with choice and dignity.
André Bauer
Lieutenant Governor