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Kamala Harris’ messaging on the importance of investing in caregivers is perfectly tailored to woo young and senior voters alike.
This was clear during the vice president’s campaign speech at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh when she delivered a moving pitch endorsing paid leave for caregivers of children and aging adults. Because older adults are one of the fastest-growing groups in the United States, the need for elder care is only going to increase in the decades to come.
Harris’ framing — about elder care being a matter of dignity — was powerfully intimate, and likely relatable to the large and increasing number of people, including many young people, who care for older loved ones. After referencing the “sandwich generation,” the group of Americans who provide care for young children and older adults at once, she told her family’s story.
Harris said:
I have a personal experience with caregiving. I remember being there for my mother when she was diagnosed with cancer. Cooking meals for her. Taking her to her appointments. Trying to make her comfortable. Figuring out which clothes were soft enough that they wouldn’t irritate her. And telling her stories to try and make her laugh. I know caregiving is about dignity. It really is. And when we lower the cost, and ease the burdens people face, we will not only make it then easier for them to meet their obligations as caregivers, we will also make it more possible for them to go to work and pursue their economic aspirations. And when that happens, our economy as a whole grows stronger.
I was moved by Harris' story, in part because I’ve witnessed my own relatives caring for some of our family members in a similar fashion. And once you see this in action, you discover the immense energy elder care requires to maintain that dignity Harris describes — the dignity many of us want for our older loved ones and for ourselves.
That’s why I think Harris’ messaging here is so smart. It speaks to older Americans who want to age with dignity. And it speaks to younger Americans who love them and currently, or eventually will, want to help them do so. It’s the kind of message Harris ought to take to Arizona, an aging swing state where older voters wield massive influence and where the Harris campaign is trying to mobilize young voters.
The caregiver messaging could be key on that front. Listening to Harris on this topic, one understands why many caregivers around the United States are excited about and eager to boost her campaign. She gets them. And her talking points convey that.