Local AARP volunteers and staff gathered for a one night only, exclusive, in-theater event at Crossgates Mall to raise awareness on the issues of health and financial security on Thursday, August 21. The live, satellite-fed, national town hall discussion followed the screening of the Sundance Film Festival selection I.O.U.S.A. about the financial crisis facing our country. In addition to the Guilderland site, hundreds of movie theaters around the country also participated.
The documentary featured some of America’s most notable financial leaders including “investment guru” Warren Buffett, Blackstone Senior Chairman Pete Peterson and former U.S. Comptroller General Dave Walker. The panel, moderated by Rebecca Quick, co-anchor of CNBC’s financial news show Squawk Box, also featured AARP CEO Bill Novelli.
As gasoline, food and health care costs continue to rise, local residents are looking for solutions to their ever-growing list of financial challenges. Brian Fuller, AARP NY volunteer and resident of Berlin, joined 20 volunteers from Clifton Park, Delmar, Guilderland, Latham, and Saratoga Springs at the town hall discussion to try to make a difference through an initiative called Divided We Fail.
“We cannot let the next generation be the first in American history to be worse off than their parents,” said Brian Fuller. “Soon we will have a new President and Congress; we want political candidates in 2008 to acknowledge that health care and financial security solutions need to be a priority.”
“Divided We Fail is trying to bring the issues addressed in this film to the public’s attention,” continued Fuller. “Though the movie theater was packed with well over 100 people, we need to get these important messages out to voters across our state and nation.”
Divided We Fail is a nonpartisan effort that partners AARP, SEIU the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) to engage the American people, elected officials, and the business community to find broad-based, equitable solutions to the most compelling domestic issues facing the nation: health care and the long-term financial security of Americans.
In the Capital Region, the Divided We Fail initiative includes community conversations, events, pledge collection, volunteer mobilization, online engagement and advertising urging the 2008 candidates to offer solutions to the nation’s health care and financial security needs. An Opinion Leader Forum will be held in Troy, NY, on Thursday, September 25, at Russell Sage College featuring former New York State Comptroller Carl McCall and Chair of the Russell Sage Nursing Technologies Program Dr. Joan Dascher among other panelists.