Voting power of elders crucial in Pa.

Second in a series of occasional articles

YORK, Pa. - Ervin Generette, 71, never takes the government for granted. The retired hospital maintenance worker rides a state-supported bus most days to the White Rose Senior Center, which provides him with free meals. The commonwealth of Pennsylvania pays the bulk of his $800 monthly bill for prescription drugs for a heart condition. He also is eligible for an array of tax breaks on his retirement income.

Without the benefits, among the most generous offered by any state, Generette said, "I would have to leave Pennsylvania."

The benefits are a powerful symbol of the political influence of senior citizens. Pennsylvania has the nation's third-highest percentage of seniors, after Florida and West Virginia, in part because seniors have been extraordinarily effective in winning the benefits that keeps people such as Generette living in York.

Now this same political power is being put to a national test, with many experts saying the presidential campaign in Pennsylvania is likely to be decided by the senior vote. While 15 percent of the state's residents are over 65, they turn out in high numbers at the polls, leading to predictions that 25 percent to 30 percent of voters who go to the polls in November are likely to be seniors.

On a recent morning at the White Rose Senior Center, a low-slung building that offers meals and activities for seniors in the shadow of government-subsidized high-rise apartments, Generette was one of eight senior citizens who met with a Globe reporter and photographer to discuss their lives and the issues they want the presidential candidates to tackle. The group included two Vietnam-era veterans, several retired factory workers, among them a Puerto Rico native and two African-Americans. They had all worked hard, paid taxes, and hoped they would have enough to provide for their retirement.

As they told their stories, however, it was evident that the serendipity of life - a factory closing, a major illness - played a major role in whether they had enough money to live decently. Thus, they said, it was crucial that the government make up for the inequities. As a result, many are listening especially closely to how proposals by the White House hopefuls will affect them.

Bob Luckenbaugh, 65, said he is "one of the lucky ones," having worked at a factory with "a strong union" that provided good retirement benefits and a pension. But across the table, Mary Carter, 68, said her retirement benefits aren't nearly enough. She gets by with help from her children and benefits under various Pennsylvania programs that she said are worth up to $15,000 a year. The state and local governments provide "a lot of places to go get help if you really need it," said Carter, who recently has been using the free transportation services in order to avoid paying high gas prices.

Beverly Throne, 67, has a unique perspective on the difficulties faced by the seniors of York. As a volunteer tax preparer at the White Rose Senior Center, she regularly deals with people trying to get by on an annual income of $8,000 or so. "It amazes me how these people survive with that low amount of money," she said. "I would think at least $20,000 to $25,000" would be necessary. She hopes the presidential candidates support programs that would provide more help to such people.

Senior power is especially evident in York County, where the population of people older than 60 has grown by 40 percent since 1995, according to Dianna Benaknin of the county's Area Agency on Aging. Senior centers are facing record demand for services in the urban areas, while upscale housing developments designed for active retirees dot the rolling countryside.

The outsized role of seniors in Pennsylvania is a harbinger of what is likely to be demanded in other states as more baby boomers enter retirement.

As the population aged in York, seniors became so effective at organizational politics that Pennsylvania became the only state to devote all of its lottery profits to programs benefiting senior citizens. The lottery profits, for example, provide the money for the state's prescription drug plan for those in need. The political power of the senior citizens in York "absolutely" was responsible for the program, according to York's state representative, Eugene DePasquale, who said the same power now could have a deep impact on the presidential campaign.

"This is a real commonwealth," Jim LoBianco, 68, an Air Force veteran, said at the White Rose Senior Center. "They take care of the seniors with the lottery" that pays for prescription drugs.

Governor Ed Rendell said that while it is costly for Pennsylvania to support the various programs, including many not funded by the lottery, there are also financial benefits. "People are living longer and the longer they live they more the costs accrue," he said. "But a lot of seniors with . . . [financial] means choose to retire here." He cited a development called The Village at Penn State, where retirees can participate in classes and other university activities.

While the city of York is mostly Democratic, many of the towns in York County are reliably Republican. Steve Chronister, a Republican member of the York County Commission, said the benefits provided by Pennsylvania have proved to be a strong lure for retirees. "We have a lot of people who move out of state and then come back to retire," he said.

Chronister has seen the trend firsthand as the developer of two upscale housing projects designed for senior citizens. At a time when the housing market nationally is in a slump, he said that the senior-oriented projects "are recession proof" because so many older people want to reside in the area, drawn by family ties and the benefits they can receive.

To be sure, many seniors said the candidates' stand on social issues will affect their vote. At York's historic central market, a cavernous building where local farmers sell their goods to a bustling lunchtime crowd, Gladys Markey, 74, stood behind a counter filled with sausages and said she is leaning to Republican John McCain because of his stands on a variety of issues. "I like his morals," she said. "I'm very much against abortion, I'm against gay rights, I'm against those things."

But talk about government benefits, healthcare and the economy inevitably dominated the discussion.

A few miles outside of York, at the Grand View Golf Course, the area is more upscale but the concerns expressed by some of the golfers echo those heard at the downtown senior center. Ray Hoffman, who had expected to be fully retired at his current age of 63 after a career at a local factory, said he is working part time as a janitor to make ends meet.

"Right now I'm sitting here undecided" about which presidential candidate to support, Hoffman said.

Another golfer, Sam Alloway, 71, who worked in the restaurant business, wore a T-shirt that proclaimed his retirement entitled him to membership in the "Why Work? Fishing Club."

"The oil companies are running the nation," said Alloway, a Republican. He said he goes back and forth between the candidates depending on which one he thinks can improve the economy.

Both presidential campaigns are trying to appeal to such voters, proposing programs that are designed, like those in Pennsylvania, to respond to the political muscle and the needs of older voters. Democrat Barack Obama has proposed eliminating the federal income tax for senior citizens on income below $50,000, which his campaign says would mean that 7 million seniors would not pay the tax, with an average tax cut of $1,400. While some budgetary analysts have criticized the proposal for providing overly generous benefits, it is receiving wide notice among seniors. Most of the group that met at the White Rose Senior Center was aware that Obama was proposing a tax break that would benefit them.

McCain, meanwhile, has not proposed a tax cut specifically for seniors. "We haven't tried to target every demographic, the way Obama does with a handout, so we don't have that," McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin said. McCain does plan to retain all of President Bush's tax cuts, which he said would benefit all taxpayers, including seniors. McCain also has proposed an extra tax break for families with children, which would not affect most seniors. Obama wants to retain Bush's tax cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000.

While both candidates say that measures must be taken to make Social Security solvent, their plans would affect younger workers, not those in retirement or nearing retirement. Obama has suggested raising the payroll tax on the wealthiest Americans, while McCain has said that "everything is on the table."

Chronister said party labels mean less among local seniors, who he said will be closely evaluating what the candidates have to offer them. The issues "are the same for Democrats and Republicans," Chronister said. "Republicans talk about less government but when they become seniors and are looking for senior benefits, it doesn't matter what politics you are. They all want the government to get them as many benefits as they can - and rightfully so for the seniors who truly need it."