The oldest senator is 89 years old. The oldest representative is 86. Our current president is 80.
While not all politicians are in their 80s, this still begs a question that should all be plaguing our minds now—how? Briefly consider this, seriously. How are people who were alive when your grandparents, parents, and you were born still in office? Think of an 80-year-old you know. Think of your grandpa. Would you trust your grandpa to be handling United States affairs? If the only thing holding you back from saying yes is their party, take a step back and consider the other reasons you may be hesitating.
Luckily, not every person in some form of power has seen man step foot on the moon. Still, the age at which people have even been kept in office isn’t balanced out by one younger person in Congress. The average age of the Senate is 64 years old. The average age of the House of Representatives is 57. Younger, but not by much.
What about our Supreme Court? The average age is about 63 years old. They also have life terms, so that number will only increase unless someone suddenly stops being a Supreme Court Justice.
Most people retire around their early 60s. Yet, this is when politicians are peaking in their careers. President Joe Biden is 80. He’s the Commander-in-Chief, which means he can request and approve war declarations. He’s the head of the administrative branch as the Chief Administrator. He’s the Chief Executive which enforces laws around the country. He is the Chief Legislator, too, which includes the ability to sign and veto all bills. He’s the Chief of the entire democratic party (of which the average age is half of President Biden’s). And he is the Chief of state and citizen, basically meaning that he is supposed to represent us. To reiterate: he is the Chief of State, Chief Executive, Chief Citizen, and more at 80 years old. He has experienced 80 autumns. 80 springs. 80 birthdays. How is he representing the people if he’s nearly twice the age of the average U.S. citizen?
It may be difficult to gain the connections and reputation needed to run for office, but does someone need 60 years of experience to assure the American population they know how to run a country? They say with age comes maturity and wisdom, but why do we have such “wise” and “mature” adults who claim the election was stolen from them? To me, that’s the language of a toddler.
Of course, that’s only one person, and that’s not to say that all people past 50 regress in mental age. Frankly, the problem with elders in office isn’t even the question of their mental sharpness. It’s hard to generalize that; obviously, it will differ from case to case. The real issue is that it isn’t their time anymore. There must be a cycle in place. Otherwise, the government might just run like it’s still the 1980s.
Suppose we take our president as an example and examine the time he hit a stride, which, for this scenario, was theoretically the 1970s. That was about 50 years ago. The average house cost in the 1970s, adjusted for inflation, was about $180,179. The minimum wage was about $1.60–but adjusted for inflation, that’s $11.53. The world’s population was three billion people. The Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1964, making it barely six years old. Space exploration had hardly reached the moon! Global warming hadn’t even become a topic of discussion yet.
In contrast, let’s talk about today. The average house cost is about $410,200. The minimum wage in Wisconsin is $7.23. The world population is eight billion. Gay marriage was only legalized in 2015, and we quite literally have people living in space right now. Global warming is recognized as a “major threat” by almost two-thirds of the U.S. population.
People can evolve with time, of course. But when has that actually been proven with the people we have in power? President Biden has been a Democrat since 1969. That’s a long time with the same values. While it’s good to have a set of values you can live by, this only proves my point. Most politicians have kept the same beliefs since they set forward their career—which started in the 80s. In case I haven’t made it clear yet, issues in 2023 are vastly different from those 50 years ago.
Let’s be honest here. Most people in office now will die before they ever face the legislature they enacted. The Supreme Court Justices aren’t having any new children, yet they still voice their opinion on whether someone had the right to choose to. Biden signed off on the Willow project, which will undoubtedly end up sinking Florida, and he won’t ever get to witness it. The economy is suffering because the government is still stuck in the 70s, where you could purchase a house for half the current cost.
Why do people who live in the past get to decide things for us now? Did they finally make a reputation for themselves in the past 50 years? Were they put in their position in the 90s? Wow, their position experience is just perfect.
You have to be 35 years old to be president. Do you find this age-ist? Is this weird? Shouldn’t it be 18 years old, when we’re finally considered adults? Well, it isn’t 18. It’s 35. A person’s 20s are about finding their place, and their 30s are about settling into that groove. It would be inappropriate to elect somebody who just got a high school diploma. An age restriction is like that, but with people who are too old to be in office.
Above all else, I would simply like to have a president I’m not worried will die of old age in office. We’ve had too many presidents that are over the age of 70. If we consider the last two presidents we’ve had, then the average presidential age is increasing. I don’t think this is a sign for the future, but would we seriously let a 90-year-old run for office because he’s got the experience? Why should the American people worry about their leader dying because he’s too old? Seriously. Shouldn’t it be a given that we want our presidents to survive their presidency?
There should be an age cap for all positions of office. If people are retiring at 65, the president should be too. An age limit is most definitely needed for the Supreme Court Justices who have no term limit. If an age cap is too much, then they must prove they’re fit to represent the people through any kind of method. What’s the American population worrying about now? What are the people learning? There should be a basic educational standards test you must take past the age of 60 to run for president. Otherwise, the government will remain out of touch.