Our system of representative government has fallen, and it can't get up. America isn't a democracy so much as it is a gerontocracy, a system led by the aged, and in some instances, the nearly infirm. Congress "is older than it's ever been," and by extension, more detached from the needs and aspirations of often decades-younger constituents.
Half-seriously now: How old is too old to serve in public office?
American politics could use an infusion of fresh blood, says Star Tribune Opinion's Mike Thompson.
September 8, 2023 at 10:45PM
Recent news stories have detailed the mental lapses of Sen. Mitch McConnell, 81, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90. President Joe Biden's advanced age, 80, is routinely skewered by the political right, and the political left has been blunt about what they see as 77-year-old Donald Trump's age-related mental decline.
Americans over the age of 65 constitute just 16% of our population. Yet the median age of a U.S. senator is 65, which is a record-high, fivethirtyeight.com reports. Over in the U.S. House, the median age is a slightly more representative 59. As a result, Congress resembles The Villages, a retirement community in Sumter and Marion counties in Florida, more than than a country where the median age is just under 40.
Many people live fully functional and productive lives well into their golden years, and I'm not arguing that older people are automatically unfit to serve. The issue is whether having one generation so overrepresented in the halls of power skews our government's priorities and policies in ways that don't represent the demographic majority.
Old memes
Our aged elected representatives are routinely skewered by memesters. I picked the best ones so you won't have to:
