Anna Rinaggio, Campus Carrier opinions editor
The majority of American politicians are too old. According to an article from Governing.com, the average United States senator is 65 years old while the average House of Representatives member is 58. Not to mention, the people to most likely be our presidential candidates this year are 77 and 81 years old. The median age of Americans, meanwhile, is 38. If so many citizens are significantly younger than their representatives, how are the politicians supposed to accurately represent us?
In the United States Constitution, there is a minimum age that one must reach in order to run for office, but there is no maximum limit that bars older individuals from running. If we are going to justify a minimum age requirement by saying that the individual needs to have a fully developed brain and experience as a citizen to thoroughly understand the needs of their constituents and represent them well, we need to hold older politicians to that same standard.
Implementing age limits on politicians would help ensure that constituents are properly represented. Even if they agree on certain policies, politicians in their 70s are not concerned about the same things as their 25-year-old constituents. There is a huge cultural gap here that makes it difficult for the older politician to represent the younger voters — they have different priorities because they are in different stages of life.
A body of government should represent its citiens with members who look like those citizens. A diverse body of people of all races and genders only goes so far if all of the representatives are the same age. In the United States especially, we need more young people in government. They are more in touch with what people their age are talking about and need from their representatives.
It’s difficult to get those young people elected when we have older politicians who have been in government for so long and have no desire to retire. Part of the issue with electing younger candidates lies in the fact that a majority of eligible young voters don’t vote whereas older generations consistently show up to the polls. The other side of the issue, though, is that it’s almost always easier to vote for the person who has been in office for a long time and that you know does an alright job than to vote for a newbie who has big ideas but no experience. If there was an age limit to hold office, though, this would be a lot less of an issue.
Furthermore, some elderly politicians simply aren’t fit to continue serving in government, yet they are allowed to keep running because they refuse to retire and get enough support from constituents to keep their seat. There are politicians in both main parties that seemingly aren’t in great health and don’t seem like they should be creating laws that affect an entire country, but since they want to keep going, they’re allowed to.
In just about every other career field, if you reach retirement age and aren’t in the best of health, you’re encouraged to retire and take time to rest rather than strain yourself to continue working. We’re fine letting younger people lead the way in these settings, but for some reason, it isn’t the same in politics. Politicians are practically encouraged to grab power and hold onto it for dear life, even when everyone would benefit from them retiring and endorsing a younger candidate with similar goals. They just don’t seem to understand how to let go and pass on the torch.
Creating an age limit for politicians would make sure that younger candidates actually have a decent shot at holding office and would help create a body of government that more closely represents the age of its constituents. We as voters also play a role in making room for these candidates, too. Young politicians can’t get elected without our votes, so it is our responsibility to go to the polls and show our support. With policy and action like this, we can hopefully get to a point where the average congressman is no longer 27 years older than the average American.