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This is a fair question! I think the problem is twofold:
First, over-representation of any societal group in power is problematic. It makes leaders more prone to groupthink and self-dealing, limits diverse viewpoints, etc. https://twitter.com/clarabellum/status/1336335383559213064
First, over-representation of any societal group in power is problematic. It makes leaders more prone to groupthink and self-dealing, limits diverse viewpoints, etc. https://twitter.com/clarabellum/status/1336335383559213064
Second, over-representation of older people specifically is problematic because the conditions of the country have changed so much. Older people have never worked, gotten a degree or rented an apartment in the American economy of 2020.
In the same way that our musical taste tends to solidify when we're 19, our political and cultural understandings are heavily influenced by the conditions of our youth. We have a generation of political leaders still playing out the political battles of the 1970s-1990s.
There's other specific issues with older people holding power. Americans 65+ are far whiter than the country at large, more likely to be homeowners, more likely to have accumulated wealth, and so on.
Political representatives have always been older than the population at large (the American median age includes people under 18, after all), but the gap has widened over the last two decades.
Americans are 38; Congress reps are 58. That's a huuuuuuuge gap.
Americans are 38; Congress reps are 58. That's a huuuuuuuge gap.
