…but too young to die, as a wise man once sang.
Now we have the political equivalent:
Former South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley said over the weekend that politicians should have to take mental competency tests once they hit 75 years old to ensure they are fit to serve the public.
“We need to have mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75,” she said. “And I don’t say that to be disrespectful. I don’t care if you do it for 50 and older. What I’m saying is, these are people in D.C. that are making decisions on our national security.”
Of course, this tin-eared politico uses this argument to score a point off the noticeably-senile Joe Biden, but she does have a point nevertheless.
We don’t let people go into public office when they’re too young, because even among a poulation of ignoramuses, youthful wannabe-politicians are no more than the primordial ooze of society. Young people, as it’s been said, argue with passion, vigor and conviction; except that they’re almost inevitably wrong.
So given the inescapable fact that old farts start losing their marbles as they approach senility — forget the numbers, stats and medical studies on this, it’s an inescapable fact of human life — why not set an arbitrary upper limit on public service? Forget that “testing” bullshit as suggested by Haley et al., that’s just busybody government attitude on display. Carve it in stone — hell, stick it in the Constitution, why not? — but make it impossible for any Olde Phartte to govern.
Yes, I know: some old people are commendably active, mentally speaking, and denying them office would have denied us of, to name but one, Ronald Reagan (at least his second term, anyway). But even in Reagan’s second term, it was apparent that the old boy was losing his marbles. And taking our cue from that, it’s not really how old a President is when he takes office, it’s how old he’ll be at the end of his first term that’s important. Think about it: 70 years old on Inauguration Day means 78 towards the end of his Presidency, when he’ll still have his finger on the nuclear trigger and be proposing legislation that may suit the present but be a hopeless long-term proposition. Older than 70? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Joe Biden.
Which brings me to the next issue about senior-citizen politicians: the “I’ll be dead by then” attitude that is as inescapable a mindset as physical senility. Oh sure, we’d like to think that our politicians are going to be statesmen like Washington or Jefferson and think of generations to come; but the most likely scenario is that they’re going to be more like Barack fucking Obama. (Tangentially, the only reason to allow older men to become president is because they’re more likely to die soon after leaving office, unless they’re named Jimmy Carter in which case they continue to meddle and foist their horrible ideas and opinions on us long after they’ve exceeded their useful date.)
If we think about this logically, politicians and lawmakers in general should have to live with the consequences of their actions, because then the urge to just say “oh fuck it, let the kids deal with it” is a lot less appealing.
Corporations, by the way, recognize this issue quite clearly, which is why we have mandatory-retirement policies in so many professions — airline pilots at 55 65 being the most noteworthy — and why so many people prefer middle-aged doctors to both young and inexperienced doctors and old doctors who may not be up to date with recent advances or do things “because I’ve always done it this way”. There are limits to experience, of course, and particularly when that experience stands in the way of proper action. Most corporate boards, by the way, have no age limit but that’s because the proper function of a board is advisory and not executive.
Here’s my suggestion: all public servants, regardless of position, should be banned from running for public office after the age of 67 — the de facto “retirement” age of current society. I know that medical advances are wonderful and have done so much to ensure that the age of Man is no longer just threescore years and ten etc., but allowing much older people to run for office — yes, Trump as much as Biden — is an irresponsible indulgence that in general and in the long term will turn out to be harmful to society. (Trump, for example, would be 78 were he to win the Presidency in 2024, which means he’d be 82 at the end of his term of office. You sure you want an octogenarian Trump flailing around the Oval Office for two whole years? And that’s assuming he’s still got all his marbles now: by no means an established fact.)
As a bookie might put it: yeah, there are some senior citizens who would function perfectly well while late into their seventies and even eighties — but that’s not the way to bet.
If we have a lower limit on political life, why not an upper one?
To support your hypothesis that pollys under 40 are primordial ooze, how about selecting a sample, size say 100, which straddles that age and compare outcomes? Pollys over 40 have one and only one thing to their advantage. They know that the big battles are fought within your own party and they have had time to build alliances and earn favors so as to win those battles.
Is this really a problem? Doesn’t America’s constitution (25th Amendment?) cover mental incapacity? You’ve just got to actually use it.
And surely Haley’s target is not Biden but Trump?
Except the Twenty-Fifth Amendment depends on the members of the mentally incapacitated old fart to cast him out, when it is in their interest as office holders to push that event off as long as possible so they can keep, as long as possible, their phoney- baloney jobs (To quote Governor Lepetomane from Blazing Saddles).
There is a glaring conflict of interest baked into the 25th Amendment for the Cabinet Members.
If we’re talking about MORE laws that are not enforced, how about “Two Terms, Then OUT!”, regardless of age.
It’s the entrenched criminal politicians that are the problem.
> It’s the entrenched criminal politicians that are the problem.
While the politicians certainly deserve significant approbation, replacing them after 2 terms won’t solve the problem because it’s *just* as much the entrenched bureaucracy that is the problem. A brand new congressman or senator gets a staff that already knows the rules and the game. Then there is the rest of the deep state.
100%
I know I’m paranoid (or as that character from an off-off-off-Broadway play ran around the stage singing: “Crazy I may be, stupid I’m not.”), but I see a “Foundation” writing up a bill that’ll allow more money to find the way into its coffers and presenting it to a Congressman’s staff member (along with a check for the Congressman’s re-election campaign) who then edits it and presents it to said Congressman.
It doesn’t make any difference which Congressman or if he’s pushed out after two or three terms because it’s the staff member with the Foundation connection who’s ongoing and who’s essentially running the Congress.
And bureaucracies – don’t get me started. Someone please tell me: How many years did J. Edgar Hoover serve as head of the FBI?
That needs to stop. Fire all of them and hire all new. And, trim the staff by at least 50%.
The only problem I have with two terms and you’re out rules is that will a crooked politician put up a puppet to run after they become ineligible then the crooked politician becomes some unelected position of Chief of Staff for the puppet and then continue to run the show. That’s just adding another bureaucrat who bears no responsibility for their horrid actions.
JQ
None of this matters because any sort of age or term limit would have to be implemented by Congress, and the fox isn’t going to deliberately lock himself out of the hen-house.
Just an FYI: the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots(FAA Part 121) is currently 65 yrs, not 55 yrs.
https://www.faa.gov/faq/what-maximum-age-pilot-can-fly-airplane
However, there is a bill in Congress to raise the age to 67 due to the current pilot shortage.
A good reason for an age limit. I KNOW I typed in 65, only it came out as 55, and I somehow missed the error (since fixed) when editing the post.
I blame my Olde Phartte eyes.
I’m with you, and have chosen 70 as my arbitrary number. Competency testing – to include the 25th amendment – is a non starter, since it will always be politicized. Max age, term limits… neither will ever happen, but a boy can dream.
Max age is nice, but term limits are better, and Decimation by hanging – taking the stupidest 10% and stringing them up every four years – is BEST.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to start with killing all of them first (politicians and unelected bureaucrats), re-writing most of the Constitution so even fuckwads can understand the language, then maybe holding new elections afterwards. I ain’t holding my breathe here.
Age makes a difference, I am in my late 70’s and an active old guy, I shot, fish and do yard work however I also walk into the kitchen and forget why I am in the kitchen from time to time. A good number of my old high school classmates have moved on to their next adventure after using up their time here, it happens to all of us. I have two good friends who are experienced pilots and they owned their own planes and had a lot of hours flying. One is a retired Air Force general officer all of his time in fighters and the other friend was a pilot and salesman for Gulfstream and both around age 75 made the decision it was time to stop driving their own planes and they sold them, there is a lot of stuff to remember and do at the proper time to make sure aircraft return to the ground right side up on a runway and mistakes are often costly. You would think the same thing would apply for people who make decisions that can have far reaching effects for millions of people and we don’t need muddlers and puppets.
To me I think somewhat like aircraft drivers the sell by date should be in the mid-60’s at the end of their term when they enter any election, I started to say beyond local however local in large metro areas can be very important so there’s that. Old an saggy people over 65 time’s up, out of the pool, time to do other stuff. Our friend Trump and old Biden are so far beyond their sell by, use by dates that they smell ripe and they are starting to turn, not the good way like wine or scotch whisky but like bananas, milk and bread, perishable.
in my own experience between ages 45 and 60 I was probably at my best for the thinking stuff along having a lot of physical stamina to stay with projects and get stuff done. From 25 to 45 the physical is better however the experience to make good decisions needed have some bumps and bruises that are an essential part of finding out actions have consequences.
I hate to disagree with your premises, but after the last 30 or so years of work I wouldn’t be surprised to find that many politicians could not pass the mental competency test the first day on the job.
They sure know politics and many know the law but general knowledge was lacking in 70% of the one’s I briefed or sat in with. Islands capsizing for Christ’s sake!
I believe public office should be like the military. A politician should only be allowed to run for office and serve for 20 years except for the president and vice president. They would get no pension if they served less than 15 years. That pension would start at age 60 and a max age of 70 to hold office. While they are in office all of their investments would be frozen and they would be subject to a financial investigation of their accounts and tax returns. They would be prohibited from receiving any outside money for books or speaking engagements for an accumulated half of their office salary. Their family would be under the same restrictions.
This would stop politicians from getting rich in office
One sensible aspect of the Michigan constitution is that judges can’t start a new term after turning 70. So, all must be done in their early 70s. It’s a reasonable compromise between getting the benefit of an experienced jurist while still brooming them out before the inevitable deterioration overwhelms the benefits of their experience.
Any politician who’s been elected twice is already on the grift. And it will only get worse. The Uniparty picks the go-along-to-get-along pols who, once bought, stay bought. You want that plum committee assignment, the insider training pics that paid your crappy salary, the high-powered staff and some RNC/DNC perks? Stay bought. Veer off the plantation and you’ll get frozen out, primaried, and then banned from the lobbying gigs that the “company guys” get when they scuttle off to the suburbs of DC. Sure, they’ll let an outsider get elected every once in a while, just to keep up appearences, but that’s a honeymoon deal, not a lifetime sinecure. Those folks are disposable.
We’re all fucked. It’s a private club and we can’t join.