The government is old.
A notable example is President Donald Trump. At 79 years old, he has not only surpassed the global average lifespan by several years but was also the oldest person to be sworn into office as president. While the President is a perfect example of older men running the country, other branches are equally ancient.
The average age of the House of Representatives is 57.9 years, and the Senate is even older at 64, according to Congress. These ages represent a disconnect between the government and the relatively young public, with a median age of 39. This can amplify older, generally more conservative voices while silencing younger, more liberal counterparts.
This issue is further exacerbated for teens who have no easy way to participate in the political process. Norah H, 14, says, “I find it very frustrating because it’s like, there’s someone who I know would be good for our country and be good for everyone as a whole and would do good things, but it’s mostly the younger generation that wants them.”
According to the 2024 US Census, over 20% of the US population is under 18 years old. This demographic being excluded from politics skews the population who can vote, making it older than the actual population. It also leaves a substantial portion of the population without a voice when older politicians can’t represent their values.
When asked if older politicians are good at advocating for issues that are important to her, Norah said, “Sometimes, yes, but most times, no … I find that older generations are stuck in their own beliefs and have the inability to change.”
This inability to change can lead old politicians to misunderstand the issues of the younger generation or dismiss them as not real issues. Norah also says that age shouldn’t be a metric for deciding who should be a government leader. “[Young people are] never actually considered because the younger generations aren’t wiser, but wiser doesn’t necessarily mean smarter . . . [experience] doesn’t mean you think critically.”
This lack of young voices leads to some fundamental issues not being addressed because they don’t affect people in power. When asked what the differences are between young people’s and older people’s priorities, Royce Mann, 23, an activist and candidate for the Atlanta Board of Education, said, “We want the climate crisis to be taken as the existential threat that it is to our existence.” Climate change may not be as significant an issue to some members of older generations because they won’t experience it as much in their lifetimes.
He adds, “We also want an education system that effectively prepares students … to succeed in today’s rapidly changing world, and it gives them access to affordable and quality higher education, because college is so expensive. Living life is so expensive.”
These are issues that are less relevant to older people than to the youth. Older people, especially those in power, have already succeeded in life; they don’t need to worry about their education, as they’ve already completed it. They also don’t need to worry about the cost of living; they’ve built a world for themselves in which they don’t have to worry.”
Young people’s input will help everyone, as Mann says, “[Lack of young politicians] leaves a large gap when it comes to policy, the perspectives of young people are so important to have at the decision-making table. The boldness that a lot of young people … will approach issues with is really needed in a moment like this.”
Mann believes that the root cause of the old government is having a two-party system. He says, “Both party establishments make it really difficult for young people to get engaged in the party apparatus.”
“A lot of young people … are turning to these growing and really incredible third-party infrastructures,” says Mann. For these third parties to reach their full potential, Mann says, “[at] the system level we need to address the role of money in politics. I also think implementing systems like ranked choice voting, like they did in New York City, has a lot of promise.”
He says this allows voters to vote for what they believe in, not just the best of a bad lot.
Outside of teens lacking a voice, having an old leader can have negative impacts on the entire country. Renard Sexton, associate professor of political science at Emory University, provides several examples. “The most basic one is that they don’t have the stamina to do the job, which is quite grueling.” He cites Biden as an example who reportedly struggled to do the job after 8:00 pm. Another issue is “the older you get, the more likely it is that some medical emergency happens. And so your leader could be incapacitated unexpectedly.”
A dead man can’t run a country.
The third issue is perception. “If you’re a leader who is viewed to be weak and aging, people feel like they can … take advantage of that.”
The last issue is, “old people don’t have as much of a stake in the future, because they’re just not going to be around that long.” Affirming Norah’s thoughts, Sexton says that “[old politicians] often are seen to be defending past status quo rather than thinking about what’s going to make sense for the next 50 years, because they’re not going to be around to see it.” This is the most significant problem because it suggests that leaders don’t prioritize the country’s future and are more concerned with short-term benefits.
While this is a complex issue, several steps can be taken to increase the government’s representation of the population.
When asked what solutions could be, Sexton suggested a retirement age, saying that there aren’t any reasons not to put one in place, “We have it in the military, [and] in many sorts of police and air traffic control … There’s no reason that we couldn’t for political leadership. That would naturally make it so that younger people would see a pathway forward.”
Implementing this has some challenges, namely that politicians would have to take the necessary steps. Sexton explains, “Why would Congress themselves force themselves to retire if they don’t want to?” The only path to this upper age limit is for the public to show they want one. “People need to demand more information.”
Elizabeth Krakovski, 27, a grad student who canvassed for Raphael Warnock’s 2022 campaign, emphasizes the importance of voter education. She says, “Even when I was starting to vote, I don’t think I quite understood what it was like to preview my ballot or anything like that … increasing voter education could be good.” She also says, “If there was something about politics that also was tailored more to younger populations, it would have them turn out more to vote.”
Norah suggests that we “sift through our options.” She believes that some young people would be beneficial to the country, but they are often overlooked. Being more open-minded about what a politician should look like would allow capable young people to be elected.
Mann says that outside of supporting third parties, the most important thing is, “Just be engaged, don’t give up hope. We need to build diverse movements that are based in solidarity, that are based in a vision of uplifting working people in this country.”
“So get involved at the local level, find an organization that you really align with that’s mission and vision, and plan for achieving that vision inspires you. Find candidates who do the same, and support them.”
