President Joe Biden called out late Indiana GOP lawmaker Jackie Walorski yesterday at an event. The problem? She tragically passed away in a car crash in August. This mishap has put the age limit on politicians back into the spotlight, especially considering he is the oldest President the US has ever had.

A survey conducted by YouGov and CBS amongst the American population put up some interesting results. Here is what the surveys found:

Many of the highest positions in the U.S. government are held by Americans over 60. According to an examination of the current 117th Congress, it is, on average, the oldest Congress in at least the last 20 years. Currently, the average age of US senators is 64, while that of US house members is 58. Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Senate, is 71 years old, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 81. Presidents are also being elected at later ages than in the past. President Donald Trump held the record for the oldest president when he took office at age 70, but his successor, President Joe Biden, rapidly surpassed it when he did so at age 78.

Some have questioned if we should ban anyone beyond a particular age from taking office as the average age of elected politicians has increased. Jimmy Carter, a former president, raised concern about the presidential candidates' ages in 2019 by saying: "I'm hoping there's a maximum age. I don't think I could handle the responsibilities I had as president if I were simply 80 years old if I were 15 years younger." Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, suggested in a tweet last month that we "establish an age limit after which you may no longer compete for political office, possibly a number just below 70."

The U.S. Constitution does not address a maximum age limit, although it does specify a minimum age requirement of 25 for the House of Representatives, 30 for the Senate, and 35 for presidents. Other occupations have mandated retirement requirements, such as airline pilots (65 years old) and judges in the majority of US states. Only 75 years old are allowed for senatorial office in Canada. Americans are asked whether they believe there should be a maximum age limit for elected politicians and, if so, what age that limit should be in a recent YouGov poll.

A maximum age limit should exist, according to more than half (58%) of Americans, while 21% disagree. Republicans (64%) are slightly more likely to agree that there should be a maximum age restriction than Democrats (57%) and Independents (60%).

There is disagreement over the appropriate age restriction among those who believe there should be one. It should be 60 years old, according to one-fourth of respondents (24%), 39% believe it should be 70, 23% say it should be 80, and 5% think it should be 90. One in ten people believe that there should be another restriction.

How may these restrictions affect the composition of our present Congress? According to our estimate, 71% of present senators would be ineligible to hold office if senators over 60 were prohibited from doing so. Ineligible would be 30% if the cap were 70. If 80, then 6 per cent would not be qualified.

Methodology: From January 14 to January 18, 2022, YouGov polled 27,797 individuals in the United States. Based on factors such as gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party, the samples were weighted to be typical of the U.S. population.

Joe Biden calls for a dead person; Should there be an age limit for politicians?

0 Comments