There's no age limit for politicians − as people live longer, should that change?

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But his fall was caught on live camera – and people on social media speculated about what was behind it.

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Monday, August 28, 2023

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But his fall was caught on live camera – and people on social media speculated about what was behind it.
Biden, approaching his 81st birthday in November 2023, is the oldest serving U.S. president.
He shares the distinction of old age with a growing number of politicians, including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who, at age 90, is the oldest person in the Senate and has served as senator since 1992.
Should society make retiring at a certain age mandatory for elected officials who run the country – like presidents and senators?
Whatever view one takes on the ethics of age limits for politicians, voting remains the primary way to put one’s views into practice.

Requirements for U.S. presidential candidates haven’t changed since 1789, when the Constitution was written.
In that era, the average life expectancy was about 34 years – but varied greatly for people who were slaves or free.
A person must be at least 25 years old in order to serve in the House of Representatives, while the minimum age rises slightly to 30 years old for serving in the Senate.

A 2022 YouGov poll reported that 58% of Americans want a maximum age for politicians.
Those who support age limits usually say that politicians holding office should be no more than 70 years old.
It is unclear how age limits like that could be implemented.
Increasingly, people everywhere will be forced to confront questions about whether a person can be too old to hold public office.

Considering age limits for high-ranking politicians poses certain ethical questions that do not have a clear answer.
Like age limits, however, capping years would disproportionately affect older workers – and some say that’s unjustly discriminatory.
Even without age cutoffs, age could still be a way to flag other relevant factors, like health.
As people age, they face heightened risk of chronic disease and of having multiple chronic conditions.

In rich Western countries, people do not retire because they can no longer work –retirement is not correlated with an actual reduction in physical or intellectual capabilities.
Those who oppose compulsory retirement, myself included, say that mandating retirement generates ageism, or negative stereotypes based on age.
People equally able to perform a job deserve equal chances to continue to work, independent of factors unrelated to job performance, such as age, race or gender identity.

People supporting a maximum age limit for the president and members of Congress have launched online signature campaigns on Change.org.
But these efforts would require a constitutional amendment and have not gained major traction.
In a democracy, we the people decide by voting.