President Joe Biden’s visceral shock fall on the podium to present diplomas to new graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday highlights a terrifying reality. not good. The sight of a Commander-in-Chief physically collapsing in front of Air Force Academy graduates is downright depressing for active servicemen, and telegraphs the nation’s weakness to many of America’s adversaries abroad. be.
Don’t get me wrong. Joe Biden has an absolutely huge responsibility as the President of the United States, in charge of nuclear football and primarily responsible for the issue of war and peace. While he may be totally intolerant of the vice president’s junior and potential successor, the laughing Nincomp Kamala Harris, this column argues that Biden should resign in the national interest. , and still claims so. At the very least, it would be silly and selfish for a remote member of Congress from Delaware to run for re-election in 2024.
Mr. Biden’s ousting on the state’s centenary isn’t the only recent example of a high-ranking senior citizen seemingly out of the public eye. 89-year-old Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California), who first started her political career in 1970 (a year before Biden), recently recovered from a nasty bout of shingles and encephalitis. During that time, he was absent from the senator’s job for more than two months. When he finally returned to the Capitol, Feinstein “looked astonishingly emaciated,” in the words of a May 18 New York Times article. Since his return, Feinstein, who has been confined to a wheelchair and has required additional staff assistance just to vote, seems to have forgotten that he left the committee in the first place. “No, I haven’t,” she told Slate in May. 16. Will you come again? (Related: Josh Hammer: For Ron DeSantis)
Overall, a staggering 68% of U.S. Senators in the current Congress are over the age of 60. The most popular subgroup, comprising a whopping 34% of the putative ‘greatest deliberative bodies in the world’, are in their 60s, most of whom are old enough to receive Social Security benefits. Although the constitutional minimum age to become a U.S. Senator is 30, the cumulative percentage of senators in the current Congress is under 30. 50 Only 10%.there is 3 times There are more senators aged 70-79 in the current Congress than there are senators aged 30-49. This is alarming. These men and women are tasked with making decisions on important matters such as declaring war and evaluating the most sensitive information. As for the U.S. Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett is the youngest justice at 51, and five of the nine black-clad oracles are potentially old enough to receive Social Security benefits.
Of course, American longevity politics is not confined to the realms of politics and the judiciary. American Affairs editor Julius Kellin wrote in a 2020 essay: Perhaps Silicon Valley has been so successful precisely because it’s the only place in the United States where people who aren’t on the verge of lag can get promoted or raise money. Conversely, perhaps the reason the pharmaceutical lobby is so successful is that it is not only the largest contributor to Congress’ assisted living facilities, but also perhaps the largest seller. ”
Leaving aside the obvious civilizational pitfalls and national security risks of leaving the question of war and peace in the hands of so many baby boomers (and even those of the silent generation that preceded them). , there is a more fundamental problem here: It is the very heart of the corruption that now plagues many institutions in once-great America. From higher education to Fortune 500 boardrooms to the political arena, the problem can be summed up in some ways as a failure of long-term vision. Just as board “short-termism” can hijack the “invisible hand” of the market and mislead it away from the welfare of wider society as a whole, so too can politicians Instead of worrying about , we tend to worry only about the impending short-term election results. To lead with a grand vision or present a grand strategy.
We will see how this situation will improve as long as the older generation, caught up in outdated conventions and inherently more prone to short-term thinking than the more long-term thinking younger generation, continues to hold power. It is extremely difficult to predict. As a Millennial Conservative pundit myself, I know that Boomer Conservatives, or “Boomercons,” keep us astray, and instead of pushing for cutting-edge 2023 solutions that actually address our current problems, I am well aware of the dangers of repackaging an outdated 1984 dogma.
As America becomes increasingly uncompetitive in many areas and as China soars to unprecedented heights in the new great power race of the 21st century, across myriad organizations that make up younger, greedier, hungrier men and women. It is imperative that they are placed in a prominent position in public and civil life of the country. Private companies should make greater use of the retirement age system, and the constitution should be amended to mandate a retirement age for all legislative, executive and judicial oath-taking officials. These are bipartisan common-sense measures to revitalize a hardened, late-stage republic. (Related: Daniel McCarthy: Today’s Feinstein is Tomorrow’s Biden)
Unfortunately, polls for the 2024 Republican presidential primary are currently dominated by high-profile Boomers. That Boomer, in many ways, embodies the stupidity of his generation. Republicans are gearing up to become the oldest president in American history next year, but they’ll probably increase their chances of doing so if they nominate a younger, grittier, hungrier General Xer instead. Perhaps that conservative Gen X, known for his ruthless competence and desire for a broader worldview aimed at remaking America, has gone on to become a wildly successful governor of the nation’s largest state.
Is there something in it?
To learn more about Josh Hammer and read features by other Creators Syndicate authors and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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