Are Old People Ruining Politics?

[@frankguy6843]

Considering how much the world has changed in just the last 20 years it's amazing we are still relying on people who grew up with rotary phones to make decisions for our modern world

[@taylorlibby7642]

Rotary phones? Anybody born before 1980 grew up with those still hanging around. The folks you're talking about grew up before there were zip codes, area codes, or 10-digit phone numbers.

[@danielland3767]

I'm glad I was born at 1980 then..lol

[@frankguy6843]

@@taylorlibby7642 Sure but they were also popular in like the 50's and 60's you know what I mean lol

[@lonelyp1]

I do own a smart phone, and I hate the thing. I would much rather have a land line rotary phone. An old style answering machine and you can just ignore it. Wonderful.

[@thedude925]

Considering that an 80+ year old spent their formative first 20 years living in a country that had segregation should be disqualifying enough.

[@troywalkertheprogressivean8433]

Government positions weren't supposed to be permanent, they were always supposed to be temporary.

[@SilvaDreams]

There also weren't supposed to be career politicians but that is we have, they were supposed to lead a normal life and just hold offices for a term or two before another took over. They shouldn't be making more than the average American(to substitute the time away from their normal job) but they keep giving themselves more money and free shit like planes and homes all on taxpayers dime.

[@miisgi9641]

*Elected positions, absolutely. "If you haven't gotten done what you promised to do in the time we sent you there to do it, then you aren't that good at your job. We wrote the Constitution in 116 days, after all!" I do think the original idea was to get absolutely the unobjectionable highest scholars/specialists to continuously hold positions below and even up to Secretary executive positions. (Kinda like SCOTUS, but just "serves at the pleasure".) Though your this comment makes me reconsider if even that is necessarily a good idea. On one hand, experience is definitely useful in getting the best results and we clearly want at those stakes. On the other, it makes individuals exceptionally susceptible to corruption as shown by the current SCOTUS.

[@troywalkertheprogressivean8433]

@@miisgi9641 we need some democracy up in this b itch. 😅

[@poopymcmonke]

Senators used to have to not only live in the state they represent, but had to have jobs there asside from their seat. Now most of them live in DC and virtually none of them do anything outside of their political work

[@SilvaDreams]

@poopymcstankbottom3479 I wouldn't even say they do their political work. They don't even bother reading what is in the bills they are passing. Most the time they have other people read and write shit for them or tll them what the bill is "supposed" to be

[@ABigRedShirt]

Term limits are a must, the age debate wouldn’t be as potent an issue if the ones in question weren’t in office for over 40+ years

[@FrankiePhoenix]

This is exactly it. We need old people to be represented, but at the same time, we don't need them to represent everyone. If there wasn't a guaranteed policy vote for their donors for 40+ years, or if there wasn't a guaranteed paycheck from donors for everyone running on certain platforms, there wouldn't be a corruption issue. Young people can get corrupt just as easily as the old.

[@KManAbout]

Term limits wouldn't eliminate old people we would just cycle through a bunch of different old people. What we need is age limits

[@saphironkindris]

@@KManAbout Little bit of column A, little bit of column B. Nothing says that We can't have both Age and Term limits.

[@JackTalyorD]

What the say the brain of a 17 year old is the same as a 70 year old and you hit your peak mental limit at 30-50 (I think maybe) One would assume that age is not the point but good judgement is. The question is how do you define that. They say age is wisdom but barin function change over the years .... Where do you draw the line between 40 years of experience and knowledge over 10 years but in a younger more flexible brain. What of the 2 has a better understanding of any given issue

[@eyeden819]

Better education is a must. People are stupid, simple as, and that makes our democracy weak.

[@patrickcarrillo714]

Basically to sum up lobbying needs to be banned entirely and term limits need to be put on everything Senate, House of Representatives, Even the supreme Court because these people will not let go of power and thus hold the country back

[@TexasNationalist1836]

What is lobbying?

[@lolbit1232]

@@TexasNationalist1836 To give you a really summed up idea, think of paying people whose job is to prevent or to push certain laws from coming in and when you look at it, it seems extremely corrupt and quite counterproductive, But on paper is fully legal

[@TexasNationalist1836]

@@lolbit1232 not at all you are incorrect. Lobbying is the advocating for something or to seek influence of an issue, it is no different than you or I calling your representatives and saying “I want X done”. It should be fully legal

[@lolbit1232]

@@TexasNationalist1836 And to really summit up, think of people paying people whose job is to prevent or push certain laws from coming in, and practice it actually seems extremely corrupt because it does allow monopolies to keep large sways of power, or to purposely set up a situation that can hurt the voter or consumer And becomes very counter Productive, And no, it’s very much different than me and you asking representative we want something done because we’re also not using large amounts of money given to us to build up this influence, Or how we’re not using lawyers to also help (Now of course you could be talking about small time lobbying, which only makes up a Smaller chunk of actual lobbying, and usually will get blown away unless with mass political support)

[@boundary2580]

@@TexasNationalist1836but offering more money is more enticing to a political representative, meaning wealthier people have more influence over representatives than the layperson. Lobbying always favors the rich. This is inherently non-democratic.

[@BatJoe12]

Forget age, term limits is what we need. No more lifetime politicians.

[@themarauder6108]

You really think those fossils are going to vote in favour of that, it would put them all out of a job and lose them millions at the same time.

[@yeskawa]

Agreed

[@Tyler_W]

This, but almost more importantly, there needs to be term limits for the unelected staffers and bureaucratic agencies. They're they ones who form longterm government policy and make the real decisions. That combined with the intelligence apparatus is what people mean when they refer to "the deep state" as a general catch-all term. The politicians are just the public facing puppets who abdicated a lot of their responsibilities to the administrative bureaucracy. For better or worse (I'd argue more for the better than not, but I appreciate other people have other views politically), it's really only the America First faction in the political space that has any real inclination to do something like this. The other factions are just the neocon/neolib establishment whi want to keep the status quo and the progressives who act like they just want to take over the system for themselves without any real reform because they just want the way things are to work for them.

[@kohga1374]

Definitely. If the people choose an old person so be it, but career politicians are the bigger problem, they just happen to also be old

[@nietzscheankant6984]

Term limits aren't without their problems - they force good politicians out alongside the bad ones, and they increase the "revolving door" phenomenon - instead of focusing on getting re-elected, they'd rather focus on maximizing/optimizing their post-politics payday/career. Old representatives staying in power is just one SYMPTOM of the multitude of problems with the US political and electoral systems, and if you want real change in the outcomes, you need real systemic change in the foundations.

[@stevenshar1233]

It's not that the politicians are old, it's the fact that most of these politicians are the old wealthy elites. The old is a partial problem, but the main issue is the wealthy elites.

[@minngael]

Yes, and honestly if they did have an age limit their children & grandchildren would probably replace them. Just look at the Kennedys.

[@stevenshar1233]

@@Polaris1983-rl4so The real battle isn't old vs young. It's the old rich vs the young poor. The real issue that we should be focusing on, is the have vs the have not. Look at any social, racial, gender, sexual, etc, issues, it's always been about the have and the have not. Don't get fooled by the misdirection set by the people in power. It was never a battle of red vs blue, it's always been about the have and have nots, never forget that.

[@itsblitz4437]

@@stevenshar1233 wish everyone was aware of that.

[@Morgan-ys1hy]

I disagree. It's time to move on for these old timers, rich or not. Not saying younger generations need to rush change for the SAKE of change, pushing lightning speed without caution and understanding from history. However, change needs to start somewhere, and it won't begin until old politicians release their power-death-grip.

[@RickReasonnz]

Yes, the problem is the inequity in power. It just so happens that those with the most power right now also happen to walking advertisements for the benefits of rest homes.

[@lordraiden5398]

Its not the age. Its the money in politics. Stop allowing corporations to give millions of dollars to politicians and judges and this problem will go away.

[@timfriday9106]

And term limits...letting someone have that much power for that long is never a good idea. 2-4 term limits wouldn't be that big of a deal. It would get rid of like...half of congress currently serving but...after that it would be a pretty regular amount turnover instead of a 92 freaking percent re election every year...ffs thats just insane...everyone knows they are the worst at their job and we complain about them all the time...and yet they just get re-elected over and over forever...maddening.

[@user-iz7fu2dp6q]

@@timfriday9106 * And we complain about them all the time... and yet they just get re-elected over and over forever * You are about to discover that complaining about something on the internet doesn't solve any of the problems.

[@draco_1876]

It is the age. Wtf is wrong with y’all. Old people don’t have proper motor functions or a understanding of the modern world.

[@simplyharkonnen]

Nah, it’s the age too. Their brains are rotting out of their skulls. They’re demented. Senile.

[@annnee6818]

Y'all voted in the Republicans who killed the 2000 dollar limit, soooo.

[@piking6329]

I've heard it said before that the problem with boomers isn't that they're old. The problem is that they're baby boomers, growing up entitled in the most economically prosperous time in the nation's history

[@roberthenry9319]

Be careful about using the word "entitled" unless you really know what you are talking about, @piking6329. You do not have any clue about "entitled baby boomers". Actually, your comments are ignorant. Study some history before you judge a multi-generational group of people. Or just do not comment at all.

[@captainplanet1260]

Ignore the boomer comment above 😂

[@chads.1726]

i had the displeasure of meeting Mrs.Feinstein several years ago while working at an airport in my home state of California. She was so rude, cruel and generally unpleasant to deal with her child and their spouse literally apologized to me about the way Feinstein treated us.

[@itsblitz4437]

She should have never got into office. Makes me wish San Francisco Mayor George Mascone lived a little longer as mayor and she would not have been in a position of power.

[@JerryExploresHistory]

What did she say or do to be rude to people?

[@elizabethmarsh4876]

That might be the dementia. I'm not going to argue the kind of politician she was, but she needs to go like yesterday.

[@condor237]

She has Alzheimer’s

[@Democrities]

It should’ve been her instead of Milk 😢

[@xkumanekox]

As a Malaysian, old politicians who still hold certain major positions in the country are undoubtedly destroying the political future of my country.

[@hansolowe19]

They gotta die sometime. 🤷🏼

[@Coffeeisnecessarynowpepper]

Your airline disappeared

[@KOTYAR1]

Tell me about it, I'm Russian

[@hansolowe19]

@@KOTYAR1 it's hard to organise a democratic opposition in Russia😓

[@oswarz]

It's not their age, it's their greed.

[@silentm999]

Yes. We need age, and term limits. Our pres can barely string two sentences together. McConnells brain stopped firing on live TV, but he should have been gone 20 years ago anyway.

[@GoldPeakLLC]

We don’t need age limits. The people are responsible for voting people in. We need competency tests maybe. But there are 70 year old that are much sharper than 40 year olds so age shouldn’t be a concern. Of course the older the more likely to face mental deficits but still.

[@antman7673]

You can count on fossils to vote in your in your interest of age limits.

[@anthonymcfey8372]

One solves the other. If you have the term limits, you really don't need the age limits.

[@tiamarrow6366]

@@GoldPeakLLCwell that’s the thing though…..one of the reasons age, and competence are usually put together is because most people associate incompetence and losing sight of memories, etc with getting older or elderly. I mean most people in their late 70’s-80’s unfortunately do start to forget little things like what day it is, where they are, and where they live…..and that can turn into forgetting the names of their loved ones, but when you have those types of people running a country either as president or in any other type of political position, that’s not good.

[@scottlemiere2024]

@@GoldPeakLLC it's not about how sharp they are, it's about how connected they are to the majority of the voters. You going to try and tell me that the majority of 70 year olds give a shit about what the majority of 20 year olds think?

[@DrPorkchop-wt1wc]

I think it is important to have SOME older people in the senate and house, as they have the years of wisdom. But Term limits and annual mental fortitude tests NEED to be required

[@jakesmall8875]

That’s why we should have age limits like 67 1-2 you can’t run for another term

[@captainplanet1260]

Keeping the elderly involved, is like leaving a few rusty bits just incase when you clean your car,

[@RunescapNerdHar1]

If you’re old enough to retire, you shouldn’t be in politics, seriously it’s getting ridiculous, people voting on technology or subjects they have no understanding of and won’t effect them. Of course most politicians are already out of touch even if they aren’t 87. My grandma can barely click a mouse, I wouldn’t ask her to set up my new computer, why would I ask her to vote on legislation on net neutrality?

[@SilvaDreams]

The sad part is it's intentional when older people don't have an idea how to use modern stuff. My mother who was the baby of the family is computer illiterate but we had a PC in the home since I was born in 83 but my grandparents who passed in their late 90s in 2013 and 2015 both could use a computer with no issue. They were on Facebook and what not, did their taxes on it and even played games.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

A politician's job is to vote on policies that won't affect them. The net neutrality thing was an issue that you don't have to understand technology to form an opinion on. The question is "should it be legally permissible for a company providing a service to breach their contract with no repercussion while still forcing their customers to hold up their end of the contract?" Net neutrality said "no, absolutely not".

[@oswarz]

PLEASE, Please, please. Do you really think younger people entering politics aren't there to make money along with all the perks upon leaving government? To line their own pockets? Age has nothing to do with it. Look at the "squad". What have they done substantively to improve the lives of working people?

[@jj_verona]

​@@oswarzpass the p.r.o. act, for one

[@nkosilathimukura6106]

Imagine someone choosing the movie then leaving in the first act

[@hezigler]

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Louis D. Brandeis

[@timfriday9106]

mad facts. Marx said the same shit. "as long as there are levers of power the rich can use to maintain power, they will"

[@qjtvaddict]

@@timfriday9106hmmm Marx was right

[@Gnarfendorf]

Too bad comunism is only good on paper, in reality it fails the same way as any other kind of government, simply because there is always someone in charge in some way, and people are selfish. Nobody is ever satisfied with what they have, no matter how many billions of dollars they have in their bank.

[@dzhonnikihirin4006]

Democracy is mob rule you sure you want that

[@MrAkaacer]

Depends on the definition of "Great Wealth". For me, yeah, the like of Gates, Bezos, Walton family, etc... but unfortunately, tax reforms always targets upper middle-class and moderately wealthy people. Moderately wealthy would be less than 100 million say. The other evil was allowing Company's to be a legal person. It's created many loop holes to evade taxes and responsibility.

[@MikeFromPA]

Where did you get the data that people over 65 are the age group with the highest rate of poverty? Most data I see shows children and then young adults as the highest rates of poverty?

[@BJlax1989]

BR3NT 5T0N3 was here

[@Rukkuz_]

I see it

[@grev.]

i c u

[@shadowwolfkano]

dsaL

[@DysphoricBeats]

frumpa

[@Anon282828]

"the USA operates as a plutocracy with gerontocratic characteristics" - this is very well put, thank you...

[@taylorlibby7642]

Heard an interesting take on this the other day from a guy I know who works in a bank. He was saying that his bank requires people to take regularly scheduled 4 day "vacations". Not to look after their employees well-being, but because they figure that hiding any continuing employee theft will actually require the presence of the thieving employee and that the theft will be discovered in their absence. What if all of these corrupt elders are holding on so long in political office so that they can keep hiding their ongoing crimes? (edit for spelling)

[@JW-lr8sd]

Or.. if like the mob or a gang they're "jumped in", & there is no jumping out. Pelosi, McConnel, they are an investment by "the powers that be". They have all the contacts, know where the bodies are hidden, all the secrets.. & to get their replacement/successor, takes A LOT of time, training, work. They are invaluable to "TPTB". So quite literally they cannot retire, they are not allowed to. 🤪 just a wondering what-if.

[@litical3719]

This definitely could be possible

[@JoshuaNeeley]

When I was doing IT at a bank we used to have a similar system in place. During these vacations we would monitor their log ins and email to see if they were outsourcing their work, as well as checking for intruders on the network.

[@maximkusanagi]

Did you not see that video of a politician reading off a list of crimes at first saying it was about NBA players but revealed it was actual congresspeople in office at that time.

[@taylorlibby7642]

5 replies but only 2 visible. I always wonder who's getting censored and why when that happens.

[@kweightthree]

Ranked Choice voting would solve most of this. But there absolutely should be a hard age limit for all government employees.

[@Democlis]

And campaing financing laws. The only advantage an incumbet should have over a new commer at the start of the race should be his/hers records on congress, not more money and time through free ads from pacs.

[@montithered4741]

Short answer…YES! All elected, appointed, or otherwise employed government people should have mandatory retirement at age 67!

[@galerus3776]

@@montithered4741 Eh I am thinking 60 - 65

[@colewatts7599]

I’ve been saying the hard age limit on certain jobs for a bit. Glad I’m not alone in that thinking.

[@kerwinbrown4180]

Alaska has ranked choice and Senator Murkowski age 66 was elected.

[@OldBuggaboo]

And today Sen Dianne feinstein passed on at AGE 90

[@carldornbrack1689]

Ironic that i got recommended this videos after reading an article about diane finestine passing away

[@dlg5485]

No, it's not just about age. It's about corruption, the legalized bribery of corporate campaign contributions, which representatives of all ages engage in.

[@LoreleiBeatrix]

this^

[@BLNTEST]

Ok, someone beat me to this

[@draco_1876]

Age is a massive factor

[@dlg5485]

@@draco_1876 Not really. That's oversimplified thinking. As I said, the fundamental problem with Congress is the corporate money pouring in and the perverse incentives that it creates. It's not complicated.

[@outlaw0987654321]

This is right, but age is still a very big factor. a person who is in power for 40+ years has done and can do more than someone how is in power for 10 because they had years to build up power and influence. These people should be able to be at least be voted out, that way the threat of losing their power MIGHT (active word here) keep them in line somewhat.

[@franciscovarela7127]

I'm an old guy and think our politicians are too damn old!

[@josem588]

They are good politicians As long as they change his diapers on time

[@AzraqShinji]

Yes. I find it baffling that most of these people have been in office before the mere idea of the internet was even a thing

[@RJ_Ehlert]

Money is always the answer to "why are things bad." However, I would wager that elderly politicians are perhaps less concerned with what the Earth will look like in 100 years.

[@CyberLance26]

Most young people does not seem to really care about the future at all either. There are many things about how the western world is changing right now that most people in general wants to just ignore and not talk about or think about but they are all aware that those things are happening. So its not about age its about things being taboo to talk about.

[@RJ_Ehlert]

@@CyberLance26 I disagree. The teens and 20s generation is extremely vocally supportive of all green policy changes.

[@amandaslough125]

​@@RJ_EhlertWhich is good to be, but we need those in charge to fix the infrastructure to be able to actually accommodate it.

[@Dylan-yy3rw]

​@@CyberLance26they do care. A lot of studies show that Gen Z is one of the most politically active generations. Highest percentage of voting. Highest amount of protests. They want the change. So do I. Police reform, green policies, and more acceptance of LGBTQ+ should all be considered good things. The main issue is no politician is trying to do it one step at a time. It's either all at once or none at all. Green energy, fir example, needs to be built slowly for the transition to not be disastrous. However neither side is fine with a slow step. Republican politicians say no green energy, keep pumping that oil and mining that coal. Democrat politicians say to shut down oil pumps. Mass produce solar. Both are disastrous for different reasons. A slow shut down and slow build up would be less disastrous for the economy, and would eventually help the carbon emissions. Same with trans rights. Don't get me wrong, I want then to have all the rights they deserve, but if you look at the civil rights movements, and gay rights movements: the faster you push the more the prejudice push back. If you move slower the prejudice look crazy and no one listens. Right now the prejudice have a voice because of how fast the movement has been. Both the right and the left have only extremists running for office. No one is willing to compromise, which is essential. It isn't an issue of the younger generation not wanting to be in politics, but rather the political system not wanting younger people to change anything

[@seanclydecorry1262]

Very important video topic - but not enough people are talking about Michael's unhinged, amazing high school story. Love you, dude. hahaha

[@missa1063]

Right?! I immediately came to the comments and was disappointed.

[@Valleybucker]

Asserted dominance by shitting on a car, well done. Must've been a lovely conversation at school

[@HylianFox3]

Best part is the faculty was clearly impressed.

[@jonstewart464]

Totally. That anecdote had me in stiches!

[@rjstefani1]

I can't believe Michael's mom hasn't commented on him shitting on someone's car when he was a teenager.

[@masteroldspice2718]

I think the big issue is that congress is so disconnected in both age, class and gender. A bunch of old rich white guys in congress only benefits more old rich white guys

[@helloxo666]

Great timing

[@Dusty.Spinster]

Holy shit thank you for setting me straight I was falling into the trap of blaming the old. Never forget the true divider is money!!

[@ToxicFruitSnack]

Lots and lots of corruption with money

[@Iamknwownastrouble]

I feel like the millennials and gen z are being treated like those toddlers who are screaming “it’s my turn now!” And those in power see themselves as our parents who have to disciple us 😂😂

[@olafsigursons]

And Gen X is the middle facepalming themselves.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

The irony there is that the for gen z those people who see themselves are parents are great-grandparents or even older. Older millennials are in their mid 40s. Older gen-x are approaching 60.

[@HylianFox3]

@@olafsigursons "Life is unfaaaaaaiiirrr..."

[@island_rogue1687]

​@olafsigurson5333 face slapping and jaw dropping while shaking their heads 😂😂😂

[@VvpandoravV]

@@HylianFox3ok, boomer.

[@Pixachuu]

As a french guy, having a 40 years old president, putting a lot of "new blood" in every element of the system, I can say that age is clearly not the issue. They will just change the peoples in charge, not the politics. The only old people that will disappear of the chambers will be the ones disagreeing with them, an in term of idea, a 40 years old president can be more out of touch than your grand mother.

[@captainplanet1260]

That poor groomed little leader of yours, must have an arse like a turned over waste bin. The younger leaders are groomed and glazed by the crusty old farts above them. You get a head in politics by giving head to ancient .....

[@josem588]

Maximum age for being in politics must be 60 years old

[@Pixachuu]

@@josem588 this is not only a bad idea because you're discriminating a group of people, but also, older people can bring some interesting ways to resolve a situation because of their experiences on life. What is wrong in politics is the amount of power you give to a single person, giving them responsibility over the entire group. We should work for more democracy in our political system, not cutting people from it. Politics is the only place where people older than sixty should still work. Because they have the right to participate to the life of the community

[@josem588]

@@Pixachuu I said it considering that is the age of retirement in most jobs

[@Ahrpigi]

I'm almost 40 and for my whole life dusty, out of touch dinosaurs of every stripe have been blocking progress and positive change while lining their own pockets. Nobody should be allowed in any office longer than 8 years, and I would also argue nobody over 60 should be in any position of political power above local mayor.

[@brianbuecher1639]

So once again, it's wealth inequality that's the real problem.

[@rico14]

@@danielwaters3188what society hasn’t had inequality?

[@CancelYoutube026]

@@danielwaters3188 USA has socialism, not full Capitalism.

[@notmyname2089]

@@rico14 None, but why do we have to accept that? It sounds like you're asking; "Why catch criminals? What society doesn't have criminals?" It should be our job to, at the very least, try and make things better. It's your way of thinking that's stifling any kind of meaningful progress. Why change inequality when there has always been inequality? Because IT IS UNEQUAL. That's why.

[@beanman9936]

@@CancelKZbin026 pretty sure it still has capitalism but lots of ppl are really pushing for socialism

[@alexthewrecker4666]

​@@CancelKZbin026this is not socialism pal. We have a mixed economy. You would have to be lobotomized to think a 100% free market economy would help the working class

[@xehanort6]

There is one major oversight in this video. The voting patterns of the elderly. It's not just about the representatives. They are a very easily courted and very able voting block(they will send buses to them or even set voting locations right there), and this has huge ramifications for the political makeup of any state level. A lot of gerrymandering isn't only about diluting the opposition's voters, but ensuring these districts have blocks of these voters to ensure them. I've been to a Republican campaign center in Mississippi. They literally map retirement homes and these are some of the most serviced fronts of the campaigns.

[@RicochetForce]

Yup, Japan has this very problem. The elderly are often VERY fearful and will vote for fucked up things.

[@RestingJudge]

Ahh yes, my state. Number 1 in corruption baby! For real though Mississippi doesn't even hide what the rest of the country is doing. You can observe this same shit on a local level for towns of a couple thousand. This has led most of us younger who actually stay in this state into extreme political apathy.

[@mattr2626]

I worked at the Secretary of State's Office here in CA and helped disseminate results for the 2021 recall and 2022 general election. I found that old people just cared more about politics generally speaking and they were definitely voting more than younger people from what I saw. TLDR: more gen z and millennials need to vote if they want things to change

[@shzarmai]

Proportional Ranked-Choice Voting is needed

[@xehanort6]

@shzarmai Indeed, but I really don't want proactive people to think that's the whole war. It's an important battle.

[@In2legos]

I think a lot of our problems wouldn't be happening if there were term limits and lobbying wasn't happening. Corporations have too much power, we need to crack down on monopolies and tax breaks

[@barnettmcgowan8978]

Great video. Age is obviously an issue at the extremes, like Dianne Feinstein and Mitch McConnell; they have obvious health issues that impair their ability to do their job. That being said, some of the worst people in Government aren't old: Greene, Boebert and Gaetz. Money is also a huge problem, but still not the big issue. The American people are the issue. The average American thinks the age and wealth of everyone else's representatives is a huge problem, but the age and wealth of their own is fine. We have a government of old, rich people, because we keep voting for them. Until that stops, nothing is going to change. You can't complain about everyone's old, rich representative, while still voting for your own. We all have to start participating in primaries and voting for new blood. The general election is too late, because the choice has already been made.

[@Grizabeebles]

The worst part is that by the time the millennials inherit power we'll be in our early 50s. And we had less than 2 children per couple on average, which means power won't naturally transition to younger demographics until some time after 2050.

[@RossZ428]

I'm in my late 20s. The first possible pole I was able to go to was the 2016 presidential election. My entire adult life, politics has been a clown show. There absolutely should be an age limit. People our great grandparent's age have no business deciding how we live in a rapidly developing society, at least not without some kind of mental assessment

[@LifeBindeR222]

Yes. There should be an age limit of something like 65. Congress age limit should be 25-65 and also have public funds for them to use for the election instead of donations from the super wealthy. Then it'll be way more equal.

[@scottlemiere2024]

We have a public fund set up for the presidential campaign, unfortunately it's optional to take money from it and if you do, you can't take donations. And the amount given from the fund is nowhere near enough to fund a presidential campaign.

[@averagejoe455]

It's hard to be a gerontocracy when we're an oligarchy.

[@SaraiSohma]

The two are not mutually exclusive

[@averagejoe455]

@@SaraiSohma Our old fuddies in Congress are not the Capitalist Oligarchs that control the country, they are tools of the Oligarchs.

[@averagejoe455]

@@SaraiSohma Our old fuddies in Congress are not the Capitalist Oligarchs that control the country, they are tools of the Oligarchs.

[@raygaub9861]

If I spent years and millions or billions buying off politicians and judges I wouldn't want them to retire. Since I would damn near own them I would do what was in my power to keep them around doing my bidding.

[@globaladdict]

Well good thing ur an npc and not an actual threat to humanity with ur cute power aspirations

[@ak-ub1ym]

​@@globaladdict what do u think is happening in america right now? Corpos lobbying due to unregulated capitalism is what is causing america problems that even developing or 3rd world countries don't suffer from. And what the OP said is exactly that , when u have system that treats human being like farm raised cattle , the owners do expect a return on investment. Which is exactly in line with Corpo lobbied govt in america is.

[@GnomePilledGoblin]

​@@globaladdict you gotta b dumb lol

[@natesullivanw24]

Fun fact, I’m bad with names, but if you type in “ Turtle in Congress” into Google, McConnell shows up

[@The_Hooded_Scribe]

I was not ready for the "turtle impersonator" line 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@billyLego4855]

They are too out of touch of reality. Knowing people's actual struggles too them is either based on subjective or what they did back in the day...

[@FullOnGritz]

Just a few nights ago, my father was texting me being overly reductive in thinking I complain about the aging representatives due to their age. My response was a long text that was almost 1 to 1 with this video and now I am happy to have this example to send to him that I am not alone in this line of thought.

[@notimportantsono]

its not a young vs old or a race thing, its a rich vs the rest of us. they have us fighting against ourselves so well that we dont notice who is truly oppressing us

[@darksaint0124]

While it is a rich vs. the rest of us thing, out of touch old people that refuse to let go of power does add to the problem.

[@DrNiradino]

@@darksaint0124 when this out of touch old people will eventually die, their no less out of touch kids will take over their place. Problem is that US is governed by wealthy, rather then worthy.

[@darksaint0124]

@@DrNiradino How many kids of Senators do you see take over? That was an 80s and 90s thing that doesn't really happen anymore. The only child of a politician currently in the Senate that I can even think of is Mitt Romney. Also, why are you trying to make it seem that I didn't say that the geriatric Congress only adds to the problem, I never said it was the problem.

[@brandonfoley7519]

Young and poor vs old and wealthy

[@joshhanklon]

when being below 70 in politics is fairly young you know there's a problem

[@OutlawSpaceWizard]

LOL DIANE FIENSTIEN JUST DIED!

[@Aetium]

I like the part where Michael describes himself as old and mentions details that I've had since my early 20s.

[@Xankek]

My favorite is when someone goes "why does your knees hurt? What are you, old?" "Man I've been old since gradeschool. My shits always hurt"

[@jamesharvey3993]

As soon as politicians can draw social security, they should not be able to run again. Also term limits. Term limits for every government positions.

[@lousy7580]

There should be as few barriers to vote or how to vote as possible. Age limits are bad. Term limits incentivize politicians to govern in pursuit of their next job. McConnell, Biden, and Pelosi, for all their faults, aren’t doing that.

[@themarauder6108]

@@lousy7580 No, they're just committing the crime of insider trading instead.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

@@lousy7580 There are already age limits for young people. Either you believe there shouldn't be, you believe there should also be age limits for old people, or you're a hypocrite. Those are the only 3 options.

[@MorbidEel]

Then they'll change the rules so nobody can get social security until 100+.

[@oswarz]

THAT is an Excellent IDEA!

[@woodbridgesfinest1904]

I concur. An age limit, removing gerrymandering from Congress' per view and restriction on profiteering while in office.

[@andrewnewsome4277]

What we need is term limits not age limits.

[@margoldgallentara8968]

We need both an age limit and to dissolve party associations so people would need to know the politician not the color that they wear.

[@jessetorres8738]

I think that since we have a 2 & 1/2 term limit (or 10 year maximum) for the President in The U.S. Constitution & a majority of State Governors also have term limits, we should have term limits for all members of The House (I think 10, 2 year terms), The Senate (3, 6 year terms), & The Judiciary (at most 20 years). I think this is the only way to prevent complicity in our federal government by constantly changing it.

[@taylorlibby7642]

The problem is that term limits keep getting shot down by the Supreme Court.

[@Newton-Reuther]

Some governors can serve more than 10 years total but can't run for reelection after two consecutive terms. There is some data to suggest that politicians who have been in office longer are more capable of reaching legislative compromise, but it seems that most of that could be done by limiting consecutive terms but not total terms.

[@eduardoserpa1682]

That doesn't matter that much. This exists in many countries, to different degrees, and all it means is that the seats as passed down to children, cousins and friends every now and then, and they keep voting the same way their predecessors did (because they're still sponsored by the same people).

[@deadcard13]

I'm not sure congessional term limits will be a net positive. They already abuse their positions to set up their post office carreees. What might work better is built in recall protocols to prevent abusing lame-duck terms.

[@oswarz]

No. The judiciary should have shorter terms, Six years tops.

[@patrickvernon4766]

Politics now is old people trying to hold onto thier gains and refusing to restructure anything

[@aronm5329]

It's only been a week and this has already aged like fine wine🍷

[@OccupiedMuffins]

That shitting on the hood story was WILD

[@WisecrackEDU]

The early 2000's were crazy.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

​@@WisecrackEDUyes

[@TheMajorStranger]

short answer: Yes. Just retire, take your well funded pension, your bribes and your insider trading fortune and let younger people run the country.

[@boardcertifiable]

They don't want to because those young people want to get rid of the rampant plutocratic thievery they support.

[@josem588]

Maximum age should be 50 years old

[@p_7ero]

What Mr. Carter of Georgia was asking the tiktok ceo is if the phone is using front facing camera to determine engagement with a post and thus fine tune the algorithm. This is a valid question, wisecrack doesnt understand a senior while claiming seniors dont understand tech lol.

[@Philadelphia_Jamal]

How long do they want to hold office!? That's a part of the problem.

[@Author1219]

Honestly, yes. If a representative has dementia, they should have the grace to step down. There also need to be experts consulted in fields that require specialized knowledge. For example, medical professionals should be consulted and be allowed to educate on bills related to health- such as abortion laws.

[@Sizdothyx]

So, basically, if I go to see a doctor, you're saying I should go see the younger, less experienced one by default, or something like that?

[@devrimyilmaz9044]

@@Sizdothyx I don't see where you got that from.

[@Author1219]

Incorrect. I’m saying that if you go to see a doctor, no matter their age, there is an assumption that they are competent in their field, and that they know the limits of their competence. I personally feel that there should be a level of competence required to represent the American people, and that the limits of someone’s depth of knowledge should be acknowledged and addressed. It is impossible for one person to have a deep understanding of every issue. To return to the doctor example, there is an understanding that if you’re showing symptoms of a condition that the doctor cannot treat, they’ll send you to a specialist. You wouldn’t expect your general practitioner to be your psychologist or ophthalmologist, for example. Many of our representatives are lawyers or businessmen. I don’t expect them to have an in-depth knowledge of health care or the alternate uses of different medications. I do expect them to put their personal feelings aside, consult and listen to experts in the medical field if they’re trying to pass laws about medical practice and procedures.

[@normanmai7865]

@@Sizdothyx This is truly a "Jesse, what the fuck are you talking about" moment

[@ElDaumo]

there is a minimum age to vote and to participate in politics - there should be a maximum age as well.

[@jaymz010]

Too old AND too rich. And don’t get me started on the existence of the House Of Lords in my country 🇬🇧 NOBODY should inherit power in a democracy that plays as a meritocracy

[@DelTashlin]

I feel very stuck in the middle of this discussion. I'm in that weird generational gap that's young for Gen X but definitely did not share the same childhood as Millenials. I too worry about the health and well being of our elected officials, but I don't think age is the right rubrick. What are we worried about when it comes to aging governmental officials? Cognitive debilitation? Health related issues? Even being "out of touch" isn't generally applicable to all people over the age of 40. I'm hearing more and more about GenX not understanding Internet culture and I think, "Hey, we were hacking off of payphones with 2400 baud modems before your parents met!" And at the same time, I use TikTok, Twitch, and other forms of "current Internet culture".

[@PopeGoliath]

Thank you for bringing it back around wealth and class. It's too easy to forget that "the olds" are victims too.

[@georgeshumate8174]

We as a nation should not have to endure this any longer as a reasonable form of government. This has become unsustainable. Having people this old deciding anything is extremely poor judgment. As I have said many times, we get the government we deserve. these people stay forever because the average person does not get involved in politics even at the basic level. This in turn, allows fossils to stay in office way past their expiration date. We want term limits and cognitive tests. NOW!

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

Term limits aren't the answer - a larger legislature is. We have the second least represented populace on Earth. Numbers 1 is India, and they have a billion more people than we do. What's our excuse? "The building's too small." The building which, mind you, was expanded in the 1850's and 1860's for this very reason, and which, considering the many connected office buildings surrounding it, is actually far larger than it seems.

[@georgeshumate8174]

@@doomsdayrabbit4398 what in the hell does the size of the building have to do with getting old people well past their prime out of office so the country can move forward and stop enriching these people with money, power and control. A larger government is never good for anyone!! So we put more people in Washington to suck on people's bank accounts! What an absurd thought process. Your idea is to put more people up there, no time constraints for them to be there and what, hope in 40 years we don't have a legislative body that has an average age of 90!! My God, where has peoples brains gone!!

[@oswarz]

O.K.

[@troymash8109]

​@@doomsdayrabbit4398More power hungry nutjobs is probably not a great idea. Just sayin. Seems obvious. WTF 🤣

[@brendontruong7127]

If there is a minimun age limit then it stands to reason there should be a maximum age limit. Running an optimal government takes sharp and well informed minds.

[@e-manr.486]

Well, today was the most appropriate day to watch this video... (Feinstein)

[@michaelcoward1902]

Can you imagine how much damage could have been averted if RBG had retired midway through Obama's term, rather than dying when she did and throwing the whole thing into chaos?

[@MrTaxiRob]

It would have had to have been in the beginning of his term, when the Dems had a supermajority. You saw what they did to him in his last year, and Biden didn't have the guts to pack the court like FDR did.

[@dr.braxygilkeycruises1460]

*EXACTLY, Michael!!!!!!!!*

[@Krazie-Ivan]

i imagine McTurtle would have stalled till he could put their own ju... oh wait...

[@samajmonroe]

Is RBG? Ruth? And what damage

[@ROVA00]

@@samajmonroe …what damage? Oh not much, just leaving a vacuum that was filled by republicans. If she had retired during Obama they would have been able to pick her replacement. Now the Supreme Court has a “Republican”majority.

[@LizFahyScott]

I'll add to the chorus calling for term limits as at least part of the solution. Age is only part of the problem - the accumulation of power is just as big an issue. If you never have to eat your own dog food you don't care about its quality. Also, I wish I could shit on demand.

[@smileface4084]

Lol, i watched this video. Closed youtube and opened Reddit. Just to see Feinstein died 😂

[@georgehutchinson2337]

Politics is not for the very old. Voting yes but not running.

[@SamBassComedy]

YES. Like, yes so much that I can't even talk about it enough.

[@Immudzen]

Part of the problem I see with having people so old in power is you don't really make an experienced set of people to replace them. They don't serve their time and then step aside for others. It seems to be very hard to actually have someone with good idea that comes in, serves a few terms, and then can actually get higher positions but it seems those positions are just taken for decades. Part of the reason I see for having such poor candidates for president is just that so many of the politicians are so old.

[@declanbennett1085]

But that issue is something that shouldn't actually require a hard limit, but instead an actual sense of civic duty to stand aside when you're no longer fulfilling the role you are supposed to. Something that seems to be lacking form many modern politicians. And fundamentally that "lack of experience" should only matter if you're looking at career politicians, something that frankly should not exist and that I view as the truest issue with modern politics. Poor candidates are completely divorced from age, and it feels like this obsession with age is serving as a distraction from just bad politicians and those that view it as a career instead of a calling.

[@marielozoria]

im tearing up at yall immediately changed the thumbnail bc diane feinstein just died lmao

[@davidnorton7437]

No, greed and corruption are ruining politics.

[@anthonydelfino6171]

Funny thing about the article you linked about Pelosi refusing to debate Shahid.... it says 2020 was the first time she was facing a primary challenge from another Democrat, which would be crazy.... except he also ran in 2018. Also it does show that despite a lot of people being not that plugged in to politics, he did get 22% of the vote that year. A lot of people are very dissatisfied with Pelosi, but name recognition, especially for someone like her, is REALLY hard to fight against.

[@YouVSMeTV]

In a word, yes. In two words, hell yes. There needs to be age and term limits for our politicians. Just like the military, air traffic controllers and police, you must be fit enough, mind and body, to do your job. When a certain percentage of congress is on drugs for Alzheimer’s and dementia, our society is in danger. But if not look at Japan, where the leaders are an average age of 59. And it’s a country that still uses faxes and snail mail for official business and younger people pay higher taxes every decade to pay for the aging population.

[@Panimal98]

It sucks that Japan cares more for its elders than the next generation. Then again... America is no different.

[@Altoclarinets]

​@@Panimal98actually America just doesn't care for anyone (unless they have a loooooot of money)

[@beepboop4833]

@@Panimal98 They cater to the old people so much because there are so many and they vote more

[@globaladdict]

​@@Panimal98Japan cares more about remaining homogenous more than anything else. Hence robots. I studied Jaoanese for 6+ years, was all about it. But its work culture is really a deal breaker fir me. You can get around it if you get married, but then you deal with that shit

[@oswarz]

And just who do you think would pass term limits in congress? Again, it's NOT age so much as mind set, sense of superiority, entitlement (and you don't have to be old for that). THEIR children don't suffer. Hmm, about Japan. How do you know that? And snail mail has the advantage of not being electronically survailed. It can remain PRIVATE.

[@godfreycarmichael]

Are old people ruining politics? Yes. Yes, they are...

[@daahorse1652]

I was beginning to think that logic may be humanity’s answer 🤓

[@ShawnRavenfire]

I was just thinking about this the other day. It seems that one of our biggest problems is that our political and economic systems are operating on outdated ideas, and one of the big contributing factors is just how many of our leaders are past the age of adaptability. It's almost as if they see themselves as immortal rulers of an eternally unchanging world.

[@Zombie_Trooper]

Yes. The reality is that the younger generations have lived lives vastly different from their elder counterparts. Mind you, I'm not saying either is superior or inferior, just different, as with all generational gaps. You can't expect a 60 year old to fully understand the lifestyle of a Gen Z kid or vise versa. Letting them have power over people and situations they're out of touch with is such a terrible idea. It's becoming less about betterment of the whole and more about betterment of the some because they have no idea how to interface with people half their age.

[@els1f]

I don't understand why people on their way out are so concerned with fucking over things for the people who have to live in it the longest, and why they just ignore their wishes demands and opinions. I feel like in my 80's i would hope to be humble and ask the opinions of the people younger than me

[@Ari-355]

I think it’s funny that my future rests on the hands of an old white male/female who is the same age as my grandpa but yet doesn’t even know how social media works or better yet, how expensive life is in the 21st century for the average person

[@marcoib4]

That High-School “sh!t on command” story is SOLID

[@007GoldenLion]

Its not their age. Its their values

[@garrettrinquest1605]

The problem isn't age, it's how long the people have been there. Term limits are a great start

[@ogkhaosmc]

The problem absolutely is age. We live in a rapidly changing society in which technology is advancing at unprecedented rates, lifestyles indicate that just as with the 21st amendment that ended prohibition on alcohol the government has no place telling us what we can or can not put into our bodies. The war on drugs is a joke and a massive failure, and those tax dollars could be better spent in science, technology, and alternative energy. The Dea could go bye bye. We also are having our privacy rights violated by the NSA, and since we already have a private security sector, they too could kick the dirt. Removing funds from DEA and NSA alone and pardoning criminals imprisoned on drug related charges would free up likely trillions of dollars in taxpayer funds that could go toward solar, wind, and nuclear energy and potentially become successful in nuclear fusion. What nasa could achieve with extra funds could be phenomenal. The amount we could save by diverting our nuclear arsenal into clean energy. Our planet is dying and it's our senile politicians fault for caring more about oil, drugs, and in the republican parties case, Christian family values than they do about deforestation, air pollution, melting glaciers and everything that will cause this planet to die within likely a few hundred more years if that. Get rid of the dementia riddled old shits and get in young blood that is more in touch with reality.

[@richardtibbetts574]

I don’t think that elderly people with excellent cognitive abilities should be barred from holding political positions. Look at Fetterman, he’s youngish and he’s out to lunch. Conversely, look up the name Thomas Sowell. I’ve seen interviews of him at 93 years old and he’s sharper than most American college students.

[@jsestradacaster]

Micheal is so unhinged, on command

[@WisecrackEDU]

not wrong.

[@kallmeej9106]

They didn't ruin it because politics always sucked, but these old ass politicians certainly haven't been helping.

[@johnmathis7287]

Wild how Feinstein literally died since this video released. Term limits now!

[@SebastianBlix]

Yes our “representatives” are too damn old. Yes there should be age limits on office, I highly suggest the retirement age. No age is not the only large problem, money is another huge problem. Yes we absolutely need to deal with both.

[@FlyxPat]

Term limits for all politicians and judges. It should be a contribution not a career.

[@Archontasil]

With all the inflation, depression, etc. The last boomer will outlast the last millenials.

[@shamanic_nostalgia]

😂😂😂😂plz take me out of my misery

[@cedriclasry9151]

that poop anecdote was so wild i struggled to focus on the rest of the video. i have so many questions

[@ImposterMalone]

I mean... Here in Austria we had one of the youngest politicians as leader (Bundeskanzler). Sebastian Kurz. And that guy basically screwed over the poorest people of the country and only worked for his own wallet and maybe the ones of his friends. I think the problem is not necessarily age itself, although, if you have Alzheimer's, it sure doesn't make you a trustworthy decision-maker for the public. But the biggest problem is corruption everywhere. Which most of the time is just called lobbyism because that's legal for whatever reason...

[@br00talbr00skeez]

There should be a certain amount of representatives in a specific cap of age groups, and that would make it fair, but Bob billionaire got into politics to keep his business unregulated. Welcome to America.

[@MelodicQuest]

I think term limits would be the simplest solution. It would keep one person from accumulating too much influence and forces the public to look at candidates with slightly different, but similar ideologies to that of their predecessors.

[@dannypestolesi712]

The risk I have seen with that then becomes, term limits then gives a lot of power to lobbyists and incentivizes politicians to pass laws favorable to people bribing them to get nice cushy jobs after they can no longer do their job in politics because of term limits. Because if you are a newish politician learning politics. Like those home town hero representatives or popular local people (boeberts and such). You will need to have people with expertise to advise you so you can actually DO your job because of all the rules, checks, and procedures. Which then gives people that are not elected a LOT more power to influence the system and could easily boost shadow money in government. I don't know how valid these concerns are or what can be fixed/improved to try and eliminate them. But I cannot see any perfect solution to the problem as it exists or could exist.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

@@dannypestolesi712 Lobbyists already have more power than the politicians do in the first place. The problem you're talking about can only be fixed by legally classifying it as bribery. Which it used to be, and in almost every country on the planet is still is.

[@BaldiesAnonymous]

3:56 I didn't know Scott the wozz's mom was on here

[@joedouche3818]

Yes they are too, anyone over 65 should not be POTUS, because they are still trying to live the "GOOD OL' DAYS".

[@bioniccrouton]

The aging politicians amused me when I was a kid laughing at how out of touch they were. Now that I get closer to retirement, I see how it is a problem that can be solved starting with senate term limits and rhe change of the two party system