● Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth―and What to Do About It
Samuel Moyn
Review via The Economist
America is ruled by the old, argues Samuel Moyn, a Yale professor, in “Gerontocracy in America”. It is not just that Donald Trump is 80 or that his predecessor left office at 82 and was palpably impaired. Mr Moyn sees a society that privileges the elderly, blocks the young and “is more set on preservation than on renovation”.
When it comes to politics, he has a point. American lawmakers grow mightier with seniority, and there is no good mechanism for getting rid of them when they can no longer do their jobs. Kay Granger, a member of Congress from Texas, served despite living in a retirement home and suffering from dementia. Dianne Feinstein, a senator from California who died in office at 90, often failed to understand what was going on around her.