Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

harpers.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 250 posts

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#111

Post by mylifeandtimes »

johngossman wrote: post #89
RickS wrote: post #56

I have trouble predicting how public sentiment will evolve over time. I'm not that young, and still and the last 10 years have left me with an absolutely blistering distrust of the 70+ crowd on any matter pertaining to positions of authority. I'd like to see ~67 and ~72 become the other 18 and 21: hard lines beyond which the law progressively rescinds the presumption of total competence. It's not a pretty solution. T…

Go look at the demographics of the last election and then tell me which groups shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Hey, I hear you, but the age cutoff could also be on holding office.

As someone just hitting the 60 yr old mark, and looking at my parents who are still pretty sharp in their late 80s, -- so definitely talking about myself and my capacity here,

No-one over 70 has any business in a high ranking government office. The mental flexibility isn't there.

Which means no one over 66 should be allowed to run office (yes, I know this puts senators in office until 72, and kicks out representatives at 68, but it also gives a single number which is easier to understand).

It's also a question of accountability. A 40 year old politician will expect/have to live with their choices for another 40 years.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#112

Post by estimator7292 »

applfanboysbgon wrote: post #43
ungreased0675 wrote: post #4

Term limits would fix it

Term limits are perhaps the dumbest idea that ever plagued democracy. The idea of mandatory firing your most qualified, experienced employees in an incredibly difficult job that can only be learned with on-the-job experience is literally insane. If not for term limits, the US would have had Obama in the presidency this entire time instead of the absolute garbage scraps that were left over when they fired the only per…

How else would you deal with people who are too old to do the job, and too senile to realize they can no longer perform and should abdicate?

Because we have politicians who can barely walk and talk on their own they're so goddamn old. These aren't the best and brightest of our country, these are old people who can no longer string together enough thoughts to understand their mere presence is hurting the entire country.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#113

Post by recursive-call »

WalterBright wrote: post #65
bruce511 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you work for 40 years, chances are you will have accumulated some assets. I'm not sure that "sell your house and cars to pay for food" is a policy that will be popular. Equally those same people have paid taxes for 40 years, paid into social security (to the benefit of their elders) and so on. Keeping them in the work-force is largely undesirable. A job occupied by a 70 year old is a job not occupied by someone yo…

> Keeping them in the work-force is largely undesirable. That presumes there are a fixed number of jobs. Anyone can create a job, even doing simple things like going door to door and offering to mow the lawn.

Sure, in theory. But if that was economically viable, why isn’t anyone doing it?

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#114

Post by estimator7292 »

WalterBright wrote: post #40
lostapathy wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relatedly, it's a skill that goes with positions that are clung to such that nobody else gets to practice and learn said skill.

An awful lot of young people are starting businesses. Look at all the people under 30 becoming billionaires. This just didn't happen when I was young. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/2025/12/22/why-there-...

Yes it did. Billionaires are a relatively new thing, but successful businesses were led by young people across the entirety of human history.

And you should not praise someone for simply being a billionaire. That's a bad thing to be.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#115

Post by avidiax »

johngossman wrote: post #84
tsunamifury wrote: post #7

This is likely the worst issue humanity will be facing over the next 50 years, even more than climate change. An increasingly old demographic will sabatoge the future of humanity as they drain enormous resources and abuse democratic processes to reroute resources to their preservation of life over young people and familes. Young people and families will choke to death under the strain of elders who demand unlimited s…

If only the olds would die we could build more datacenters! More seriously, why wouldn't older, longer-lived people be more likely to address long-term problems like climate change?

> More seriously, why wouldn't older, longer-lived people be more likely to address long-term problems like climate change?

Why would people with a short-term future be likely to address long-term problems?

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#116

Post by throwaway173738 »

01100011 wrote: post #81
throwaway173738 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Organization is a skill that can be passed on, and to the degree that old people are still doing it themselves they’re depriving us of opportunities to learn and to practice and to benefit from their experience. That’s why we’re not as good at it.

Sure, and if I was so inclined I could go rub noses with them. They're eager to find young folks who are community minded. But I don't want that. I'm gen x and full of cynicism and antisocial attitudes. The only people I know who aren't that way in my generation are churchgoing types and a few influencers.

What I’ve seen where I’m at is many of the old people who organize don’t want to give anything up to a next generation. They want all the accolades for themselves. So they’re happy to have young people do the work but aren’t comfortable letting them lead while teaching them the skills.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#117

Post by gegtik »

diordiderot wrote: post #103
johngossman wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only the olds would die we could build more datacenters! More seriously, why wouldn't older, longer-lived people be more likely to address long-term problems like climate change?

whats wrong with datacenters?

nothing, didn't you read what he wrote? he's advocating to build more of them.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#118

Post by armchairhacker »

throw-234 wrote: post #51

> Our gerontocracy is not the result of a malevolent plan, .. Boomers aren't distinctively evil.. The fact that they are so numerous and the fact that they are aging in era when life has been extended make the syndrome endemic. .. America faces a gerontocratic crisis of succession on the scale of society itself. The melodrama of succession—­waiting for the old to make way for the new—­defines not only our politics bu…

> cordial relations between the generations are over

Is ageism not like racism, sexism, etc.?

Do you have decent relations with your living parents and grandparents?

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#119

Post by Der_Einzige »

johngossman wrote: post #89
RickS wrote: post #56

I have trouble predicting how public sentiment will evolve over time. I'm not that young, and still and the last 10 years have left me with an absolutely blistering distrust of the 70+ crowd on any matter pertaining to positions of authority. I'd like to see ~67 and ~72 become the other 18 and 21: hard lines beyond which the law progressively rescinds the presumption of total competence. It's not a pretty solution. T…

Go look at the demographics of the last election and then tell me which groups shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Go look at recent changes to how young men vote and tell me which groups shouldn't be allowed to vote in the future.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#120

Post by armchairhacker »

WalterBright wrote: post #40
lostapathy wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relatedly, it's a skill that goes with positions that are clung to such that nobody else gets to practice and learn said skill.

An awful lot of young people are starting businesses. Look at all the people under 30 becoming billionaires. This just didn't happen when I was young. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/2025/12/22/why-there-...

> Fueled by AI, prediction markets and online gambling, there are more self-made billionaires under 30 than ever before, 13 up from a previous record of 7.

Two of those examples are online gambling, which is controversial to the extent that it's partly outlawed in the US.

But more importantly, 13 isn't an awful lot. Approximately how many young people today have started successful businesses whose valuation is under $1 billion?

Post reply on HN