Why don’t more politicians retire? A medical anthropologist explains how the US could benefit from a mandatory retirement age

https://theconversation.com/why-dont-more-politicians-retire-a-medical-anthropologist-explains-how-the-us-could-benefit-from-a-mandatory-retirement-age-234989

Many Americans seem to prefer to keep working well past retirement age, but it’s not clear whether the choice is motivated by the need to keep earning money or the desire to continue being productive.

Why don’t more politicians retire? A medical anthropologist explains how the US could benefit from a mandatory retirement age

12 comments

TropicalDingdong

•

Social security retirement age. Same with federal employees. A government of people needs to be composed of people who will be impacted by its policies.

digredior

•

Probably depends on the positions of the federal employees. The tech chief over the Voyager project might be a crusty old scientist (I don’t know… I’m just guessing) but I’ll bet he knows more about that spacecraft than anyone else on earth. If he’s still sharp, it’s probably best for him to stick around as long as he’s willing.

TropicalDingdong

•

Yeah well. I wanted to go further in the federal civilian workforce, but even as a veteran with a degree (and advanced degrees), it felt like a glass ceiling of waiting for people to die. Our entire government is sooooooo geriatric. If we don't have younger people in the ranks and in leadership, then NO ONE below the age of 100 knows about the voyager project.

Subtracty

•

They act like they have to stay because there is no one younger to replace them, but they stifled the rise of anyone younger than them in order to hold onto that power. It is shameful how so many politicians refuse to give it up when it is clear that they have no regard for anyone's future but their grandchildren and great grandchildren being set for life because of their connections.

osaerisxero

•

This. Keeping around the guy who knows everything about rockets while better in the short term, maybe, will long term result in the lower levels getting bogged down, and when the crusty old guy retires, they only have crusty old guys who will last a year or two at most to replace him.

Zexks

•

In a few places I’ve worked we call this the “bus scenario”. You need to have as much as possible documented so if you’re hit by a bus on the way in thing can continue. In the private sector I’m less incline but in government we absolutely should have things setup for the bus scenario. And if so it shouldn’t be too difficult to do mandatory swaps. Might even make it easier, you’d be able to plan knowledge transfers easier.

bcoffy

•

Yeah but that just incentivizes them to move the retirement age up

jimmy90

•

isn't this because so many parts of the US are totally safe seats that are gerrymandered to fuck which means you end up with these loyalist dinosaurs that follow the party line

clark

•

that's a very colourful description

aramis87

•

GenX here. I remember the period we were all figuring out our values and politics, trying to get our ideas passed and bring told (essentially) to just wait our turn. And still pushing and pushing and being ignored, then the realization that they weren't going to give up willingly and still being patient. And then eventually realizing that everything was just going to skip over us entirely. I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to leave a better world for everyone else. We did try, we were just outnumbered.

thefartographer

•

Whenever I see Moscow Mitch, I get sad that republicans foiled Obama's totally real plans to create death panels. So many wasted hospital visits...

cabron_offsets

•

Dolla dolla bill