When it comes to age on the ballot, Texas didn’t wait until 2024 to weigh in.
Asked to let judges stay on the bench until they’re 79 years old — a year younger than President Joe Biden — Texas voters soundly rejected the proposal in Tuesday’s elections, a defeat that drew new attention to issues of age and fitness for office in the U.S.
“Age is front of mind for American voters in a way that it has not traditionally been and they are nervous about it,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
Others cautioned against broader takeaways. At least four other states have rejected similar proposals over the last decade, according to the National Center for State Courts. And states that have passed the measures have mostly done so in close votes.
“Age is front of mind for American voters in a way that it has not traditionally been and they are nervous about it,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
Um, yeah, because never was normal to have so many 75+ year olds in power. They need to retire. And yes, that includes Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The Silent Generation and Boomers ran this country into the ground and never gave up that power.
I think this is the only thing on that ballot that I voted for that went my way. It’s like the only reasonable thing that won.
Read how misleading some of this shit was written:
Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $0.9746 per $100 valuation in Creek School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of -19.87 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the District for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $-50,585,883.
It will “increase” by a negative amount! It’s so fucked up.
Yeah. It’s very fucked up, but legally (and only for schools) it has to be written like that.
Oh. Well. TIL! Thank you!
This was the first year I learned about is as well. Trying to explain it to family and others was a headache and a losing battle.
It’s almost like Texas is purposely fucking over their schools. Imagine that.
Why do all these articles make it a point to say Biden is 80, but fail to mention Trump is 77?
Biden is now 80 and former President Donald Trump is 77.
Literally in the article.
FTA: “Biden is now 80 and former President Donald Trump is 77.”
Because Biden shows it more publicly and doesn’t coat himself in more makeup than a mime. But your point is still valid.
Do you think Texas would be on board for this as a rule for the Supreme Court, where the two oldest justices are Thomas and Alito?
Imo age is a shitty metric to go by because it misses outward indications of maturity or debilitation. Just because someone is 70 doesn’t mean they have dementia (or dementia could have started when they were 50), and just because someone is 17 doesn’t mean they’re not knowledgable enough to vote for a gov’t.
The problem isn’t dementia, the problem is that they won’t live to see the consequences of their actions.
That’s hardly the problem, imo.
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall not never sit.”
Many of our actions will have consequences that will outlive us. The question is whether the institution is well equipped to behave ethically and just. One of he contributing factors is that all justices are of sound mind, regardless of age.
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Not going to argue that’s not the case. The root cause is not their age, though. Thats the point I’m trying to make.
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There’s literal shit-ton of non-boomer politicians acting in their own self-interest now.
Age is not a good indicator of selfishness.
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No, I said what I meant. If you have a problem with that, fine. But don’t scream at me because of it.
Man, these old people aren’t planting trees. That’s part of the problem. They aren’t making the world better for the later generations. They are actively making things worse for the later generations.
The consequences of your actions will affect your great-grandkids but you’re unlikely to be alive to see it happen.
Does that mean you should be cancelled as well?
I’m not an elected official, so no.
The huge plus for using age as a metric is that it’s objective and straightforward. Birth certificates are public record, so ages are generally well known, and there can be a clear cutoff, without leaving room for potentially biased judgement calls, nor room for lengthy appeals.
