As our parents aged, we noticed they became less able to make good decisions. My father was once a man in charge, making major decisions for a Fortune 500 company. But, in his last few years of life, he relied on me. Whenever I would try to explain his finances or some decision I had made on his behalf, he just said, “Well, that’s above my pay grade now. You take care of it.” We noticed that when we went out to lunch or dinner, he would order the same thing I did, even if he didn’t like it very much.
We shield the old (and the young) from predators because they are more susceptible to outside influences. Conning an older person into giving you money is generally considered a form of elder abuse. This happened to an elderly lady for whom my wife later became a court-appointed guardian. Sometimes it doesn’t take much effort to persuade an older person to part with their savings. In some cases, the person hasn’t received good advice – or has received bad advice from self-centered children or relatives. Sadly, we know of a local attorney who embezzled the life savings of several senior citizens who were unable to keep track of their finances. He went to jail and was disbarred.
For a long time, I have strongly opposed allowing people over a certain age to run for Congress or other high offices. My reasoning is simple, and I say this as an older person who would gladly disqualify himself: decisions that will affect future generations are best left to younger minds. While there is a role for experience and wisdom, after 75-80 years, most people become more suggestible. Donors, lobbyists, and flatterers can exert an oversized influence, and many older people have fallen prey to emotional manipulation. I don’t want to get started on certain “news” sources that entice the elderly to adopt certain preconceived beliefs. Even younger people have a hard time resisting their appeal.
Currently, the IRS requires an RMD (required minimum distribution) of certain retirement accounts at age 72, 73 or 75, depending on one’s cohort. If this is financially speaking the “official” age of retirement, perhaps no one over 70 should be able to run for high office. Several countries already have constitutional age limits. Congress members should experience the consequences of their decisions, not just force future generations to suffer them. And, let’s face it, the cognitive abilities of an 80-year-old have been in decline for at least a decade or two. We have older persons in government who do not understand how the internet works, how vaccines work, how percentages work, or in some cases, what magnets are. This should be a sign that we need younger, more informed minds.
We regularly see policy proposals from aging officials that amount to no more than, “Yeah, that sounds good,” to someone else’s suggestion, much like my dad saying he will have what I’m having for lunch. The suggestibility of old people can make it easy for political remoras to attach themselves for personal gain, like gaslighting a vulnerable old lady to believe she hasn’t paid you for painting her house when in fact she has. The opportunities for profit are enormous when an old man’s reasoning is unsound. Even when his reasoning is sound, his knowledge can be out-of-date or poorly informed by those who stand to gain. The older a man gets, the more his decisions are “above his pay grade.”
I am thankful my dad agreed to move to assisted living, stopped driving, and let me sell his car when the time came. I am also thankful he realized he had no business making important decisions. Perhaps his rationality earlier in his life set the conditions for letting go later. It seems to me we could learn a lot from the senior citizens who let go with grace. Yet some still insist that our representatives are just as good at 80 as they were at 50.
The future is not for old men like me.
The best we can do is let young people decide what they want it to be.
MurrayWorks 