Baby Boomers Are Holding America Back: The Case for a Younger Congress
The Generational Gap in Leadership
There’s a growing generational gap in our country today—a distaste, distrust, and even hatred from younger generations toward the older generation. And I get it. Even at 40, I’m considered old relative to a 20-year-old, but there’s a fair reason why you have to be at least 35 to run for president. Similarly, the minimum age for the House is 25, and for the Senate, it’s 30. While I think these are reasonable minimums, we need age maximums as well. Our government is out of balance, and it’s time for change.
We need to introduce age limits for office: something like 65 for the President, 70 for the Senate, and 75 for the House of Representatives. Seniors over 70 can still run for House, but they shouldn’t be running for president. We must get the baby boomers out of office—not because they lack value as people, but because their continued dominance in politics is hurting us.
Aging Leadership and Misaligned Priorities
Now, when it comes to our senior leadership, we need to be respectful and patient—but we also need them out of Congress. They are focusing on issues relevant to their own generation: Social Security, Medicaid, drug payments. While these are important issues, they’re not the main priorities for younger generations. We’re focused on the climate, economy, crime, mental health, education, parks, homelessness, and creating a functional social safety net. We know Social Security won’t be around for us, but we need universal basic income. We need a government that’s at least on par with today’s technology, not one that continually embarrasses itself when it comes to tech policy.
From John McCain and Donald Trump to Joe Biden, our Presidential Candidates tend to be far too old. Trump only appears more “cognitively” alert than Biden because he’s a very effective “angry old man,” which seems to describe his entire brand in recent years. Trump, however, is equally senile; neither are fit to serve. And no, for the record, Kamala Harris—who is in her 60s—is not the answer for Democrats*. She’s part of an entrenched Democratic machine, and she’s a district attorney who took pride in putting people behind bars. She didn’t win her nomination on merit but on political maneuvering.
We need younger leadership, not more of the same.
*Note: This essay was written pre-election, but the comments against Harris still apply.
Prejudice Against Renters
A related issue here is the unfair and undeserved prejudice many baby boomers hold against younger renters, believing they’re wasting years of money renting. In some cases, they’re right, but the decision between renting and buying isn’t simple. It depends on how long someone plans to stay in a location, the stability of their job, relationships, proximity to family, and what they can actually afford. Nearly all of us rent at some point in our lives, but not everyone buys a home, though many still aspire to.
Let me share a bit of personal experience. We rented for a year in New York City. I had a decent amount of life savings, but nowhere near enough to buy a home in the city—and besides, neither my wife nor I wanted to raise a child there. We moved across the country and rented in a semi-urban neighborhood when our son was born. We renewed our lease year after year because it was a fabulous neighborhood.
When I started working a salaried position, we looked into buying a home but couldn’t afford one in our neighborhood, where home prices were 2-3 times the Portland metro area median. Then, just after our son started school, my wife unexpectedly filed for divorce. Faced with the financial stress of the divorce and the need for stability for our son, I chose to keep renting, rather than purchase a home elsewhere. Stability for my son was the priority, and maintaining the exact same home and neighborhood has provided him enormous emotional stability.
All renters have similar stories and reasons. Maybe some renters are lazy or overwhelmed, but that stress applies to all Americans in various decisions—changing jobs, moving, relationships, or going back to school—not just whether to buy a home.
The baby boomer generation’s judgment against renters is unjust and unfair, and unwelcome.
Explaining Age-Adjusted Representation and Baby Boomer Overrepresentation in Congress
To understand the disproportionate representation of baby boomers in Congress, we need to look at “age-adjusted” numbers. Normally, younger people have lower representation in Congress because of age restrictions: Representatives must be at least 25 years old, and Senators must be at least 30. Therefore, it’s expected that Congress will be somewhat older than the general U.S. population, which includes children and young adults under 25.
For comparison, let’s look at population data for different age groups. In the U.S.:
22% of the population is under 18, while roughly 32% is under 25 and not eligible to run for Congress.
Therefore, only 67.6% of the population is 25 years or older (eligible for the House), and only 60.8% is 30 or older (eligible for the Senate).
Baby boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964 and are now ages 59 to 77, make up about 21% of the U.S. population (Pew Research Center). But they represent a much larger share of Congress:
House of Representatives: Based on age-adjusted calculations, baby boomers and older Americans would reasonably make up 31.1% of the House seats if representation matched the eligible population. In reality, however, they hold 45% of the seats—about 50% more than expected (Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center).
Senate: In the Senate, baby boomers would be expected to hold 34.5% of the seats based on age eligibility. Yet baby boomers hold 66% of Senate seats—double the proportion that would be fair (Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center).
Even after adjusting for age-based eligibility, baby boomers hold far more seats than their proportion of the eligible population would suggest. This overrepresentation contributes to policy priorities and perspectives that often reflect the interests and experiences of older generations, rather than the full diversity of the U.S. population.
Housing Market Challenges
Let’s not forget, home prices are through the roof. Baby boomers had the luxury of buying homes at a time when American prosperity was at its peak, with suburban expansion and interstate highways paving the way for affordable homeownership. Today, things are different. Whether you’re renting or buying, the cost of living is high. Want to live in a desirable metro area, send your kids to good schools, and be close to family? Good luck. You probably can’t afford a home in a walkable neighborhood that isn’t dependent on cars for every basic need.
Boomers were lucky. They lived through a time of relative economic expansion. Most Americans today, especially younger generations, don’t have that luxury. And I’m not offering a political solution to the housing crisis here. But I know this much: the cost of living is too high, both for renters and homeowners.
As humans, we evolved to relocate for better access to food, safer climates, or to avoid threats. As we farmed and settled, we still migrated to better areas within a region. But today, moving involves mountains of stress—paperwork, bank interactions, viewing appointments, and the physical move itself. We’re not equipped to handle this level of stress.
While there’s no easy solution, one thing is clear: we need far fewer baby boomers in Congress. Their influence is not helping us; it’s holding us back. I love the seniors in my life, but they need to spend more time volunteering in local communities, and less time glued to the news and contacting their representatives more often than those of us working day-to-day to support the economy.
Bridging the Generational Divide
At 40 years old, I represent the younger generation of leaders this country desperately needs. I was born in 1984—fitting, right? It was a year that brought us incredible cultural moments like an album and a book that still resonate. And I’m not beholden to any one generation—not even my own. I’m happy to hire seniors or 20-year-olds who have proven themselves. I’ll take advice from a 7-year-old with a fresh idea as readily as I’ll accept it from a 70-year-old. Age isn’t the problem; it’s the closed-mindedness and unwillingness to change that holds us back.
A president, my age could bridge these gaps. I’ve got the energy, the perspective, and the balance to bring our country together and begin the healing process—of our people, our politics, and our planet.
A Revolution of Mindset
We’re at a point where we need a peaceful, civil revolution—one of mindset, of a return to constitutional values. But for that to happen, young people must step up. And I encourage you, if you’re young, to talk to the seniors in your life. Listen to them. Let them talk for 5 to 15 minutes, empathize, and show them respect. Then, when the time is right, ask them: “Do you think seniors are overrepresented in government? Do you think it’s time for younger leadership?” The data supports this argument. Our government is simply too old.
Term Limits and the Myth of Experience
One of the silliest arguments against term limits is that older politicians offer "experience." But what has experience really brought us in the last 40-100 years? Look at the stagnation. We’ve barely added any constitutional amendments in the last 60 years. The 27th Amendment, passed in the 1990s, wasn’t even new. It was simply an old amendment finally ratified【2】.
The so-called experience of the baby boomer generation isn’t helping us—it’s bureaucratic and counterproductive. Trump is just another example of an old politician caught in the bureaucratic system. He talks about cutting through red tape, but in the end, his policies will just add more layers of the same.
We don’t need that kind of "experience." We need fresh perspectives, new ideas, and, above all, a younger generation in leadership. The older generation can still offer advice—because yes, we younger leaders will seek out their wisdom. But the real question is: Are they open to listening to us? I don’t think most of them are. They see us as wasting time on TikTok, social media, and video games, but they’re ignoring the real concerns we’re presenting.
Conclusion
Our senior politicians are stuck in the past, often celebrating victories on Medicare or Social Security—policies that disproportionately benefit their own overrepresented generation. We need them to step back and recognize that their grip on power is holding us all back. It’s time to let go and allow younger generations, with the energy and vision to match the challenges of today, take the reins.
It’s time for the baby boomers to step down and let younger generations lead.
We’ll ask them to share their wisdom when we need it.