
Ask HN: Should we have an age limit on running for office? - meowmeowmeowww
I’m all for people staying in the workforce as long as they want, but public office, especially the presidency or the senate, feels different. I can’t think of any major downsides. What am I missing?
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James_Henry
I think that age and general health, especially mental acuity, should be
considered when voting, but I don't feel like it would be wise to try and set
an age limit. There are many old people who despite their frail state would be
great presidents and I would gladly vote for them as long as their VP was in
good health and younger.

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easytiger
Wanna ban Clint Eastwood from making movies too?

Also, creating an account to troll with this nonsense doesn't belong here

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meowmeowmeowww
Wasn’t trying to troll, this was just my first time posting on HN. I was
genuinely curious about the downsides, b/c of our 2020 presidential options.

Also, I said I’m all for peopling working as long as they want — I’m still
bitter that my grandpa was age restricted out of being a pilot at 55.

It just seems like the presidency should have some standards and there’s
already an age minimum.

I love Clint and hope he works until the bitter end :)

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Mountain_Skies
No. Candidate ages aren't secret and the voters have their chance to have
their say when they vote. Age limits on lifetime appointments however would be
a good idea as medical science keeps people living longer and often beyond the
time of peak mental reasoning.

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James_Henry
With this line of reasoning, would you be in favor of getting rid of the
minimum age for running for office?

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Mountain_Skies
As long as the candidate had reached the age of majority, yes, I'd be fine
with the few minimum age restrictions that exist being removed. In the 18th
century information spread slowly and very unevenly. If a 20 year old wants to
run for the Senate and the people of their state want to be represented by a
20 year old, I'm fine with that. There's no hiding that a 20 year old is 20
years old.

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aaron695
It's admitting democracy doesn't really work.

But it doesn't, so yes.

There are restrictions like citizenship which is required, so we already admit
we don't trust the population to chose suitable candidates.

They are also head of the military, which has requirements I would think.

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rolph
i wonder how constructive it would be to require a physical/psych exam, just
like any other job that has the potential to do grevious harm, such as driving
a big rig, or air traffic control etc.

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easytiger
Wanna ban Clint Eastwood from making movies too?

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paultz
An IQ test would be a good too, 50 should be the maximum age for a candidate,

