The 115th Congress, the one before the 116th Congress (which commissioned in January of this year), was the oldest Congress the U.S. has ever seen. The average age of the legislators in the Senate is 62, with the House following shortly behind at 58. The average lifespan of a U.S. citizen is 79 years of age. What does this mean? People who are supposed to be representing their constituents of all demographics may have bias due to being in the latter part of their life.
It is proven that as one age they become more conservative, so even with Democrats obtaining seats, they could still have more right-winged views, in contrast to a younger Democrat. Even if you have a definitely hard ass Democrat such as Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer, their opinions may not be exactly aligned with what young Democrats are aspiring for. So basically, having older people in Congress, even if they are strong with their party views, can be detrimental.
Forget about partisanship for a second. Republicans and Democrats aside, despite representing your affiliation, they are doing so with a mindset many generations apart from you. In addition, many of Congress is in the prime age for onset dementia or other health implications, which could impact their processing. With Congress generally getting older, this is an issue that needs to be discussed. For example, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R) recently proposed legislation to make student loans come out of one's paycheck. Claiming that it will help students tackle debt better, and insinuating more people will have hope that they can attend college and pay it off more easily.
Should it be an option? Possibly. Should it be mandated? Not at all. The average college loan debt in 2018 is nearly tripled (inflation accounted for) since 1980. Therefore, it was probably much lower when this Senator was in college. Does he see how times have changed? Many college graduates are fiscally smart (whether they learned it by being a broke college student, or by factually learning how to manage money while in college), so it's safe to say most post-graduates have a payment system which is set up best for them. They're likely starting out at a new job, living on their own, and trying to make ends meet even without student debt. It's not that they are unwise (or at least most people) with their money, they just have living expenses, car payments, etc. To make such a law that will force graduates to pay off their debt every paycheck is obscure. If it was optional, there would likely be more support from people who want to partake in it, but it should not be required.
Alexander isn't the only legislator guilty of this. From both parties, legislation is introduced which makes young adults internally scream. Although, there is promising news. The House, in the new 116th Congress, has more women, people of differing race, openly LGBTQ members, and on the issue of this article, more millennials than ever before. Who knows, maybe the climb to the oldest 115th Congress was the peak and ages of people will start to climb back down, as we see in the 116th Congress due to many young legislators in the House. Either way, at least the diverse demographics will hopefully lead to legislation being proposed or even passed assisting minorities, women, and LGBTQ members.
