By

Kobi Haron*

Queen Elizabeth I is generally regarded as a very successful monarch, one of the best. For many years she did very well, making few mistakes. But after 1590, following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, when she was already 57, her reign changed for the worse. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about her:

The conflicts with Spain and in Ireland dragged on, the tax burden grew heavier, and the economy was hit by poor harvests and the cost of war. Prices rose and the standard of living fell. During this time, repression of Catholics intensified, and Elizabeth authorized commissions in 1591 to interrogate and monitor Catholic householders. To maintain the illusion of peace and prosperity, she increasingly relied on internal spies and propaganda. In her last years, mounting criticism reflected a decline in the public’s affection for her.

It could be bad luck, or perhaps, after 32 years on the throne, she was simply bored. Maybe it was her age.

In 1951 Churchill started his second premiership. Again see the account at Wikipedia:

Churchill was nearly 77 when he took office and was not in good health following several minor strokes. By December, George VI had become concerned about Churchill’s decline and intended asking him to stand down in favor of Eden, but the King had his own serious health issues and died on 6 February without making the request. Churchill developed a close friendship with Elizabeth II. It was widely expected that he would retire after her Coronation in May 1953 but, after Eden became seriously ill, Churchill increased his own responsibilities by taking over at the Foreign Office. Eden was incapacitated until the end of the year and was never completely well again.

On the evening of 23 June 1953, Churchill suffered a serious stroke and became partially paralyzed down one side. Had Eden been well, Churchill’s premiership would most likely have been over. The matter was kept secret and Churchill went home to Chartwell to recuperate. He had fully recovered by November. He soldiered on through 1954 until, finally accepting his decline, he retired as prime minister in April 1955 and was succeeded by Eden.

So a prime minister starts his premiership at age 77 while he is seriously ill, but he doesn’t resign because his second in command, who is merely 54, is also very ill. Of course this is just an example of situations which are quite common.

In the US Supreme court two of the justices, Ruth Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are over 80 and Justice Clarence is 71. Ginsburg has been ill since 1999. Supposedly she hardly missed a session at the Supreme Court, but one wonders if a healthier justice might do a better job.
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At the US senate there are 23 senators who are 80 and 70 years old. The median age of the US senate is close to 67. In other words, half of US senators would not get a job in most US companies because they are too old.

These days people speak about “ageism,” and mentioning a candidate’s age is politically incorrect. But in fact this is most relevant because any number of studies show that people decline with age. It’s true that a mature person will do better in certain situations. I can readily believe that a 50 years old senator may be better than a 30 years old senator. But most probably an 80 years old senator will not be better than a 50 years old senator.

In most countries the mandatory retirement age is between 60 and 70 years. In most US states judges retire between 70 and 75. Some US companies have mandatory retirement rules, and a few of them allow employees, including CEOs, to work after reaching 70. Most of them retire earlier, between 60 and 67, mainly because shareholders do not like CEOs who are too old.

There’s one more reason to restrict retirement ages. One wants younger people to take charge earlier as this is a way to do things in a better way. All organizations need change because after some time people tend to repeat their usual shticks rather than try a different approach.

At present people live longer than they used to. Life expectancy in the US is close to 80 and in other countries it may reach 84 or more. So we have older people as members of parliament, senators and presidents. There is no reason to believe that these old timers are more competent than they used to be in the past.

In many countries there are no restrictions for the retirement of presidents, prime ministers, senators, congressmen, members of parliaments etc. In many cases they are still at it at age 70 and 80. There’s only one reason for this: they can. As we have seen in the case of Churchill and others, this is to be avoided. The best method would be to have one rule for all public employees, including elected officials, to retire at the same age of 65 or 67.

This may be unfair to some people who could still be active at such ages. The answer to this is: start your own business. You can teach, give speeches, see your private patients, study at the university or write your biography. In Israel judges retire at age 70, and then some of them do well as arbitrators.

And how about the upcoming U.S presidential elections? Both candidates are too old for the difficult and demanding jobs that face them; one can only hope they will survive the ordeal. At age 80 one in six people are afflicted with dementia.

* Mr. Kobi Haron is an Israeli software developer who has worked both in Israel and in the US. 70 years old, he is retired and lives in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv.