Should there be a retirement age for politicians?
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Should there be a retirement age for politicians?
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lol! totally right on! 
Yea. I think that once you hit a certain age, you should be done. You start having a lot of screws loose and the only reason you are being re-elected is because you have been the politician for like 30 years.
The incumbency rate in Congress is ridiculously high and you start seeing this 20-30 year reigns which isn't good.
No. We the people get to decide when a politician retires by not voting for them.
Most politicians, local, state or federal, serve an average of 14 years in public office.
The 20-30 years+ are outliers. And they are in fact generally useful to their constituents at least, if not to the process of the union's politics as a whole. Otherwise they would not keep getting re-elected.
There are lot of explanations for incumbency rates. I don't think the time of service is by itself, even into advanced age, is a function of this. Nor do I think a mandatory age of retirement, or any other attempt at term limits, would obliterate the problems of campaign financing, lobbying, fraud, or whatever else is generally claimed as "not good" about people sitting in public office for too long. If some 75 year old that's been in office for 30 years is the best candidate available to represent the district so be it.
I really don't understand how these politicians can get away with the lobbying and fraud.
I believe the adage goes "when government controls what will be bought and sold, the first thing to be bought and sold will be the legislature". It's therefore very easy to get away with the lobbying and fraud because it happens so thoroughly that the fraudulent money involved controls the ability to investigate and monitor itself.
I think there should be a retirement age, I mean there is one for Supreme Court Judges so why not politicians?
A set retirement age? What an invasion of freedom! I mean, seriously. Sounds like something out of a communist country or something- oh you're too old. You can't be such-and-such anymore.
Like Sun Tzu said, there are a lot of different factors that contribute to incumbency, mainly the general inattention and ignorance of the American people. Giving a retirement age isn't going to stop that.
There is one for SCOTUS? Stevens is 89 by the way.
Politicians that are allowed to remain in office too long usually begin to think like they are some kind of Icon that is irreplaceable – A good case in point is the murderer named Ted Kennedy.
Just my not-so-humble opinion!
You have no idea what a communist country is… If politicians are paid from the tax-payers, they must have a retirement age; if they feel they still should serve, even without any money, let them be around as "counselors". They get their money from lobying firms anyway!