Peter Schiff Calls For Raising Age Requirements For Federal Office Holders: 'Need More Private Sector Experience

Stock broker and economist Peter Schiff made a compelling argument for raising both the voting age and the minimum age required to hold federal office, emphasizing the need for elected officials to have more private sector experience.

What Happened: Schiff took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to propose that the age requirements for holding federal office should be revised. He suggested increasing the age for the House from 25 to 35, the Senate from 30 to 40, and the President from 35 to 45. Schiff’s rationale is that elected officials should possess more experience from the private sector before taking on significant roles in the government.

Why It Matters: The debate around age requirements in the political sphere is not new. Recently, businessman and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy proposed raising the minimum voting age from 18 to 25, with exceptions for those who serve in the military, work as first responders, or pass the citizenship test for naturalized citizens. Ramaswamy’s rationale is that this change could foster a sense of shared purpose and responsibility among young Americans, encouraging them to become more educated citizens.

This proposal comes in the backdrop of the 1971 passage of the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18, driven by the sentiment “old enough to fight, old enough to vote.” The Constitution also mentions that an individual must be at least 25 years old to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

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