We all know the most reliable voters are 65 and older. I think that is our problem; why the same shitty candidates are returned to office again and again. It is older people, estimated at 95% to be literacy challenged to some degree, who vote in alarmingly large numbers (probably 1/2 the voters) every election, voting on the basis of a free lunch or breakfast program, that spoil if for the rest of us.
According to the Dept. of Health & Human Service, the majority of older Americans face literacy challenges and Miami Dade County has 31% of the electorate in this age category. In 2003, 60% of people age 65 and over had BELOW basic or basic document and prose literacy, and 71% had below basic or basic quantitative Literacy. Only 3% to 5% had proficient literacy in any component. Yet, these people ALL vote unless they have been ruled incompetent by the courts. Most of you know this is true without the statistics, those that have tried 'reasoning' with an aging parent or grandparent. It doesn't work. You have to threaten them or guilt them.So don’t wonder why we have such idiots in office. Blame it on Grandma and Grandpa voting impaired. (Wow! I am taking a lot of heat on this one, I think it is good to have this dialogue, maybe it will get some people to vote in local races.) Here is a second literacy chart (Footnote 45 in the first one):
32 comments:
I'm a little disappointed in this post. I didn't expect you to promote a bias against an entire group of people.
And I really wonder where these statistics on elder literacy come from. The elders of this country would seem more literate than most of the younger, given that SAT scores were much higher for seniors graduating in the 40s and 50s than they were to be for every decade since, not bottoming out until the 1990s.
Perhaps it's only that the elders in my personal circle, who range from 70-95 years of age, are not only highly educate, literate, and thoughtful, but have memory streams that stretch back to WW2 or before, and can relate current issues to those of decades gone by, like our current financial debacle. No one wanted to listen to the people who saw this before and warned that we were setting ourselves up for another economic crash and 30s-type depression. These people, of my grandparents generation, now all passed, told me in the 90s: I have seen this before, this is exactly what was happening in the 20s, this credit expansion is insane and it will end just the same way.
I find the population at large, in every age group, to be depressingly uninformed on the issues that impact their lives the most. I find youngsters to be in the same state of vehement denial regarding our economic and energy situation as I do older adults. I find that most people care little and know less about anything that doesn't seem to pertain specifically to their little subset of the population, or, more to the point, I find people obsessed with "identity politics"- that is, they relate to the world as the member of a group or tribe and are incapable of objectivity. Likewise, they are obsessed with what they "want" without regard as to whether what they want is something that would do good or harm, or is even possible.
Sorry for dropped letter in the second paragraph. I meant to say "educated".
Thank-you, North Shore.
Genus of disparage thinks 63% of us are just too old and stupid
to exercise the franchise
Let's hear it for obfuscation and stinkin' thinkin'
insert catcall
I apparently have just one year and four days before senility sets in, so I'd better speak my mind while I still have one.
This was a cheap shot. Why not examine instead why young people are so self-absorbed that their absence at the polls allows the same shitty politicans to return to office again and again?
Come on, guys I am up there too. Our lobbyists/political operatives are mining the senior centers and find the mentally impaired and getting them to fill out absentee ballots, which they help them with. It is well known. I was just as shocked as all of you in the statistics which come from the US Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Adult Literacy.
Wow, someone got up on the wrong side of the blog this morning...
Yes, the demographic in question does understand their civic obligations. If the other segments of the population took responsibility to register to vote, and then show up on Election Day, there would be nothing further to complain about. Finally, why try to alienate the only particiants in the system? Surely this won't achieve the 100% electoral turnout you espouse.
I am shocked by the data not by the post. I have lived in Miami long enough to know that oldsters are ruling the roost when it comes to voting.
This data is just mind boggling. Is this what I have to look forward to?
Judi, Understanding their civic responsibility - voting - is very different from giving THOUGHT to one's vote. The young are to blame also for not voting at all. However, County and City Commissioners use seniors shamelessly. Have you never been to a City of Miami Paella Party? They bus about a thousand people to the convention center from senior centers and nursing homes and feed them Paella and get them to vote for things (bonds for instance).
Political tricks are one thing. It is the mentally incompetent that they get to vote any way they want. We middle aged people ( I am 82) know what we are doing. As a matter of fact I just three minutes ago left the People for the American way web site (www.pfaw.org) after making another donation to them. Most crooked politicians I know hate me.
The literacy table shows there is some hope in that the numbers have improved since 1993. The disturbing issue is that incumbents are almost always returned to office. Since the older population disproportionally has more voters, they are often responsible for block votes returning name recognition incumbents to office. The point is that these politicians often take advantage of older voters by busing them to campaign food events, helping with absentee ballots, and claiming support of senior programs to influence their votes.
Democracy is overrated, or should I say that too much of a "good thing" can really screw things up.
We have the best democracy money can buy.
I would suggest a return to limiting voters to those that own property and actually pay taxes. I would exclude from voting all those on government assistance or who work for or do business with the government.
Finally limiting what government can do and how much of your money it can squander is fundemental.Otherwise we end up with our current system were some very rich folks fund candidates who create illusions for the masses get elected and proceed to make their rich friends richer while taxing and regulating the hell out of the folks in the middle and throwing a few crumbs at the masses to keep them entertained also at the expense of the middle class taxpayer.
"The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best."
Will Rogers,
I did note that you didn't say that old people should not vote. Otherwise we would have to administer an IQ test to all voters, not just the elderly.
It is a problem, the exploitation of the older population, not just with voting but across the board. I wasn't aware that their capacity is diminished as much as that chart says. I am worried for my parents now and will keep a better eye on their checkbook.
In case you all don't remember, the fight where Natasha Seijas threatened to send Commission Chair Gwen Margolis home in a body bag was over funding a lunch program. The Commissioners are well aware that these programs translate into votes.
Limiting the vote to property owners....by "property owners" do you mean slumlords and all the folks who are in up to their necks on trickbag mortgages, as well as all the other homeowners who want the gubm't to "do something" to prop up their house values at the expense of all other taxpayers?
Limiting the franchise to one small group of people is death to democracy. Limiting it to property owners would quickly result in an absolute oligarchy with no civil rights at all for anyone outside that group, which would quickly become much smaller.
Either everyone has rights- including the rich!-or no one has.
We need to return to living, and voting, on principle rather than in reference to what benefits whatever tribe we happen to be a member of, whether the group is "elders", or "landlords" or members of a particular race or ethnic group.
But that would mean learning how to think, which is something our "progressive" educational establishment rejected in the early 20th century. We need to work on reclaiming the intellectual heritage of the Age of Reason, and relearn reality-based reasoning as well as the principles underlying a truly free society.
63% of our voters are over 50? That is dismal news.
I believe this article targets an area, which is no secret, will vote for whom the person they trust, a building captain for example, to vote for a particular candidate. That candidate probably paid some cash (hard to prove) to sway the vote their way. You take pastelitos, little gifts, and seal it with the captains (paid) hard work and you are guaranteed to get elected in Miami! Huge voting block comes out of these places where many do require assistance.
Florida has the highest rate of mental illness in the nation. It is estimated that 9 percent of Floridians experience some form of mental illness, compared with 3 percent nationally. Combine illiteracy with mental illness and you have a base that tips a lot of elections.
I am a faithful reader of this blog but now I am starting to wonder, after reading this, if the writer is in his right mind. Tell me I haven't been wasting my time on a total jerk all this time. Tell me it ain't so.
I don't think the statistics has anything to do with this blog. This came from a Bendixen poll and the Dept. of Health & Human Service. Apparently, this is the reality. It may not be you, your father or mother, uncle, aunt, etc. that fall into this category, mine certainly doesn't - but they don't fall into this stat. Reality is tough.
Actually, Louisiana is the tops! You have to realize that Florida is a retirement State so we have many more elderly here and they are all living longer. Many have retired from other States and are here, trying to live as much of a productive life as possible until their passing. What you said about the elderly or those over 65 is really offensive.
These are National numbers folks, not Florida. Cognitive ability is a fact of growing old. Get over it.
Kill the messenger, that is always the smart way to react. Some of you are idiots.
What is the reason you subscribe to for us getting the worst candidates elected over and over? The people are the ones voting and the majority of the voting people are seniors. I hang out with these seniors, they vote but they don't really know what/who they are voting for. If it sounds good, they vote for it.
Senior Not Senile you are so right! In Miami there are people that get hired just to get the votes from the elders that are easy to manipulate. That is our sad reality.
What I said about seniors was quoted from the US Dept. Of Education. I didn't say they were literacy impaired they did. And it did surprise me as I never found it true of the oldsters I know, who remember every tupperware I ever borrowed from them, and remind me to return the containers at every opportunity.
WHAT I SAID WAS: Maybe that is why we are stuck with such shitty politicians...It wasn't suppose to be taken as gospel truth, just a theory thrown out there for you to play with. And that you did. I hope you all had fun because I sure did! I would have had more fun if more of you had better theories instead of just attacking mine. I like learning from you guys...
I agree on the threatening them or guilting them statement. I could not get my father to stop driving even though he had some recent fender benders and scared me to death when I drove with him. His eyesight is not very good either. Trying to make him understand that he could be hurting another driver didn't stop him but taking the car away did. Some of these seniors are just impossible to reason with, dad is still furious with me over the car but I couldn't let him kill someone.
My mother-in-law is 101. She still has a valid license (till 2010). She is smart enough to know she doesn't have the ability to drive...but she could if she wanted to because she has the car and a license. Scary thought...her driving. When she was about 98 I saw her pull out of a parking lot into a lane with a car coming at her about 40 miles an hour. Luckily the car had another lane to swerve into. She didn't see the car but I did. Thank you for taking your dad's keys.
Riley says:
To North Coast blogger: Yes we need to work on reclaiming intellectual heritage in our "Age of Reason by getting rid of FCAT
teaching, causing kids stress, getting back to school basics,
reading, writing,arithmetic, the humanities, by all means--Civics,
Science, Arts, Music. Good teach-
ers a must, discipline at the strictist level, & compassion in
teaching kids how to think & act.
I find that seniors are generally better informed than most voters. Sometimes seniors fall prey to sleazy politicians, unethical business people, and others who would take advantage of the lonely, elder. As a society, we could do better with our elders and stay better connected to them.
I find the problem in politics isn't the older voter, it is the caliber of candidate, the sources of campaign donations and the expensive media.
Younger voters don't generally care about electoral politics until they start to pay real estate taxes. As individuals settle down into their communities they tend to get involved and VOTE more often. Why younger people don't get involved earlier in life is an issue.
Ultimately, I believe politicians would be better if BETTER people offered themselves for office.
Call me Truly BLUE
It would be beneficial to attach more stringent qualifications for candidates running for office than merely citizenship, age, or residency.
We could, for example, require all declaring candidates to pass a civil service examination geared to the office they're qualifying for, so they at least have to prove that they have a minimum base of knowledge required to successfully fulfill their duties.
We could also, at minimum, require that they be free of felony convictions. Here in IL, a convicted felon, a gangbanger, was able to successfully run for alderman in Chicago. The law has since been changed, but there are many locales in which a person can run for public office even though he is a convicted felon.
You can't get hired for the Post Office without passing a civil service exam, so this isn't really asking too much.
I would put a Senior up with a Thirty Something any day of the week on a debate on just about any issue other than hard drugs, something for which we DO NOT UNDERSTAND at all. Perhaps that is why there is such a divide here. :)
It would seem most of your readers are old. I understand hard drugs too. What is your point about that...?
North Coast you are a died in the wool social engineer who wants to tinker with every facet of human nature.
Read what you have written, its actually quite scary to think if people like you took control (OMG They ALREADY HAVE!!!)of our society we'd be in deep schlitz.
You want to mold everyone into some perfecto little citizen in your image. "Age of Reason" please spare me.
And since when is everyone who owns property rich?
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