'Drives away young talent': AOC explains why Congress is getting older

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Saturday explained exactly why Congress appears to be getting older.

Ocasio-Cortez, who recently hit back at Justice Samuel Alito's attempt to avoid all regulation from Congress, decided to address the inequities of Congress that lead to a generally older candidate pool. She picked up on a report that indicated that "Congress keeps getting older -- even as each newly elected class includes younger folks. The 2022 class had 18 new reps under 40. But older incumbents stick around longer," according to the report.

"There are many reasons for this, one being that the baby boomer gen changed a lot of the norms & structures of Congress (schedule, staff, cola, etc) so the actual job became very unsustainable for newer people who are younger, working class, or parents. Drives away young talent," Ocasio-Cortez posted on Saturday.

The lawmaker added:

"Much of this can be traced to the 90s and Contract with America, but much of it is also the influence of lobbyists and rigid ways of thinking that are difficult to challenge meaningfully in a fundraising + seniority system. Class divides in Congress are an unspoken challenge, too."

She explained:

"Even simple things like how votes are scheduled (& changed) are often hostile to parents and families. A lot of small details in this job is pretty much assumes you have a full-time, stay at home spouse. Which makes sense, because many/most did! But if you don’t, it’s a problem."

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Finally the lawmaker states:

"If a member is independently wealthy (which many are), it can create a ton of blind spots for all these details that build up, or even resistance to changing them," according to the report. "But I think the people who get elected from more normal backgrounds do run into a bit of shock when they get here."