Chart of the Week



In the long decades of American decline, who has been in charge? The Boomers. While Boomers' raw votes peaked in the early 1980s, Boomer influence kept growing as the generation aged, gathered offices, made political donations, and most importantly, as their voting participation rates increased. Government remains firmly in Boomer hands, as a quick survey reveals. The generation holds 69% of the House, 81% of governorships, and of course the Oval Office (again). And they have unusual preferences - the only major age group with anything approaching enthusiasm overall for Trump and in relentless pursuit of on policies that will keep the young as unwilling guests in the hellish hotel of Boomer creation, décor by H. Bosch, management by Berlusconi. 

NB: The jump in Boomer power between the late 1960s and early 1970s reflects the lowering of the federal voting age by statute and then by the 26th Amendment, a political result itself compelled by a growing need for an older establishment to cater to the Boomers.

Sources: See chapters 1, 4 and 7 of the book and the related endnotes (referencing author's calculations based on US Census reports 1940-2015 incl. intercensal estimates; CDC Live Births & Death Rates Data 1950-2008, the Statistical Abstract of the United States (various years), Vital Statistics of the United States (various years); Gallup Approval & Exit Polls (various periods); see also the book Chapter 1 for a discussion of what defines a 'Boomer.'