Looking a little more closely, it is remarkable how uniform senators lifespans' have become (warning, perhaps slightly morbid). It's not surprising that their lifespans have increased even as Americans' lifespans have essentially plateaued over the past 30 years, given that the vast majority of them are among the top 10% of Americans eco…
Looking a little more closely, it is remarkable how uniform senators lifespans' have become (warning, perhaps slightly morbid). It's not surprising that their lifespans have increased even as Americans' lifespans have essentially plateaued over the past 30 years, given that the vast majority of them are among the top 10% of Americans economically. Still, it's stark:
53 of the 71 senators born in the 1920s (75%) made it to at least 80, and 48 (68%) made it to at least 85, capping out at Jim Buckley's 100 and 41 (58%) passing in the 10-year span from 86 to 95, with an assassination (Bobby) and a plane crash (Tower) accounting for two of the six that didn't make it to 70.
69 of the 79 senators born in the 1930s (87%) made it to at least 80, and as long as we don't lose Tom Harkin in the next few months, 58 (73%) will make it to at least 85, with a suicide (John Porter East) and a plane crash (Heinz) accounting for two of the four who didn't make it to 70.
73 of the 83 senators born in the 1940s are alive, with only Jack Reed and David Perdue yet to hit 75, and 38 of a possible 74 having passed the 80-mark, with a plane crash (Wellstone) accounting for one of the three deaths before 70.
Kay Hagan (66, due to a tick-transmitted virus), is the first and so far only one of the 137 senators born in the 1950s or later to die.
Some historical context of how stark and rapid the change is:
31 of the 55 senators born in the 1910s (56%) made it to 80 and 21 (38%) to 85, with an assassination (Jack) accounting for one of the 15 deaths before 70.
Similarly, 39 of the 72 senators born in the 1900s (54%) made it to 80 and 27 (38%) to 85, with a suicide (William Knowland) accounting for one of the 21 deaths before 70.
Looking a little more closely, it is remarkable how uniform senators lifespans' have become (warning, perhaps slightly morbid). It's not surprising that their lifespans have increased even as Americans' lifespans have essentially plateaued over the past 30 years, given that the vast majority of them are among the top 10% of Americans economically. Still, it's stark:
53 of the 71 senators born in the 1920s (75%) made it to at least 80, and 48 (68%) made it to at least 85, capping out at Jim Buckley's 100 and 41 (58%) passing in the 10-year span from 86 to 95, with an assassination (Bobby) and a plane crash (Tower) accounting for two of the six that didn't make it to 70.
69 of the 79 senators born in the 1930s (87%) made it to at least 80, and as long as we don't lose Tom Harkin in the next few months, 58 (73%) will make it to at least 85, with a suicide (John Porter East) and a plane crash (Heinz) accounting for two of the four who didn't make it to 70.
73 of the 83 senators born in the 1940s are alive, with only Jack Reed and David Perdue yet to hit 75, and 38 of a possible 74 having passed the 80-mark, with a plane crash (Wellstone) accounting for one of the three deaths before 70.
Kay Hagan (66, due to a tick-transmitted virus), is the first and so far only one of the 137 senators born in the 1950s or later to die.
Some historical context of how stark and rapid the change is:
31 of the 55 senators born in the 1910s (56%) made it to 80 and 21 (38%) to 85, with an assassination (Jack) accounting for one of the 15 deaths before 70.
Similarly, 39 of the 72 senators born in the 1900s (54%) made it to 80 and 27 (38%) to 85, with a suicide (William Knowland) accounting for one of the 21 deaths before 70.