Imagine the following scenario: It is the year 2038, and you are 68 years old. Three years ago, you were forcibly retired from your job as a senior manager at an insurance company, under a new law that instituted mandatory retirement ages across all white-collar occupations. This didn’t panic you because you had sacrificed, scrimped, and saved for years toward the day when you might have to retire. You even owned your home free and clear, having paid off the mortgage with just 24 years of hard, thrifty work. Consequently, while your future would not be luxurious, it would be secure. 

But then other ominous things began happening: Shortly after being forced to retire, you were prevented from attending your local school board meeting by a new rule that prevented “a majority of gerontocrats in the audience.” The same thing happened at every other local government function you tried to attend afterward. Town, city, and state. You were barred from entry everywhere. And you started seeing that word — gerontocrats — everywhere you went: on TV, social media, the front page of newspapers.