Book · 2026 · History
Gerontocracy in America
How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It
- mentions
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- person
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- podcast
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- recommendation
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Let's put his book up here on the screen, Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth and What to Do About It.
Why people recommend it
Gerontocracy in America by Samuel Moyn is a critical examination of how older generations hold disproportionate political and economic power, featuring a sharp critique of the AARP and robust statistical evidence. Emily Jashinsky featured the book on Breaking Points, displaying the full title on screen during an interview to introduce the author and his core arguments. Jashinsky strongly recommended that the audience purchase and read the book, highlighting its wealth of compelling statistics and its thorough takedown of major political interest groups that protect older demographics at the expense of younger generations. The text explores the systemic imbalances within American governance, addressing the urgent questions of whether aging populations maintain excessive voting power and wealth accumulation. Through the podcast discussion, Moyn's work is framed as a vital contribution to contemporary political discourse regarding generational equity and institutional reform. Jashinsky's enthusiastic endorsement underscores the book's relevance in an era of heightened anxiety over economic mobility, political representation, and the future of democratic institutions. The volume challenges readers to reconsider traditional assumptions about age, power distribution, and the necessary policy interventions to foster a more balanced society.
Every mention
Emily Jashinsky Everyone should just go buy the books. It's interesting and you actually have a lot of good statistics. In… 2
“Let's put his book up here on the screen, Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth and What to Do About It.”
“Everyone should just go buy the books. It's interesting and you actually have a lot of good statistics. In particular, it's big takedown of the AARP.”
Other mentions (4: passing, ad reads, own books)
“So, just to take an example from this very podcast, uh, a couple weeks ago, I had Sam Mo on, who is a law professor at Yale, who's written a book called Gerontocracy in America.”
“My guest this week is a Yale Law professor and the author of “Gerontocracy in America,” a new book that argues that the concentration of wealth and power among older Americans is our least-discussed crisis.”
“I mean, I'm I try to convince you in with all the receipts in the book that housing is in in very large part a crisis that's of old people's making for a few reasons.”
“There are like you there's a very long list, and it's all in the book of all the ways that through their voting power, uh which is distinctive, uh and even poor older people vote a lot more than poor younger people.”