At the beginning of the twentieth century, the average American lifespan was 46 years; now it is 77 years. A 1928 government study forecast that the "natural" lifespan would ultimately rise to the unbelievable level of 65 years. When Social Security was enacted, this estimate was used as the basis for setting the federal retirement age at 65. Lawmakers assumed Social Security would be economical because most people would die without ever receiving a benefit check. Instead, today Americans average an extra decade of life beyond what experts thought would be the biological maximum. ("Environmental Reality: A Tidbit," 2003, p. 46)

There is a clear sense that the demographic of representation is also aging, as there are significantly older members of congress and court in seat today than has been the case in the past and this may also shift the trend toward bolstering some of the social services that...
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