Badua, Andrea 1/23/12 Period 6 Ms.

Lau Ageism Its strange to see how the young people dislike work and sometimes the elderly would prefer to work. Sometimes more and more workers choose to continue working even after their retirement. Though it is an admirable act of persistence on their part, it could still be dangerous. I believe that the mandatory requirement is needed to be followed and respected. According to the law in the United States, age discrimination is illegal and employers cannot establish or enforce mandatory retirement policies. This may be the case, but in truth there are some exceptions to this. People as pilots must retire at the age of sixty to ensure passengers that they have a pilot with good reflexes and proper health. Teachers are also made to take a retirement age test so to provide students with the highest quality of education possible. The police officers and firefighters must undergo through means of retirement if they fail to pass a physical evaluation. This test will help to ensure that they have the necessary strength to meet the demands of the job. So see? If we did not have mandatory retirements, there is a probability that there will be more accidents in the future pertaining to difficult jobs that sometimes require younger people to work. Mandatory retirement policies result in a predictable, regular flow of retirements, which, in turn, opens up new job opportunities for less senior workers. This, by extension, opens up new entrylevel positions and creates new jobs while bringing fresh workers into the field. It also ensures that older workers, who may no longer have the ability to perform the job efficiently, are not given the taxing responsibilities associated with public safety and education, for instance. Mandatory retirement can have the negative effect of creating an image of older workers as inept and unable to contribute to society. Workers forced to retire may cite age discrimination as a factor in the situation, but proponents of mandatory retirement note that similar regulations apply to young workers, who may only be allowed to work a certain number of hours on school nights or may not be allowed to operate certain machinery under state laws. In order to avoid charges of age discrimination, employers not involved in one of the industries associated with mandatory retirement must allow older workers to retain their jobs unless their performance suffers. This may be true, but it isnt totally about picking on the elderly. There are dangerous jobs out there that need to be filled with people who are quick witted, strong, and able to move agilely without having to be a disturbance to the other people around them. This is so that everything will function well. We admire the elderly for their wisdom and respect them because of their history and experiences, but safety comes first. It is not that we dont trust people because of their age, but because of the facts. As you go older, you tend to get a bit rusty with both eyesight and flexibility. Its natural. But when youre job requires you to be the total opposite, it could be troublesome for you, your co-workers, and others. Thats why its important that when you get to that specific age, you should be proud that you made it this far and give the job to someone whos more able.