The most powerful age group in the US?

The increase in the US Population and how it affects the 2012 election

This is Not a Math Quiz - This is data on the distribution of age in the population from 1980 to 2009.

• It is arithmetic, not quantum physics.
• Take a look, it won't hurt

The goal here is to look at the age distribution and determine which age group or age groups are the targets for the political parties in the quest to win elections.

The available data on the population is up to 2009, so you have to extrapolate the tables by three years. For example that group that was not old enough to vote, now has some of them voting age.

At one end of the spectrum, you have the first time voters, and even the first time presidential election votes. At the other end, you have the seniors and the super seniors. They could have been voting for forty, fifty, sixty or more years. S

So if you were the political party, which age group would you need to focus on to win the election. Maybe, instead of the extremes, the real important age group is in between.

To understand how important these age groups are we just have to look at the two presidential elections of George W Bush. The winning number of votes was down to thousands.

See if you have any ideas or conclusions after looking at the data on population in this hub.

Enjoy!

I have provided three representations of the US population.

1. The Total Population of the United States
2. The Most populated states in the United States.
3. The age group population numbers for the United States.

How the US Population may have some effect on the way that the country is going today. More specifically how the data is used by the political party to win elections.

2012 is a big election because it is a presidential election and the stakes are high.

• So I put together some statistics on our population.
• See if you can make any correlation to our population growth and the direction that the country has taken to wind up where we are today.
• See which states are growing the fastest, which states have the most population
• See how the population has aged since 1980.

The object is to look at the age distribution and determine where the voting power lies in the country. The different age groups would have different goals, or desires for how the government should be running their country,

• For example, the younger the group the more they would want the government to eliminate Social Security and Medicare, while the older groups nearing retirement would hold the opposite view.

What conclusions did you make looking at the age distribution?

. That is one of the reasons that I included that breakdown. Now not all of these people in the population actually vote even though they are eligible to vote, but the list shows the total pool of possible voters.

• The political parties have been successfully dealing with the age groups and generation gaps to win votes. Each age group has grown up under different times, and have different experiences, so the political parties focus on those experiences. They make everybody in the different groups hear different messages that are resonated with particular age groups.

I don't have to do the math, and I don't believe in percentages over actual figures. You can look at the lists and make your own conclusions on how the age groups might affect politics and the country.

• I would point out that the 20, 30, 40, and 50 age groups have approximately the same number in the pool. While the age groups from 60 on up are smaller and therefore not as much of a political threat.

I have given the ages in the list by three points.

1. The population by age as they were in 1980
2. The population by age when that age peaked
3. The population by age as of the last Census information 2008.

From these three points you can see the increase or decrease

• (no real decrease as the population of the country in 1980 was 226 million people, and today it is over 307 million people)
• of that age group, maybe see where the center of age gravity is in the country.
• The group would then be the target group for the politicians, and I would expect that issue voiced by that group might be getting the lions share of attention from the politicians.

So what is the point of all these age statistics in the US Population?

• Well, for example we keep hearing about how the young workers just getting into the work market are finding it hard to get a job.
• They in turn blame the older workers for not retiring and freeing up work slots for them.
• We also hear that Social Security and Medicare are going under because of all the workers that are retiring.
• There are many facets that can be applied using the age of the population statistics.

While the population, and more importantly the population increase since 1980 to the latest US Census Report of 2008 has issues of government, politics, environments, resources, energy, transportation, travel, homeland security, economy, and much more, this hub will focus on the government and politics aspect.

Now that I have got you started, I would like to know how you see the usefulness of this information.

• You can even tell me it is worthless, as long as you have a relevant reason.