Age discrimination be made illegal in the workplace

(For some reason pasting this directly from a word document didnt turn out as well as i had originally hoped, sorry for the diffrent font sizes and spacing.) You have changed the debate completely; agility is not the same as performance. The fact is both of your points are logic issues. They don’t need to be proven with sources or even personal experience is common knowledge that older people are slower and more brittle. Their bones are less dense and as you get older you lose mental capacity and function. The real point here is you stated age discrimination should be made illegal. That is not the case, it should NOT be made illegal and I believe I have stated many points proving my case. Also, burden of proof is not on me… it is on you to prove why age discrimination should be illegal and you have not done so. Because you have changed your definition though I will touch on these points very quickly. Mental Agility: “A large body of research, including both cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies, has investigated changes in cognitive function with aging. Studies have found that working memory declines with aging, as does long-term memory (Siegler et al., 1996), with decrements more apparent in recall than in recognition capacities. Slowing or some loss of other cognitive functions takes place, most notably in information processing, selective attention, and problem-solving ability, yet findings are variable (Siegler et al., 1996). These cognitive changes translate into a slower pace of learning and greater need for repetition of new information.” [1] The article goes on to say that mental illnesses in the elderly are fairly common. At about 50-80% The next article is from wiki answers which isn’t known as the most reliable source, but my next article will back it up. “As you get older your brain actually shrinks in size. Different parts of your brain (particularly the hippocampus which is the memory center in your brain) shrink significantly in size which reduces their effectiveness. There is also a reduced production of neurotransmitters (which are the networked communication links within your brain). The myelin sheaths (which work as protecting sheaths to your neurotransmitters) also get weaker which causes signals in the brain to become slower/mixed up. Lastly the cells in your body have divided so many times they become damaged or exhausted which decreases their ability to work effectively. also if you have certain forms of dementia plaques and tangles block the transmission of messages in the brain via neurotransmitters.” [5] “The [brain] shrinking starts in adulthood and continues at an average rate of 2% per decade. This means that at 80, your brain will be 12% smaller than at 20. If you do nothing you can expect problems. Memory loss is only the beginning.” [6] Vision: Below is a list of MAJOR age-related eye diseases. That’s not all the age related eye diseases I didn’t have enough room. However these are the worst. “Major Age-Related Eye Diseases Macular degeneration. Macular degeneration (also called age-related macular degeneration or AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among American seniors. Despite some age-related vision changes that are inevitable, you may be able to keep your eyes healthy for a lifetime. According to the National Eye Institute (NEI), macular degeneration affects more than 1.75 million people in the United States. The U.S. population is aging rapidly, and this number will increase to almost three million by 2020. Glaucoma. Your risk of developing glaucoma increases with each decade after age 40, from around 1 percent in your 40s to up to 12 percent in your 80s. The number of Americans with glaucoma will increase by 50 percent (to 3.6 million) by 2020. Diabetic retinopathy. According to the NEI, approximately 10.2 million Americans over age 40 are known to have diabetes. Many experts believe that up to 30 percent of people who have diabetes have not yet been diagnosed. Among known diabetics over age 40, NEI estimates that 40 percent have some degree of diabetic retinopathy, and one of every 12 people with diabetes in this age group has advanced, vision-threatening retinopathy.” [2] Physical Agility: With this article there was a picture please visit my [3] source and take a look, it shows how age effects response time… a 70 year old has about the response time of a 5 year old “Factors influencing response time Response time is the sum of reaction time plus movement time. Factors that may influence the performer's response are (Davis 2000) Gender and age (see figure opposite) Stage of learning Psychological state Level of fitness Number of possible responses Time available Intensity of the stimuli Anticipation Experience Health Body Temperature - colder the slower Personality - extroverts react quicker State of alertness Length of neural pathways “ [4] Conclusion: My case has been stated clearly and cleanly, I have shown how an elderly worker is less agile and I have shown how an elderly worker is no more productive than a young worker (17-30). I have not changed definitions to help my case and I have not misquoted my opponent in any way. I chose not to rebut in this last round because I feel my case is strong enough as-is. The fact that my opponent wants to make something illegal that there is no reason to make illegal is the biggest point I can make. He countered my Twinkie argument with “Well that’s only one person” and I can say the same back to him about age discrimination, especially since no cases of age discrimination were provided. Not one. He has provided no evidence that Age Discrimination is rampant in the work place and is affecting people’s lives in a negative way. I have stated my case pretty clearly I think, and rebutted his arguments to the best of my abilities. My sources are pretty reliable (minus one) and I have used as many as I possibly can to state my case. I apologize for any harsh language I may have used in this debate, my last post I got a little irritated that my opponent was changing his definitions and wording, and also stating things without providing sources. Thank you for reading this debate and I also thank my opponent for hosting such an interesting debate. I wish my opponent luck in the voting rounds. SOURCES: [1] http://www.surgeongeneral.gov... [2] http://www.allaboutvision.com... [3] http://www.brianmac.co.uk... [4] http://www.brianmac.co.uk... [5]http://wiki.answers.com... [6] http://www.alsearsmd.com...