Bush: Retirement age should be phased in to ’68 or 70’

[n2doc]

Jeb Bush wants to push back the retirement age for Social Security by as many as five years.

Instead of allowing Americans to collect full benefits at age 65, the former Florida governor and likely GOP presidential candidate suggested on Sunday that it should be pushed back to 68 or 70.

“I think it needs to be phased in over an extended period of time,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“We need to look over the horizon and begin to phase in, over an extended period of time, going from 65 to 68 or 70,” he added. “And that, by itself, will help sustain the retirement system for anybody under the age of 40.”

more

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/243556-bush-retirement-age-should-be-68-or-70

Keep digging that (political) grave, JEB.

[napkinz]

1. ...

[rurallib]

2. Most of the people I worked with at the factory were pretty well used up

mentally and physically by age 55, many before.

I am sure they will be happy to vote for a guy that tells them they should work for another 15 years.
I suspect he will also propose a cut in pay to go with that?

[pscot]

5. That asshole has never worked a day in his life

Born on 3rd base and thinks he hit a triple,

[zazen]

7. yup!

[merrily]

9. +1.

Thank heaven generations of Bushes understood war profiteering or Dimson and his baby brudda would be begging in the streets.

[hifiguy]

47. Were his last name not Bush

Jebbie would at best be the night manager of a Denny's in Pensacola.

[merrily]

49. PERFECT job for him. You should work in personnel placement.

[Enthusiast]

68. That's perfect!

[Jackpine Radical]

81. What do you have against the night waitstaff at the Pensacola Denny's?

On the other hand, he could really clean up as the night janitor there.

[MADem]

17. Precisely. nt

[Enthusiast]

67. Precisely.

[ProfessorGAC]

83. Actually . . .

. . .he was born on third base, is still there, but thinks he hit a home run! He's not that bright to know third base is not a homerun.

[Octafish]

87. He should be working on a chain gang.

Just from the Savings & Loan crapola. Lots of crime since then.

"Yeah. See. This."



What a smart guy said:

The Bush Family: A Continuing Criminal Enterprise?

Gary W. Potter, PhD.
Professor, Criminal Justice
Eastern Kentucky University

The S&Ls, the Mob and the Bushs

During the 1980's hundred of Savings and Loan Banks failed. Those bank failures cost U.S. taxpayers over $500 billion to cover federally insured losses, and much more to investigate the bank failures (Pizzo, Fricker, and Muolo, 1989; Brewton, 1992; Johnston, 1990). More than 75% of the Savings and Loan insolvencies where directly linked to serious and often criminal misconduct by senior financial insiders (Pizzo, Fricker and Muolo, 1989: 305). In fact, less than 10 percent of bank failures are related to economic conditions, the rest are caused by mismanagement or criminal conduct (Pizzo, Fricker and Muolo, 1989: 305).

A good example of the Savings and Loan failures can be found in the activities of Mario Renda, a Savings and Loan insider who often worked in close collaboration with organized crime (Pizzo, Fricker and Muolo, 1989: 123-126;302). Renda served as a middle man in arranging about $5 billion a year in deposits into 130 Savings and Loans, all of which failed (Kwitny, 1992: 27). Many of these deposits were made contingent on an agreement that the Savings and Loan involved would lend money to borrowers recommended by Renda, many of whom were organized crime figures or people entirely unknown to the banking institution involved (Kwitny, 1992: 27).

SNIP...

Jeb Bush: Influence Peddling for a “Bust-Out” Scam

But, Neil Bush was not the only Bush brother involved in the Savings and Loan collapses. Jeb Bush’s, the current Governor of Florida, curious relationship with Miguel Recarey is another illustration. Recarey was a long-time business associate of Tampa organized crime figure Santos Trafficante. Recarey also fled the U.S. facing three separate indictments for labor racketeering, illegal wiretapping and Medicare fraud (Freedburg, 1988: A1). Recarey’s business, International Medical Centers, was the largest health maintenance organization for the elderly in the U.S. and had been supported from $1 billion in payments from the Medicare program. International Medical Centers went bankrupt in 1988 (Freedburg, 1988: A1; Royce and Shaw, 1988: 4). When International Medical Centers went under it left $222 million in unpaid bills and was under investigation for $100 million in Medicare fraud (Freedbrug, 1988: A1; Frisby, 1992: G1). The U.S. Office of Labor Racketeering in Miami referred to Recarey and his company as “the classic case of embezzlement of government funds ... “a bust-out operation” (Freedburg, 1988: A1)

Jeb Bush’s role in this saga being in 1985 when Recarey’s attempt to create his “bust-out scam” corporation ran into a federal regulation that said no HMO could get more that 50% of its revenue from Medicare (Freedburg, 1988: A1; Royce and Shaw, 1988: 4). Jeb Bush intervened on Recarey’s behalf with Helath Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler and one of her top aides. Convincing them to waive the regulation in the case of Recarey’s company (Freedburg, 1988: A1; Royce and Shaw, 1988: 4). In addition to Jeb Bush’s intervention, Recarey had paid $1 million to senior Republican lobbyists in Washington, who were also working the staff of Health and Human Services in pursuance of a waiver (Freedburg, 1988: A1; Royce and Shaw, 1988: 4). In addition, Jeb Bush had contacted Secretary Heckler earlier about complaints from doctors over the quality of International Medical Centers’ care and allegations that Recarey had embezzled funds form another hospital (Royce and Shaw, 1988: 4). Jeb Bush told an aide to Secretary Heckler that “contrary to any rumors that were floating around concerning Mr. Recarey, that he was a solid citizen from Mr. Bush’s perspective down there [in Miami], that he was a good community citizen and a good supporter of the Republican Party” (Royce and Shaw, 1988: 4).

Not surprisingly, in 1988 Recarey’s company gave Jeb Bush’s real estate company $75,000 to help it find a site for a new corporate headquarters (Freedburg, 1988: A1; Royce and Shaw, 1988: 4). It was a bad investment because International Medical Centers had already selected a corporate headquarters location when it hired Jeb Bush (Royce and Shaw, 1988: 4).

Jeb Bush had a role in yet another Savings and Loan fiasco when he defaulted on a loan from Broward Federal Savings and Loan (LaFraniere , 1990: A24). Broward Federal loaned $4,565.000 to J Edward Houston, a real developer in February, 1985. The loan was secured only by Houston’s personal guarantee. On the same day, one of Houston’s company lent the same amount to a partnership made up of Jeb Bush and Armondo Codina for the purpose of purchasing a building in Miami. The Bush-Condina partnership was required to repay the loan only if revenues from the building were sufficient to cover the repayment. Bush and Condina made no payments on the loan at all and in 1987 Houston defaulted on the Broward Federal loan and the Bank sued both Houston and the Bush-Condina real estate partnership. In a sweetheart settlement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Bush and Codina only had to repay $500,000 of the $4.5 million loan and got to retain ownership of the building which had been the collateral on the loan. In 1991, the FDIC sued the officers and directors of Broward Federal charging that the loan ultimately used by Bush and Codina was an example of the bank’s negleient lending practices (Frisby, 1992: G1). The Bush-Codina loan played a key part in the failure of Broward Federal which cost taxpayers $285 million (LaFraniere , 1990: A24).

CONTINUED...

http://critcrim.org/critpapers/potter.htm

That's the way a professor of criminal justice puts it. Me, to get a better handle on War Inc's first family, Bartcop first called them the "BFEE" for short.

[Jackpine Radical]

84. Yes, that is absolutely right.

People whose jobs expose them to everything from bad chemicals in plastic factories and road tar fumes, people who must repeatedly lift & swing things, people in repetitive-motion tasks--their bodies break down. I have 2 sisters-in-law who became disabled after years of work in meat-packing plants, plastic molding factories, canneries & the like.

I could well see lowering the SS age to 55 for the garbage collectors, road builders, etc. I had a nice professional career that I was able to work until age 70. The only heavy burdens I had to carry were those of the spirit. These others got chewed up in order that I might have food to eat and roads to drive on. Their life expectancies are shortened. Surely we can afford to provide for them after we have used them up.

[rurallib]

97. you have nailed it

trying to do physical labor with arthritis, some loss of hearing, some loss of sight etc. can literally be a killer.

[DrDan]

3. it hasn't been 65 for years - he should do a bit of basic research before offering solutions to the

SS issue

[PoliticAverse]

8. He must have missed when Democrats and Republicans worked together to raise it last time. n/t

[DrDan]

11. well . . he has had his hands full fixing elections, cleaning up his wifes smuggling activities,

bailing his son out etc

busy guy

[Art_from_Ark]

80. LOL

Busy guy, indeed

[libdem4life]

16. Yep, I had to wait until age 66...and my sister will have to wait until age 67. The curse

of the Boomer Generation. Those born 1946 and up. I was born in 1948 and had to wait that extra year.

[murielm99]

40. Yep. Me too.

I had to wait until 66.

[merrily]

54. Sandwich Generation. Kids and elders both living with them.

Kids because they can't find jobs to afford their own place. Elders because they can't take care of all their own needs and can't pay for help. Meanwhile, the Boomers can't find work, either.

But, the invetor class is doing well.

[marions ghost]

98. Yep

and there's not enough filling in the sandwich...

We're on our fourth elder care parent.

[merrily]

99. I understand and I am so sorry.

[Jackpine Radical]

85. I was born in 1944 & full retirement age was 66 for me.

[libdem4life]

91. So you must have been the first group. I just looked for mine and my sister's. So it's at least

4 years per added year because that's the difference in our ages.

[ladyVet]

53. Seriously. Dude is behind the times.

I can't fully retire until age 67 years and nine months (I think; hopefully it hasn't changed since the last time I looked). I'm just hoping to hold on until I'm 62 and take the early "retirement" -- unless some asshole takes it away from me.

[libdem4life]

92. I opted to wait, because at the time, it was the only pension I was going to have. Now I'm having

to go back to work...partly because of an auto accident. I was a stay-at-home Mom with an LD son during the middle years. So I'll be working the next 10 for that extra pension since I'm single now. Fortunately, I have an insurance license and they don't care how old you are, as long as you produce. I could not get a "real job" and I have a very good Resume. My age.

[City Lights]

4. Many people over 50 have a hard time finding a job as it is.

By all means, extend their misery by another 5 years.

Great solution, Bush.

[beaglelover]

37. My thoughts exactly. I work for a company that targets employees for layoff once they hit 55!

[brush]

43. Spot on!

Fewer and fewer workers survive on a job much into their 50s as employers start looking for ways to get rid of 50 somethings and their relatively high paychecks so that they can bring in younger workers that they can pay a lot less — to hell with experience and institutional memory.

So what these born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-their-mouth repugs who have never actually worked are saying is that if you make it to your mid-50s before getting downsized you'll have 3 or 4 MORE years to try to make it through (most likely at a much lower paying job if you can find one) before you collect social security.

And if you do start collecting, it'll only be for a short time.

Way to go, Jeb, you're really chalking up the votes with this and the idiotic "I'd have done the same thing as my brother in Iraq" move.

Turns out you are not the smart one after all.

[merrily]

6. That should sit well with the Teabaggers. Not.

[Sherman A1]

10. Proceed Governor

You first, but be sure that you are doing some physically taxing work (like construction, roofing, retail, warehousing, driving, etc) everyday and show us how this is done......

[octoberlib]

12. This would keep people working longer, shrinking the job pool for young people.

Fuck him.

[B Calm]

18. Cons are salivating over the prospect of old, desperate and hungry people to hire as cheap labor.

[brush]

44. Not really actually

Employers are increasingly figuring out ways to layoff 50 something workers and bring in younger, lower paid ones.

Loyalty to long-time workers is now a quaint, outdated notion.

It's a dirty secret, workers working for 30-40 years at one place doesn't happen much at all anymore.

[mythology]

88. Except research shows the opposite

An increase in older people working has a positive impact on youth employment numbers, wages, and hours worked. Switching to social security lowers what older people have to spend.

There are good arguments for and against raising the retirement age, especially as people live longer. The biggest problem is that some jobs are physically much harder on the body than others. And we can't have two tracks for social security without risking the program being seen like welfare and thus successfully demonized.

[Ms. Yertle]

102. Social Security

was never intended to fund a 30+ year retirement. Back in the 30's life expectancy was in the low--mid 60's, so (while there were some exceptions) most people could hope to collect for a few years, if they even lived long enough to collect.

And, pretty much all work back then was a lot more physically taxing and dangerous than it is today.

[Warpy]

13. Maybe if your fat can has spent a lifetime in an office chair

Those of us who have done the real work of the world need it lowered to 55, because that's when our bodies start to give out.

And no, Jebbie, those once a week squash games don't really count.

[CK_John]

14. It should be expanded to 50yrs of age to offset the lack of jobs due to technology.

[JHB]

15. That change always sounds good to the ears of people...

...for whom it's practical effects will be on the order of adjusting the volume of their TV or tweaking the bass on their sound system.A minor adjustment, to them.

It definitely isn't trivial for people for whom Social Security is a substantial portion of their income.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. All that's missing are the whips and mint juleps.

Right, boss?

[Enthusiast]

69. Exactly correct.

[workinclasszero]

20. Jeb Bush just committed political suicide

[MineralMan]

21. Oh, that'll work well for people who do labor-intensive work.

I'm trying to imagine a 68 year old framer or carpet layer. I can't. I installed a laminate floor in my house at age 65. I could hardly walk for three days, I was so sore. Up and down hundreds of times during the job. Nobody could do that day after day for that many years and not be crippled.

I guess it's OK if you sit at a desk all day. Heck, I'm 69, and I still work full-time as a writer. I used to do all those manual jobs. I still can, but I couldn't do them as a living. I installed 100' of chain link fence last summer. The following three days, I limped around. I'm pretty fit for an old fart, too. But I couldn't do manual labor 40 hours a week. Not a chance.

[workinclasszero]

22. Republicans hope we all die before 70

So we get zero dollars after a lifetime of paying ss taxes.

Do they really think the American people are going to vote to cut their own throat like this?

[MineralMan]

25. I sure don't know if voters will think much about this.

They should, of course. But, we've seen lots of Republicans vote against their own best interest many time. It's confusing to me, too. I just don't understand that kind of thinking.

[workinclasszero]

39. True but I'm going to make sure

every probable republican voter I know understands that the republicans candidate will put their ss retirement money out of reach till 70 at least.

And thats just a prelude to totally killing it all together of course.

[beltanefauve]

61. African American males

African American males would particularly get the shaft. The life expectancy rate of black males is around age 71 versus 76 for a white male.
Tried to post a link to back this up, but it didn't work.

[Enthusiast]

70. That doesn't bother the racist Republicans.

[Lurker Deluxe]

28. That so depends on luck

If you are lucky enough and your body holds out and you are framing out houses at 68 .... you'll live to 100.

Chances are your body will reject that demand long before that.

I am lucky that pushing 50 I still run a very labor intensive Horizontal Boring Mill (HBM) that certainly is not an easy task. Were I to take a year off from running a machine like this and attempt to come back to it, I would probably not be able to do it. My shoulder and elbow give me grief every now and again, the tools weigh around 25-30 pounds and changing them is a one armed operation and sometimes they get changed 25 times a day. I know my limits and try to keep myself from going over them ... however, here I am on a Sunday pulling a 12 after 3 days of it and I know tomorrow will be a 12 as well. Then I will get to roll down to nice 8's for a few days and recover.

I have had the opportunity to move into office positions on multiple occasions but I truly believe that the physical work is good for me, as long as my body holds out.

Desk job will kill you unless you do something else. Most people who work physical jobs, and stay in those jobs, are healthier than the alternative when it comes to pulmonary issues, it's the joints that wear out.

[arcane1]

33. I can imagine! I sanded hardwood floors for one year in my 20's and my back was never the same.

No benefits, of course. I don't know how those guys did it for a living.

[HockeyMom]

78. MR/DD in Group Homes

Pushing wheelchairs, feeding, bathing, changing diapers, "behaviors", etc. Until your are 70 and might need that done for YOU? Then there is also the mental health issue for employees. Burnout. You heed a lot of compassion and PATIENCE in this line of work. You cannot work with people who have these issues when you yourself are having a breakdown.

We had 15 sick days a year in this line of work, not to mention our own counseling. We used to call these sick days "Staff Mental Health Days". Keep working until your are 70????? Maybe they need robots instead of 70 year olds.

[Warren Stupidity]

23. So do thirdway dems.

And they think we are too stupid to understand what a huge benefit cut this is.

But what the fuck there are tons of good paying jobs for people in their late 60s.

The ruling class can go fuck themselves.

[arcane1]

34. They'll have to get minimum-wage, which won't go up because those are "summer-teenager" jobs.

"Too bad. You shoulda worked hard, like us!"

[Kyblue1]

24. Is anyone other than John McCain going to miss Rethug shill Schiefer?

[gopiscrap]

103. Welcome to DU

[Kablooie]

26. Why not 80 or 90? 110 would be a good choice.

Oh hell, let's just eliminate Social Security altogether then we'll all be happy.

I mean what could be better than millions of sick, starving old people.
It's a dream come true!

[Warren Stupidity]

36. For your 100th birthday a check from Uncle Sam!

And the financial gurus will be telling you to defer benefits until you reach 107.

[catrose]

27. Oh God No

Hanging on by fingernails and some guy who's always had a staff thinks I should work longer?

[TheKentuckian]

29. I hate the use of the lie that the retirement age is 65 (which would be too high too).

[Skittles]

48. perhaps he is just too stupid to know it is no longer 65

[TheKentuckian]

66. Nox don't buy it for a second but ignorance is a curable conditions, I correct the lie every time.

[Vinca]

30. This from a man who hasn't done an honest day's work in his life.

Being born with a silver spoon must make things so much easier.

[RKP5637]

31. Too bad Jeb didn't retire decades ago and leave the rest of us the fuck alone! And congressional

retirement packages, they should be eliminated. Let them get a real job than freeloading off the rest of us!

[RKP5637]

32. Jeb Bush, a man obsolete for the 21st century! Unfit to lead! n/t

[Rex]

35. This from a man that has never worked an honest day in his life.

FUCK THE BFEE. Evil to the core.

[CanonRay]

38. Try cutting timber or working construction

At age 68. Privileged asshole.

[workinclasszero]

59. I'm pretty sure Jebbie and all the people he's known in life

Never ever broke a sweat doing hard labor.

But he's all for fucking over those that have that miserable asshole!

[Triana]

41. NOT NECESSARY. Remove the CAP.

CUTS in the form of of Chained CPI or raising the age are NOT necessary. The hoodlums who STOLE our SS money now do not want to pay it back. It's OUR money. Rather than replace what they stole, they want to cut OUR benefits that WE PAID FOR and force us to work longer to get them.

H E L L

N O!

[nichomachus]

42. Anyone who suggests raising the retirement age

Should be required to work one month, doing hard work, on their feet for 10 hours a day and then report back.

All we need to do is raise the cap on SS taxes and we have enough for everyone. The SS tax scheme was set up, as were the increase formulas, to cover 90 percent of income in the country. Now, because of wage inequality and with a bigger share of income going to the top 10 percent, the tax only covers 80 percent of income.

[Delphinus]

45. I will support that.

These idiots need to know what it's like to do a day's labor.

[Codeine]

52. Simpler solution;

guillotines!

[MohRokTah]

46. It's already 68.

What he meant to say is "everybody work themselves to death".

[Skittles]

50. it is currently being phased up to 67

but your second assertion is very much correct

[MohRokTah]

55. Well everything I've ever received from the SSA gave a maximum amount if..

retiring at age 68.

[Codeine]

51. Or raise the cap.

But that doesn't move enough poor people into even longer periods of serfdom, does it?

[ArcticFox]

56. Retirement age should be made younger

To make hiring the younger generations necessary.

[NBachers]

57. I'm 66, which is "full retierement benefit" age, but my benefits max out at 70.

I have at least another four years to hang on.

[Major Hogwash]

58. "Keep digging that (political) grave, JEB."

Absolutely!

This is even more dumb than Jeb admitting that he would have invaded Iraq, too, just like his widdle brudder.

What a fucking moron!

Has this douchebag been marooned on a deserted island somewhere in the South Pacific for the last dozen years?


<--- Jeb Bush

[workinclasszero]

86. Rich fucks like Jeb Bush have no idea of the hell working americans go through

in our life and they could care less, I'm sure!

The only people republican bloodsuckers care about are the damned Koch bros!

[daleanime]

60. If anything it needs to be cut....

[KentuckyWoman]

62. Dear Jeb - Ef you and your whole damn family

The WORKING people in this country drag their ass to work with fevers, broken bones, while on chemo, way too soon after surgery.... by 60 we are beat up, used up and exhausted. We suck it up and go as long as most of us can go and we just hope and pray you turdwads at the top don't blow the while damn system up right as we run out of steam.

Now you want to force us to go longer because your cronies stole the money out of the system to fund bridges to nowhere and bombs everywhere and you don't want to give it back.

You and WhistleAss can both fry in hell for all I care. And take his stupid feet paintings with you.

[SheilaT]

63. There is a bit of misunderstanding here

about the "Full Retirement Age" for collecting SS.

That phrase refers to the age you need to be and not have your SS amount reduced if you earn over a certain amount. You can still choose to start collecting SS as early as age 62. The longer you delay collecting SS, the more your benefit grows, until it maxes out at age 70, under the current rules.

Here's the chart of birth years and date of "full retirement age" cut and pasted from www.ssa.gov

1937 and prior 65
1938 65 and 2 months
1939 65 and 4 months
1940 65 and 6 months
1941 65 and 8 months
1942 65 and 10 months
1943-54 66
1955 66 and 2 months
1956 66 and 4 months
1957 66 and 6 months
1958 66 and 8 months
1959 66 and 10 months
1960 and later 67

It is pretty amazing that the people who so blithely suggest the age of collecting full benefits be raised invariably have jobs with little or no physical stress and pay a whole lot more than most people make.

What's really scary is how many people buy into the bullshit that Social Security is on the edge of running out of money, and nothing can possibly be done to save it. What's even scarier, is to what extent that idea has been out there for forty years. I'm 66, and I recall some coworkers, a good 40 years ago, blathering about how Social Security wouldn't be around for them. And huge numbers of younger people today likewise believe that. So it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Anytime anyone starts to hand me that crap about SS running out of money I do my best to straighten them out on the topic.

[raccoon]

74. I'm close to your age and I remember hearing the same thing about 40 years ago.

I'm 66, and I recall some coworkers, a good 40 years ago, blathering about how Social Security wouldn't be around for them. And huge numbers of younger people today likewise believe that. So it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[SheilaT]

95. I'm glad I'm not quite the only one who recalls

this.

Republicans have been trying to get rid of Social Security ever since FDR signed it into law in 1935.

Another genuinely dangerous idea out there is that our contributions are somehow our own, and we really ought to be allowed to invest part of that money because we could get better returns, and therefore have more money in the end. Everyone needs to understand it's a pay as you go system. Money workers pay in today go to current retirees, or those on disability. When they retire, those still worker will pay their benefits. The number of workers to retirees is an issue, and it's one of the main reasons we need to raise the cap on SS.

Plus, of course, trying to "beat the market" can be a fool's game, and the ones who'd be hurt the most by trying to invest their money would be those who can least afford to lose anything.

I don't know about anyone else, but when I look at what I've paid in over the years: $15,148, and what my employers paid in: $14,507, it's astonishingly low for what I'll eventually get back. In my case I was out of the work force for a long time while raising kids. I have 19 years of zero income, and three more scattered among those 19 in which I earned about $500.

For me, when I do start collecting, it will be just about a third of my income, with the rest coming from a tiny pension and my own savings. I do feel for those whose only income is Social Security, because it wouldn't often be enough to live with dignity.

I do think that none of Social Security should be subject to income taxes, even if you have a million dollars a year coming from other sources. Once again, the taxes hit the middle income people the hardest. I can't worry about the rare millionaire who also gets SS. They don't make a difference. Same with Medicare. There is no, and should never be any means test for receiving Medicare. Of course, if we had the sort of universal health care that most of the rest of the world has, this likewise wouldn't be an issue.

[WinkyDink]

64. He's just spouting words.

[ZX86]

65. I hate these f*ckers

with the intensity of a thousand quasars.

[Cha]

71. A question regarding bush2..

ROFL.. yeah, that will go over big.. with the Koch bros.

[eShirl]

72. oh HELL no

entitled shitstain!

[CBGLuthier]

75. Says an entitled asshole who has never done any real work in his life. Fuck them. Fuck them all.

[MillennialDem]

76. How about we - just raise the cap? This is not a difficult problem. Except for republicans who

worship the rich.

[HassleCat]

77. How 'bout this, Jeb?

Eliminate the wage cap for SS deductions. Why do rich people get to quit paying into the system when they reach a certain income level?

[Thinkingabout]

79. I thank the Congress who had the courage to reform Social Security. It raised the full retirement

age from 65 to 67 on a sliding scale for those born after 1937. There was an increase in the max cap also. One could still receive a reduced SSA at 62. It made the Social Security fund solvent past 2012 to about 2036. A reform would probably be similar, an increase in the max cap with another increase in the full retirement age. This would give the younger generations funding for the future.

[Paladin]

82. Blow it out your ass, Republican rich boy. (nt)

[leftyladyfrommo]

89. What would really happen is that employees

will be forced out after 50 and then have to try and make it on their savings until they are 70.

That's what's happening now to everyone I know. Many have been forced to take SS at 62 just to survive.

[One_Life_To_Give]

90. Who gets full benefits at 65?

And who didn't see this coming? Full retirement age was incremented in the 1983 Amendment. 32 years later we still find a funding shortfall projected due in part to people living many more years in retirement than what was common at the program inception.

But we also need to remember that a large part of why this program was and is needed is the horrific Unemployment Rate among the elderly that was and would be present without it. Those aged 68yrs who are healthy enough to work face major hurdles trying to get and keep employment. And that is not likely to get better anytime soon. If 25% of the labor force is replaced by Robots in the next few decades we will find unemployment rates among middle aged require the retirement age be dropped to 50.

[hunter]

93. I did lots of warehouse type work as a young man, loading and unloading trucks...

... and furniture moving, etc. I used to enjoy it. A ten or twelve hour day with overtime was awesome. Many $$$, and I looked hot!

I'm 50+ now with arthritis, I volunteered for a few days of the same kind of work at the food bank and I was absolutely miserable. My muscles and endurance were fine, my joints, especially my knees and hips, were screaming bloody murder.

I just want to flog these politicians who propose things like this.

A later retirement might be acceptable with me if we paid people of all ages to return to school when they got too sore for physical labor, so that they might find less strenuous well-paid work, and if we were generous with disability payments. But that's never what these asshole are talking about.

They promote a society where laborers are simply used up, worn out, and discarded.

[themaguffin]

94. He's such a POS. Democrats should hammer. The age should being going DOWN, not up

[TexasBushwhacker]

96. Raise the freaking cap and increase the tax by 1%

Plain and simple. Of course their will be push back from those who earn more than the current cap and there will be push back from employers who don't want to pay the additional 1%.

There is an idea I've seen floating about that I like. While many would like to just eliminate the cap in one fell swoop, it could also be raised with an untaxed window that is gradually closed.

For example, the $113K cap could be raised 20% a year for 5 years. That would take it up to about $280K. But then there would be a window of untaxed income up to $1 Million. Then everything over $1Million would subject to SS tax. Doing it this way will tax more of the 1% who have reaped all the gains over the last few decades. Every year, the lower part of the window would be raised, eventually making all income subject to SS tax.

Furthermore, I think everyone who has investment income over a certain amount, say $1Million, should pay Social Security and Medicare tax on the investment income over that limit. I also don't think it makes any sense to make long term capital gains taxed at a lower rate when that income is very high. Let's put that limit at $2 Million. It's crazy that a trust fund kid or a hedge fund manager could make millions in capital gains income and never pay a dime to Social Security or Medicare?

The SS Act established the OSADI. That stands for Old, Survivors and Disabled INSURANCE. We have to have liability insurance on our car. If it's not fully paid for, comprehensive insurance too. If your home is financed, you have to carry insurance on it. Why do would we treat the security of our old, survivors and disabled as any less important than covering the loss of a car or a house? A civilized society takes care of its most vulnerable members. PERIOD.

[Sheepshank]

100. Fuck That!

I've been eyeing retirement and everytime, I think I'm >this< close, the Republicans want to move the goal post.

[bobjacksonk2832]

101. God I hate this guy even more than his brother

If these RW jerks had their way, the retirement age would be raised to 80. Or worse, we wouldn't even be allowed to retire at all.