Cenk Hosting Ed Show Talks To Gov. Rendell About Obama & Raising The Retirement Age!

[CherylK]

Run time: 05:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLgciN4I-7Y   Posted on YouTube: December 29, 2010 By YouTube Member: TYTInterviews Views on YouTube: 1190   Posted on DU: December 29, 2010 By DU Member: CherylK Views on DU: 953

 
Cenk Uygur (host of The Young Turks) filling in for Ed Schultz on MSNBC speaks with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell about the second half of Obama's term and his comments on the weather delay of the Eagles-Vikings game.

[swilton]

1. Raising social security because of increased life expectancy?

Not with the US health care system. US ranks as one of the lowest in the industrialized world in life expectancy as well as infant mortality.

[NorthCarolina]

2. Those are facts though, and therefore have no bearing on the public justification for cutting SS. nt

[swilton]

5. My point was Rendell's arguments are specious

How can he assume that life expectancy is going to increase - given the plight of the US health care system and the inability of a Democratic Administration to reform it. The US health care system is not the best in the world and its quality is declining. According to the online CIA Factbook which has an online source of statistical information, out of 224 countries, the US ranks 46 in infant mortality rates (6.14 infant deaths), and 49th in life expectancy (78.4 years)....I believe that when the movie SICKO came out the US rankings were in the high 30s.

[NorthCarolina]

7. How often do you hear Dems, aside from maybe Kucinich, or Bernie Sanders (who isn't even a Dem)

mention anything of the sort? Unless you know of a news source totally unfamiliar to me, then I doubt that you have heard any Dems speak it. Instead, you get the standard "America has the best health care in the world" dissertation. No mention of where the World Health Organization places American Health Care (someplace not far from Zimbabwe), because that is the "truth", and therefore it doesn't fit the storyline being peddled to the general public. You are correct that health care in America is dismal, and it is so largely because so few have access to it. The life expectancy for a lucky few Americans able to pay the rising health care costs may in fact increase over the coming decades, but for the rank and file middle class and poor, it is far more likely to be reduced for them. I guess the point is that "facts" don't really matter when it comes to issues of social programs. The wall street fat cats, and corporate masters determine what constitutes "truth", and that "truth" will invariably lead to their desired outcomes.

[nckjm]

8. Huh? I don't understand what you're saying.

[JDPriestly]

3. Rendell is wrong about raising the Social Security retirement age.

We live longer today than our grandparents did, yet we retire at least as early if not earlier.

Some people retire because they are disabled or ill. But people are now retiring somewhat earlier than they did a few years ago --- because they cannot get jobs.

How can Rendell or anyone else predict that there will be enough jobs for people over 62 in 2050. We don't have enough jobs for people over 62 now. We can assume that technology will have improved to the point that even less labor is needed. So, why not lower the age for Social Security benefits.

After all, who is benefiting the most from the increased efficiency that has reduced the need for labor? The wealthy. That is why their increased earnings due to increased efficiency should be used to pay for earlier, not later, retirement.

To look at the budget deficits without considering increased efficiency and decreased use of labor in this country is foolish.

The real reason we have a deficit is that our tax system is based on the idea that tax income should be derived from the income tax. Incomes have not risen. Therefore tax revenues have not adequately risen.

We have to impose taxes where the money is. That is the only way to reduce the deficit.

We can't just continue to take to tax the paychecks of ordinary people who are barely earning a subsistence living and let the bankers keep their gambling gains without paying any taxes on them.

Why are people so stupid? Why can't they think beyond the obvious?

[Enthusiast]

4. Rendell: dead to me. nt

[Citizen Worker]

6. Work until age 69! Where will the jobs come from? I know, if we cut taxes for the rich even

further this will create jobs.