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‘Can You Imagine Working Until 70?’ Congressional Republicans Think That’s OK
Republican Rep. John Boehner from Ohio says if his party took over Congress in the fall elections, it would raise the Social Security eligibility age to 70. Sharron Angle, Republican candidate for Senate in Nevada, said Social Security should be phased out.
As Social Security turned 75 in recent days, the nation’s most successful safety net is under attack as never before.
Writing at Huffington Post, Barbara Easterling, president of the Alliance for Retired Americans, asks: “Can you imagine working until 70?”
In jobs like construction, manufacturing, and the service sector, I just don’t see how you can. A study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research showed that 45 percent of workers age 58 to 69 are in physically demanding jobs. And in a tough labor market, who would hire someone in their late 60s?
In fact, without Social Security, 19.8 million more Americans would be poor, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). Without Social Security, 45.2 percent of older Americans would have incomes below the poverty line. With Social Security, only 9.7 are poor. CBPP’s Paul Van de Water and Arloc Sherman reminds us that Social Security isn’t only for retired folks:
Social Security lifts more than 1 million children out of poverty.
More children and elderly living in poverty doesn’t seem to bother the likes of Boehner. He’s too busy playing golf at the ritzy clubs he belongs to when he’s not relaxing in his gated community.
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18 Comments
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my retiement age has already been extended by ronnie reagan to 67yrs of age.vote all the republicans out of office!
I do not believe “Republicans” want anyone to work until 70! The problem is Social Security is BROKE! Instead of creating HATE to Republicans, come up with Ideas to keep it above water! Then, maybe we can keep things the way they are, but, without some fiscal RESPONSIBILITY, then it will go BROKE! And, what Boehner does in his spare time is COMPLETELY Irrevelant to this story!! Heck, I play Golf too!
Perhaps you should throw a little reading and thinking into your leisure time along with the golf.
Social Security cannot go broke since it is paid for by a dedicated (and very regressive) tax on wages. It currently takes in more money than it pays out in benefits and has a trust fund of over 2.5 trillion dollars backed by the full faith and credit of the US government.
No trust fund you say? All been spent? So it is OK to default on money owed to American workers but not rich American, Chinese, Japanese and European bondholders?
The Republicians turned SS into a slug fund, because it was fiscal responsible. Why don’t we demand, just put the money back that you took and lets move on.
This is in response to AceHighSteve. People like yourselve need to look at the facts. According to the latest information by the Congressional Budget Office, SS presently has a $2.5 trillion reserve fund, taking in more than it pays out for the past 25 years. The Congressional Budget Office states that if has enough to pay full SS payments for the next 33 years. After than, it will still take in enough money to pay at least up to 78% of SS payments. The Senate Special Committee on Aging says the same. It lays out some simple solutions for the long term gap. First, list the cap from the current $106,800 on earnings taxed and rasise the payroll tax rate gradually, such as by 1/20th of a percent each year for workers over 15-20 yrs. This would bring in more tax revenue to secure the SS Trust Fund for another 75 yrs.
Republicans want to put into place a “Roadmap for America’s Future” according to their way of thinking, divert future benfits into Wall Street or a Gov’t-managed fund with no gurarantee on the outcome, while at the same time raise the age from 67 up to 70 over the next several years. Iwas at a town hall meeting and my Congressman is a Republican, when I asked him the question on SS for the present and how he would change or enhance it for the future, he yelled out “do you think immigrants should be getting SS”, when I pressed him on the issued, he wants to use SS like above to reduce the deficit. When I asked him how the extension of the Bush tax cuts(mainly for the top 2% of Americans) that he just keeps repeating is necessary, is going to add to the deficit, because it will lower the revenue coming in, he says that’s wear the changes to SS will pickup the deficit revenue that will be lost comes in. Another words, the remaining 98% of Americans, the Middle Class and Lower Classes will make up the difference. I heard this right from the mouth of my GOP Congressman, if they regain control of the Congress whatever is lleft of the Middle Class in this country will be gone in a short period of time. We will be at a juncture in the USA of the Haves and Have-nots. People need to read and listen for all the facts. If you have a Republican Senator or Congressman in your district, press them on the SS issue, and don’t belive half of what they say.
Social Security is NOT BROKE. If the AFL-CIO leadership was serious about fighting the Republicans AND Democrats intent on destroying the countries most significant and successful social program they would demand and end the wars and occupations in the Middle East and the bailouts and give aways to the corporations. They are the problem! Of course the AFL-CIO leadership supports and defends capitalism and that means they don’t want to fight which means all workers, the poor, the disabled, the orphans and others will continue to suffer. Only a break from the two party system and the building of a fighting workers party will offer hope for the masses and all of our futures.
Perhaps legislation should be passed that would prohibit the wealthy from receiving Social Security benefits? Why do they need the benefits?
Secondly, maybe those Congressional hacks who want to raise the eligibility age to 70 should be forced to work in packing houses, auto factories, construction and other physically demanding jobs?
This country is way behind France, Germany, Italy and Japan in the way it treats it’s retired workforce. How did this come about?
Go see or rent Michael Moore’s lates flic; CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY. This movie explains a lot without being too ideological.
I’m 58 years old and unemployed. I had to leave dates out of my resume so that employers could not guess my age. Employers do discriminate against older workers even though they are not supposed to. Can you imagine trying to get a job at age 67 or older. Social Security can be fixed by raising the cap or taxing some unearned income. Do you think Republicans will go for that idea?
I don’t hate anyone. I hate the Republicans’ policies. They can’t seem to get it through their skulls that not all of us are white, make $200,000 a year and liver in the burbs.
I don’t want any Republicans telling me about fiscal responsibility after they spent untold billions on an unnecessary war without even a cursory look at the logic (orlack thereof) behind it.
acehighsteve is a typical Republican who mistakes opinion for fact! Social Security is solvent until 2037 and if the cap on income was “adjusted” for inflation on higher incomes, from the current 98 Thousand, say up to 150 Thousand it would be solvent for the next 200 years. The real problem is that the scumbag politicians have used our social security taxes to fund the Wars and tax breaks for the rich and tax breaks for corporations and they’re afraid that payback is coming and they’re selling this BS(which morons seem to buy) that Social Security is in trouble. Are you a moron Steve?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had the power of God for awhile. We could take all the politicians that want to raise the age on social security and let them lay floor tile on their hands and knees. Then we could let them jack hammer concrete on 110 degree days on a typical construction site at starting apprentice wages until they reach the age of seventy and then they could go play golf… if they weren’t in a wheel chair!
It is not just the Republicans it is also the Democrats. I have seen a number of Democratic Senators and Congressmen on the talk shows being asked if they support raising the retirement age to 70, and everyone of them tap danced around the question and would not give a definite yes or no answer even after being asked over and over again. Raise the retirement age to 70? The question should be why not lower the age to 65 where it was until Reagan got ahold of it. Where is the AFL-CIO on this? I don’t see anybody asking why the retirement age isn’t lowered back to 65.
The FICA payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare is the worst tax imaginable. Employers pay it only when they hire someone. That’s a big reason why so many American workers have been replaced by machines or outsourcing (imports).
If we replaced the FICA tax with a value-added tax (VAT), the automation and the imports would pay into Social Security and Medicare. More important, the playing field would be leveled for American workers.
God Bless America!
We as union members can play the blame game or we can look at the real problem. Our gov is spending and has been spending money like it is going out of style for decades and not just repubs. My wife and I personally live within our means and have learned some life lessons the hard way. None of you owe me anything and I promise I will never ask you for a handout. With that said, I do not owe any of you anything either except respect as a human being. To the welfare cases who won’t work, there is no respect. If we as union members will learn the value of saving money instead of being in debt we can be much better off when we do reach our senior years. Over the 40 + years of our working careers we can have a nice portfolio that makes SS look pretty silly. But are you willing to quit spending everything you make?
If you continually make a vehicle payment, an over priced mortgage or credit card payments, you are the problem and your retirement will suffer. The end benefit of saving/investments is that of more retirement income and more for our kids to inherit. This is not a Republican verses Democrat or poor verses wealthy idea, it is a proven fact that all of us have the opportunity to do much more for ourselves. It does require a change in spending habits.
OK, John of Orange & the others of his ilk says it’s alright to work until 70, YOU FIRST! And without the help of others. See if you can! I just hope your body & mind doesn’t break down.
Congress is in bed with the Insurance and Pharmacuetical “power lobby”. The Repub’s and Dem’s can’t leave the S.S.A. funds alone. They have repeatedly robbed from this DEDICATED fund that can’t lose money unless you tamper with it,DUH! You pay into it right from your paycheck. You paid and you have a right to draw it back at an age reasonable, like 60 year old or 55 years old.yeah! Draw more than ten checks before you die.
There is nothing wrong with our SSA and don’t let them keep up the lie. It is just easy PICKENS for incompetent’s that can’t run the dollar anywhere but into the dirt. If they need quick cash deport about 13 million illegal aliens. We are spending billions of dollars a year aiding and abetting criminal trespassers. They get the full refuge package of $2400 base per month plus allotments for each child and ANCHOR baby plus medicare and the best part it is all free on your dollar. Compare that super gift to SSA and it looks like our elder’s should get a raise like Congress ,not a cut.
The biggest lie in the actuaries is our life expectancy. What they don’t tell you is the bottom line QUALITY of life. We are supposed to be an advanced society. How many men and women are living after bypass surgery, breast removal and organ transplant etc. The industry is keeping us alive ,but what kind of life. I personally know many Senior Citizen’s who spend way more than they can afford on pills to maintain their lives. They could buy better food and take off that sweater if they had that money in their pockets.
This is America. Why do scofflaw illegals and lazy leeches get all the free money while those who have paid into the system for 30 plus years are getting a raw deal. I think it is not only time to clean house in our GOVERNMENT ,but time to rethink where and how our tax dollars go into oblivion and pass by the working slob!
The real criminals are in our Congress.Shame on you inept monkeys. You can’t run the country ,yet you want to run some hard working American’s into the ground andc tell them ; the steel workers, constrution hard labor food industry and coal miners ,how and when to retire. You deserve nothing of SSA funds. Four years or tenyears of the kind of work you do means you should owe the fund. Anybody making over $ 100,000 a year can afford their own 401k or IRA. Just like you say youn should be able to collect your nothing dollars at age 78, but leave thework force alone. Ypou jave crippled the country.leave it’sorker wholeand with some dignity. Yes dignity ,a word you find hard to live up to in your PORK Barrel world.
How about Eisenhower? Was he not a Republican? What were the highest tax rates for the rich in the 50s? Lets put them back to that level. Then we could have money for more than just the military-industrial complex that he tried to warn us about. All that they have to do is lower the tax on the first $50,000, and extend the tax with no income limit. That will relieve the average worker a lot, and the rich would not feel a thing, (although they would howl like stuck pigs, of course). Then maybe we could lower the retirement age. Do not let longevity numbers fool you – most of the gains in longevity have to do with reduced infant and childhood deaths. They want us to wait to collect until we are dead. They seek to put young against old, and call senior citizens a ‘special interest’ group.
I have done everything the conservatives say a person should do to be wealthy. I live humbly, I paid off my house early, I paid cash for my car, I have a 401K that I put 5% of my income in and an IRA that I take to the legal limit of deductibility, pay all my bills when they come due. Here’s what I’ve gotten: Enough gain in my mutual funds to pay the investment companies their percentage; Evey time my investments go up they crash and I’m right back where I started; the company I work for canceled their 50% match on the 401K. To anyone who thinks someone with a working class wage in a right to work state can survive in retirement without social security, try rethinking! To those who believe their investments in stocks, mutual funds, etc. are stable, good luck! I hope you retire in a boom not a bust. Then throw in the unexpected, e.g. a sick spouse or other health problem, and see what happens. Maybe that’s why they call it social security insurance. Maybe that’s why single payer health care is a good idea. It brings me back to the old term “scissorbill”, and there seem to be a lot of them writing in this blog lately.