My friends and I were having a discussion where the topic of Social Security came up and how to address the problems. This is a topic that flat out pisses me off. My entire life, born shortly after Reagan took office, I’ve been told not to expect social security to be there when I retire. My generation has been conditioned for this.
The Silent Generation and Boomers have been running this country for decades, knowing we would get here and have flat out refused to do anything about it. They won’t retire and play with the grandkids, but think they should run everything. Look at the two leading Presidential candidates in their parties as an example of not knowing when to exit stage left.
Even now, Boomers scream bloody murder if we want to change the retirement age for my generation, not for them. It would actually protect their benefits too. Instead, they scream and fight and lie about any plan that actually attempts to save it. The greatest opposition to changing Social Security for FUTURE beneficiaries comes from the current beneficiaries and those who are close, but would not be affected.
DeSantis is wrong in his opposition to increasing the retirement age and Haley is right on that topic (for a change). However, he is smart by not jumping on that third rail. It isn’t going to happen and all you do is lose votes talking about it, certainly in a heated primary and heated general election.
Frankly, I don’t care if it collapses. I’m sick of trying to protect people from themselves. Those who are going to depend on Social Security aren’t interested in saving it, then deal with your problems. My concern is that instead of letting it collapse, they are going to hit me up to double or triple the money I am already paying to the system.
I’m pretty supportive of just about any changes except increasing deductions. Raise the age, means test people out, raise the threshold for deductions, whatever, just don’t increase the percentage of my money you take every paycheck to prop up a Ponzi scheme that if done in the private sector would send people to prison.
It will take someone like DeSantis who is willing to take the heat to do it and who is of a generation that will be affected directly by it. I would still advise him not to campaign on that. It is poison as an issue. Frankly, I don’t know that it is worth the political capital it would take to solve it anyway.
If you fix it, many people end up getting mad and the benefit isn’t realized until long after you leave office. The more likely outcome is that no one does anything until we no longer have the money to pay out the benefits. It is a problem that no politician seems willing to solve. The main reason is the average American voter, who rejects any discussion of Social Security changes. I would advise everyone to make sure you have yourself taken care of without relying on the government.
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The problem is we as a culture long ago forgot the difference between a safety net and a hammock. As originally conceived, Social Security was ONLY meant as a safety net to over those who outlived their pensions or similar extreme circumstances.
Well said. Now, social security is considered by people as retirement they have earned by paying in, instead of something that catches you when your retirement runs out or you are physically or mentally unable to continue to work.
My favorite reform is moving the age out to wherever it needs to be to make it work. I’d prefer to scrap it all, but I also recognize the political reality. Moving the age out makes the most sense and gets it closer to the original purpose, as flawed as it was.