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By greater than a two-to-one margin, voters overwhelmingly oppose increasing the Medicare retirement age from 65 to 67, according to a new Washington Post poll. The poll found 67 percent of registered voters oppose raising the Medicare retirement age while just 30 percent of voters support the idea. On the other hand, 60 percent of voters support raising taxes on the rich.
Raising the Medicare retirement age is not only a deeply unpopular way to reduce the deficit, it is also terrible and ineffective policy. The move would only save the federal government a modest amount of money, while shifting even greater costs onto millions of Americans. It would not only cost individuals near retirement more, but it would increase the premiums for everyone on Medicare and people using the new Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Despite the fact that it is simply idiotic policy, the idea of increasing the Medicare retirement age from 65 to 67 is being seriously entertained by a disturbing number of prominent figures in Washington. Many top Republicans and Democrats have advocated for the idea. President Obama even offered it to Speaker John Boehner in 2011 as part of a possible debt deal.
Hopefully the combination of the idea being both unpopular and unsound will prevent it from being part of any fiscal cliff deal, but the fact that the idea is still being discussed is a perfect symbol of what is wrong with the current dialog in Washington. Politicians promoting bad and unpopular ideas are treated as serious thinkers instead of psychopaths, because advocating for needlessly hurting poor people is somehow seen as a badge of courage.
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It’s Medicare/Medicaid or the Magnificent Mindless ‘Merican Murder Machine.
Who do you think makes the biggest campaign contributions ? There’s your answer.
o and the congress don’t govern by polls; they govern by what is best for the American people. How do they know what is best for the American people? Why they ask the big money donors what is best. The answer is always the same, “stick it to the little guy, don’t you dare touch our entitlements.”
That is great news. Thank you.
The Deficit Twins, Erskine and Alan, got lionized at the NYTs today for their well remunerated (40k per speaking engagement) efforts to further erode the social insurance benefits earned by the middle class over the last forty years. The affluent and those liberals who have betrayed us, have created an uphill battle. But the internet has a long memory, and in the future, those who are guilty today, will not evade justice. 95% of the comments responding to the Twins article were scathingly negative. People know when they are being screwed.
Boomers, near retirement, and retired are being publicly smeared as radioactive, 60 foot men and women, who are only on the planet to distress the youngins’ and take, take, take. ……..Yet missives from NYS Retirement system Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli express gratitude that 80% of retired public employees stay in their home state and contribute 9.5 billion dollars in economic activity in NYS in the year 2011. How much more so is generated through SS and Medicare economic activity. The retirement fund is invested in the economic life of NYS and generated a 5.6% rate of return for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. 83% of NYS retirement benefits are generated through the investments made in the fund. Contrary to popular spin talk, it would seem that having a bunch of NYS pensioners around, generates a good bit of steady economic activity, ameliorating an otherwise iffy economic scene.
Spin meisters try to divide us, saying ‘if you are over 55, don’t worry’. Why shouldn’t we worry? They stole 19% of our SS benefits in 1983. We should all be vigilant, young and old. If people your own age are willing to cut your COLA, why wouldn’t you want to be vigilant? Now they say, we are not going to ‘do Social Security’ now, just Medicare and Medicaid. Why should you believe them? They stole from your parents’ generation. Do you think that they will respect you any less or more? If they say, this cut only applies to some other group, beware! It will come back to apply to you. Due to great differences in life expectancy between high and low income groups, any raising eligibility age for any benefit, is an attack on middle and low income folks whose life expectancy after 65 has only grown by about one year.
To heck with its impact on the deficit, Medicare HI expenditures have exceeded income annually since 2008, and project to continue doing so until the Trust Fund becomes exhausted in 2024. 12 years from now.
When is it time to raise payroll taxes?
Here is Dean Baker & Rosnick’s paper on life expectancy improvements. It is the years of life expectancy after 65 that count.
I just can’t bring myself to worry about a non existent funding problem. And a deficit/debt problem. Silly shit. Now we do need to work on the increases in medical costs year on year.
You know that I mostly agree with you. But, I must take exception here.
The health care conspiracy and Big Pharma don’t want to kill us. They don’t want us to die. THey just want us to stay sick and dependent on them for as long as possible. Hell, I take 7 prescription meds daily and will likely do so the rest of my life. Doctor says I could easily live to be 85 and my cost for the meds ( do have company subsidized ins) is still $135/month. That means I will likely spend #32,400 on meds. Gees, can;t you get a baseline BMW for $32K???
Funny most OTHER industrialized countries seem to have a handle on this.
What could be wrong with OUR approach????
Isn’t it clear by now that Obama actually agrees with the corporate elite and their tools no matter what. He was singing the “entitlement reform” tune back during the ’08 campaign. He consults and respects the likes of Brooks, Friedman, Geithner, and the other authors of our economic disaster. He disingenuously runs on a progressive agenda then governs from the right. It would be an insult to Rockefeller to call him a Rockefeller Republican. If he were white he would be a Roman Hruska Republican and embraced as one of them. Even when he chants for social reform he seems to be holding back. Don’t be surprised by his “grand” bargaining. He listens to no one and has no loyalty to his “base”. Look for him on the lecture circuit after his term.
we seem to have social security off the table, thanks to Bernie Sanders and Tom Harkin. we must now make every effort to get Mecdicare and Medicaid benefit cuts OFF THE TABLE.
call your reps, especially if you have one that’s vunerable next cycle, and call all reps who are vulnerable and promise to donate to their opponents in 2014 including primary challengers.
Durbin should be getting his phone and fax blasted out of existence every time he opens his comprimise position.
Raising the medicare retirement age does exactly what the MOTUA (asshats) want – more stripping of the resources of Americans. The less money we have the more dependent we are on them. I know, I am repeating what we already know.
yes.
Quite frankly, I think the Social Security eligibility requirement should be LOWERED by two years instead of raised by two years. . . same for Medicare. Think of the job openings for younger people, and the possibilities of the entrepreneurial spirit of the oldsters if they didn’t have to worry about healthcare coverage.
Wish I had a good answer for that. You?
My answer: our leaders look at all possibilities (using other countries’ metrics) and then select the worst solution. We certainly don’t want French-like healthcare, nor European-type social safety nets; we don’t want subsidized renewable energy, or Finnish-like education. After all–we’re number one. (What? In stupidity of leadership?)
These polls are so sad. They are either so stupid they don’t realize the extent of the deficit, or they rely on the fact that people answering the poll questions are so stupid they don’t realize the extent of the deficit.
Letting the tax rates go back to 2001 levels (39.6% vs. 35%) for the “rich” over $250,000 would generate $82.9B next year. The deficit is $1.1T. Taxing the rich only solves 7.5% of the problem.
The US military still has not been audited. The deficit seems to be the exact amount of the BS wars Bush and Obama have been putting on my kids credit cards. Never in the history of man have taxes been cut during war or wars. WTH?
So, military pensions after 20 years and non-military retirement after 35-38 years? The non-military American gets to work almost twice as long as military? Non-draft military time = employment–like anyone else. Just up the death and injury payments and let most military work as long as other Americans if they want. In addition to working almost half the years as non-military, they get free work cloths and boots, free meals, much less expensive car and home insurance, free medical (better than Medicare?), stand-by transport and household moving allowances. And, if you are brass you also get golf courses, people to rake your leaves & do housework, power over lesser ranks where some have been reported to have been abused, cars, drivers, ect. The military aristocracy is killing us. No accountability for military spending (aka State) is killing us. No, don’t raise the age for Americans to get medicare or to retire until the military is audited and retirement age and contributions are raised for them as well.
Audit the military and State Department before any discusssion on the fake fiscal cliff. Appears State bribes or “help” seem to run along side escalating problems/military. Why even have a State Department? Just put it all in the Pentagon. Hillary and State were there in pictures when OBL was taken. That sure was no diplomacy.
If Tim Guithner is planning on leaving, he should have no input re the fake fiscal cliff. How will there be accountability later? Seems it could be a bit like a hit and run. Better to get his replacement in there asap.
I don’t trust any of them! I am close to 60 but do I believe these crooks would not try and cut people in my age group a long with younger people? Yes they would sell their grandmothers if they could make a buck…agreed got to stay on them