Republicans Vow To Cut Social Security: 'People Want To Work Longer'

[babylonsister]

https://crooksandliars.com/2023/01/republicans-wanting-cut-social-security

Republicans Vow To Cut Social Security: 'People Want To Work Longer'
Who doesn't want to dig ditches until they are ninety years old?
By John Amato — January 16, 2023


Georgia Republican Congressman Rick Allen said they are considering raising the age of Social Security because, in his words, "people want to work longer."

Social Security Works grabbed this video (at link) for the entire country to see.

Pete Callahan asked the Congressman about raising the age of retirement.

Allen thought that was an interesting question.

"People come up to me, and they actually want to work longer," Allen said. (If that doesn't sound like a "sir story," I'm not sure what is.)

"That's on the table?" Callahan asked.

"Well, you know, if people want to work longer maybe you need to give them an incentive to do it," Allen replied.

"That's the way to solve every one of these problems by the way," he added.

snip//

Link to tweet

[Deep State Witch]

1. Bullpuckey!

People CAN work longer than 65 if they want to. They don't want to. Hell, I didn't want to work anymore at 56!

[Farmer-Rick]

38. Hell, most everyone would retire at 45 if they didn't need the money.

Why would anyone want to work longer than they have to? There are so many other things to do in life.

It's not like working in a capitalist corporate monopoly is a great life. They screw you over every chance they get. They are always on a power and control kick.

This BS sounds like the Pete Peterson foundation crap. They want to privatize your retirement funds and they hate that the government protects our almost $3 Trillion SocSec funds from corporate raiders.

The filthy rich really wants to get their hands on that almost $3 Trillion (trillion with a T) SocSec trust fund. That's why the GOP wants to end SocSec.

[Justice]

2. If people WANT to work longer, no need to give them an incentive to do so. GOP is not good at lying.

[HuskyOffset]

26. Maybe he simply doesn't know what "incentive" means? (NT)

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

53. exactly.

[forgotmylogin]

83. Exactly. And not all of them have a cushy job wearing a suit sitting in a chair.

In a congressional body that currently doesn't do a lot.

[Collimator]

85. This!

When he says "people" he means other congresscritters like himself. And when he says "work" he means getting paid to sit around an historic building half the time and go around making alarmist statements to keep himself employed the other half of the time.

[DBoon]

3. 'People Want To Work Longer'???

What color is the sky on the republican planet?

[Walleye]

4. Asshole wears a suit and tie to work sits on his ass and runs his mouth all day that's his "work"

I doubt he’s ever done any real work, if he did it was so long ago he can’t remember, what a fucked up thing to say

[Diamond_Dog]

11. ++++

[Rural_Progressive]

29. Those hands don't look like they've done

any manual labor for years. Wonder how long he'd last in any of the trades cause who doesn't want to be hanging drywall for a living in the mid 60s to 70s?

[Walleye]

35. Yep. And a physically demanding job breaks the body down

[BlueTsunami2018]

5. Yeah, everyone is just dying to be a wage slave for their entire life.

These people are the absolute worst.

[yardwork]

7. What? No!

He can work longer if he wants.

[Rebl2]

23. I agree

He can work longer if he wants, but unfortunately they do so in Congress a lot of the time😐.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Uh, who stops them from working longer? The amount of your SS benefit increases

2/3 of 1% per month until age 70. I'd call that an incentive to work longer. I worked past my retirement age of 66.

[thesquanderer]

31. Exactly. Either he has no idea how SS works, or he's lying. (or both.)

There's already a financial incentive to delay taking SS. If you like your work, by all means, do it... and collect more SS, when you're ready for it.

[Beaverhausen]

39. Came to say the same thing

People do have the choice to work longer and delay their SS payments.

[Farmer-Rick]

40. Didn't Ronny Raygun move the retirement age to 67?

I have to wait until I'm 66 and 6 months before I get my full retirement. So, the goal under Greenspan and Raygun was to move it to 67.....or does it get even later?

[Beaverhausen]

41. You can go in the SSA website to check how much you will get...

By year. It goes up a bit every year. I will likely need to work until I’m 68 to be able to retire. Fortunately I’m healthy. Turning 64 this year.

[former9thward]

52. No Reagan did not.

Congress passed that law and Reagan signed it.

[SouthernDem4ever]

87. Then, yes Ronnie Raygun passed it.

He could have vetoed it or sent it back for revision, but like his worthless cohorts, they only reason they retire is because they are tired of the food being served at Washington DC restaurants.

[former9thward]

88. Laws have to pass the House and the Senate.

Why would someone pick just one third of the process to blame?

[SouthernDem4ever]

90. There are three branches of government for a reason

not so they can all agree on everything.

[homegirl]

89. Reagan administration

made Social Security benefits taxable income, and lowered corporate tax rate from 70% to 27% at the same time. Guess who benefits?

[former9thward]

93. Yes, but that was all done by Congressional action.

They passed the laws which Reagan signed. A president can't make those changes by himself.

[homegirl]

99. Was it

a Republican dominated Congress?

[former9thward]

100. The House was controlled by the Democrats all thru the Reagan years.

The Senate was controlled by Republicans for the first 6 years and then Democrats took over.

[sinkingfeeling]

43. It's 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

[2naSalit]

9. No we don't.

Fuck those privileged assholes.

[GP6971]

10. That is so much BS.

It's a matter of choice or need whether one works past their SS retirement age.

[dweller]

12. Social Security works

Repugs and their policies ?
Not so much …

Repugs have got to go


✌🏻

[greatauntoftriplets]

13. I imagine that many of his constituents would disagree.

What a jerk.

[70sEraVet]

14. I want to see that guy get on a plane, with an 80 year old pilot who's complaining he can't retire!

[llmart]

15. I'm confused.

First they say "nobody wants to work any more". Then they say, "people want to work longer."

These GOP imbeciles can't even lie straight.

[housecat]

24. They cancel out whatever they say by saying the opposite. Zero. They say nothing

[StClone]

16. And we want to die sooner for lack of affordable health care...

...and told vaccines are more dangerous than covid, a pizza parlor in DC is a front, smokes need to be lit up in the National Capitol, DeSantis is making Florida great again...and on and on.

[IcyPeas]

17. People "need" to work longer... they often don't "want" to work longer

[progressoid]

48. Saw a lady cleaning tables at McDonalds today who was probably in her 80s.

She certainly didn't look like she wanted to be there.

[bullwinkle428]

18. Can this asshole explain why the most popular age to begin taking Social

Security is SIXTY-FUCKING-TWO??

IOW, the earliest age one can begin taking its benefits?

[phoenix75]

20. Unbelievable...

The Repubs messing with Social Security and Medicare are committing political suicide. All we have to do is sit back and watch. So stock up on the popcorn 🍿

[calimary]

57. I hope it's political suicide!

It’d be mighty nice NOT to have to put up with some of those assholes who only seem to want to hurt people who aren’t already in fine financial shape. They only seem to care about comforting the already-comfortable.

[DickKessler]

69. Hopefully Dems can assist this Republican political suicide

Good issue to seize on imo.

[ThoughtCriminal]

21. Instead of raising the retirement age

how about reducing or eliminating SS penalties for working after retirement ($1 in reduced benefit for each $2 earned above $20,240)?

Wouldn't that be a a better incentive to continue to work if one wanted too?

I bet that's not on Rick Allen's "table".

But what age do people want to retire? The average is 62, but for younger workers - the one's most impacted by a increase in retirement age, the target is lower: 60 for Gen X, 59 for Gen Y.

[ProfessorGAC]

75. Equally Stupid, Is....

...that when one hits full retirement age, the ticket to work is reinstated.
I retired at 62 & 2 months and had an earnings limit of 18 thousand something.
But, 50 months later I could now work more? That's nonsensical.

[gab13by13]

22. I retired at 63 because I would wake up at 3 AM, on the road,

and it would take 20 minutes to get feeling back in my hand. I had arthritis in my hands from turning wrenches for 40 years.

[Mad_Machine76]

25. What's stopping them then?

People can work until they drop for all I care, but most people, if anything, want to retire earlier so that they can actually have some "Golden Years" during which to enjoy the fruits of their labor. And that's not even mentioning people who have worked so long and hard that they are unable to keep up with their jobs due to sickness, injury, or disability.

[poli-junkie]

27. So how will the Dems message this utter

bullpucky?

[DickKessler]

68. Hopefully they'll remind voters of it and let the GOP position speak for itself.

[dflprincess]

28. I was planning to work until 70 to max out my Social Security benefit

Seventy arrives this year & I'll start the collecting my benefits then but I've decided to keep working.

My employer's health insurance is quite a bit cheaper than Medicare and covers a lot more than Medicare does & I really don't want to give it up.

[Gore1FL]

33. I plan to stop at 60 if I don't stop before that.

My heart would explode long before 70. I'm hoping it reaches 60.

More power to you. I am not built for it.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

61. My dad worked until he was 83

He wanted to, as he is one of those people whose identity was his work. He did not have hobbies like hunting, fishing, camping/RVing that other people dream of in retirement. He's now very comfortably retired.

I had planned to work to 70 for the same reasons as you, but I may have to "retire" at 62 (or sooner) to go take care of the aforementioned dad. What I likely won't do is claim SS.

I'm not immune to math or the number of retiring late-stage boomers. So I would be willing to discuss a gradual increase in the age over several years if we also discuss a raise in the cap. The more serious discussion we need to have is about phased retirement (encouraging employers to allow workers to transition more slowly to full retirement with part-time or seasonal work schedules) and about encouraging retraining for "second act" employment -- especially for those who have done largely physical work and need to shift gears to less physically demanding work in their 40s and 50s.

[Gore1FL]

30. I thought people didn't want to work anymore.

The republican narrative is getting more confusing each day.

[peggysue2]

50. This!

Yup, the Republican messaging is all over the place because they have no plans beyond making their donors and themselves richer.

Cutting SS and Medicare will not fly with the vast majority of Americans.

But please Republicans, keep digging that hole!

[LisaM]

32. And he's ignoring ageism in the workplace.

Many, many employers don't want to keep employees past a certain age (partly, I am sure) for salary considerations. My old employer would never admit it, but it became pretty clear at one point they were doing that. Or they'd offer early retirement 'incentives' (a fairly paltry percentage of the salary in a lump sum) and make it clear that people were expected to take it. Then they would hire younger people at lower salaries.

So it's not always possible to work that long.

[Ohioboy]

34. People can work as long as they want

This guys making stuff up. Does anyone really believe this moron has had people coming up to him complaining that they want to work more?

[patphil]

45. Yes, and they get full benefits while continuing to work, as long as they meet the age requirement.

Current age for full benefits is 67.

[liberalla]

54. No one is telling these people they *can't* work, but he wants to tell them they *have* to work.

If people want to keep working, let them!! It's that simple.

He's just making up shit, if you ask me. Typical repukelican.

[Captain Zero]

72. Yes there is an incentive already. 7% per year

Wasn't enough incentive for me. I needed to get off my feet, and be done with long work hours, and be around to help my wife more with her disability.

The ONLY people I know working longer are in high paying jobs. And they are struggling some with the physical issues. But they will gain 7% per year in their Social Security benefits and add to their 401ks. But as we all know, they may work just long enough to die before or soon after they retire.

[Joinfortmill]

36. They suck.

[MarcA]

37. Just another Plantation owner wanabe

Supposedly has a degree in "building construction", guess he thinks construction work isn't very physical, had a rant at a rethug Congressional meeting against LGBTQ legislation 'cause the bible is against it and those voting for it are going to "hell", and, of course, supported the Biden didn't win nonsense.

[3825-87867]

44. Plantation Owner!

That's superb! Maybe we should start referring to all those from Billionaires down to those who are only wannabe "Plantation Owners."

[patphil]

42. There's no truth in any of this!

My wife is going on 77 and works full time as a librarian, while receiving her full Social Security benefits.
Once she reached the age at which she was eligible for full benefits (66 in her case), she was consoled by the Social Security Administration to request her benefit, and told she could continue to work without any reduction in benefit. And she's been doing so for 11 years.
I think that age is now 67.

[orangecrush]

46. Asshat

[betsuni]

47. I'm doubtful Republican voters think anything like this applies to them, will still vote R.

[DickKessler]

67. Actually, most Republican politicians don't talk about SS, except Trump who claimed he'd protect it.

He, Bannon, etc. were was savvy enough to know that he couldn’t be perceived as a corporate elitist who was eager to cut Social Security and Medicare like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in 2012. That would be hitting a big chunk of the Republican base.

It’s helpful for Dems to have instances of Republican politicians openly talk about their plutocrat goals. No it certainly won’t win over all Republican voters, it won’t win over most to our side but if even a small minority across different states and districts get disillusioned with the Right, regardless of the issue—that gives us an opportunity.

And remember: Republican policies are far less popular and there are fewer Republicans overall. They know this—otherwise they wouldn’t be so committed to undermining and short-circuiting our democracy via voter suppression, the Supreme Court, January 6 and all the Trumpian “Republicans cannot lose, and Democratic victories are illegitimate” positions, and so forth.

Democracy is our ally.

[betsuni]

71. Republican voters don't vote because of policy.

They vote for any Republican, "establishment" who want to cut social safety nets or fake populists who claim not to. Doesn't matter.

[Grins]

49. Employers disagree. NM

[AllaN01Bear]

51. start by cutting their salary to 0 first .

[Cha]

55. FO Assholes .. We've Earned it.

[ShazzieB]

56. Too bad people can't already work longer now if they want to.

Oh, wait.

[Murphyb849]

58. This will NEVER pass the Senate or Bidens signature.

Let them keep threatening the senior citizens which happened to be their largest voting block.
The ones they don't kill with COVID, guns or cigarettes.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

59. Corporations get massive welfare, People should be able to retire earlier

not later, we need more from social security, not less and we need better more affordable health care !!

[Bristlecone]

60. What a complete load of horseshit.

[Martin Eden]

62. Instead of cutting SS, how about rescinding the Bush and Trump tax breaks for the rich?

Working Americans have paid for their retirement benefits with deductions from every paycheck our entire lives.

Republicans drive up budget deficits with huge tax cuts for the rich who keep getting richer, then they point to the national debt and blame it on "entitlements" -- the earned benefits owed to us.

What they're trying to do should be political suicide, but the GQP base is too brainwashed to comprehend what suckers they are.

[KentuckyWoman]

63. No one is required to stop working.

If geezer rich guys want to wait to retire more power to em. People who work hard enough to need a shower before dinner often struggle to make it to the finish line.

The freedom party should just let people choose

[JCMach1]

64. I am almost disabled at 55... How the hell am I supposed to make it?

[GoodRaisin]

73. I was done at 61. Could not even make it to age 62.

Had to go 8 months without income before SS kicked in at 62.

[EndlessWire]

65. NO THEY DON'T! n/t

[DickKessler]

66. Amplify this. This is an especially unpopular Republican position.

This very directly affects their own voter base negatively.

No one wants to see their Social Security money stolen and given to plutocrats.

[Emile]

74. Hip Hip Hooray for WAGE SLAVES!

[twodogsbarking]

76. I retired at 65. Would have worked longer (by choice) if my employer didn't suck.

Got tired of stretching money while owner spent 3 months in Hawaii and
emailed me to tell the employees they were getting a 10% pay cut; except for the
one woman who he is afraid of.

[Ziggysmom]

77. Per Open Secrets Website, he is worth over $52 million, as of 2018. Yeah, he relates to US!

https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/richard-allen/net-worth?cid=N00033720&year=2018

[Aristus]

78. Spoken by people who don't work.

Jesus...

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

79. What a jerk

Link to tweet

[Cuthbert Allgood]

80. As a "people," no, we do not.

I'm a teacher who will be 57 when the next school year starts. I will have a full pension when I am 61/62. The only thing stopping me from retiring at that point will be the cost of health insurance until I qualify for Medicare.

This guy can fuck right off.

[lees1975]

81. Start talking about it and give us some campaign talking points

scumbags. Wanna see a Democratic landslide? I think even Democrats in hugely gerrymandered districts could beat extremists like Matt Gaetz and MTG.

[debm55]

82. babylonsister, what does this mean for those of us already on SS? I began my SS at 65. I could not

see myself working with little children until I was 75. It would be unfair to them not to have a more active teacher. Is this for those approaching 65? Or do they plan on cutting our SS benefits back too? Thank you.

[RocRizzo55]

84. What a steaming pile

Of bovine fecal matter. Most people would retire at 45 - 50.
They have people brainwashed, telling them that SS is going broke. All they have to do is to get rid of the cap, and it would be solvent for eternity.

[SouthernDem4ever]

86. If I could sit on my ass doing not much of anything like Rick Allen

I would work until I was 90. Unfortunately, most of us truly have to do physical work for a living. Your body can only last so long dumbass. (speaking to Rick Allen)

[IbogaProject]

91. Walk the walk Mr GOP Rep

Refuse your congressional pension until you're in your 70s.

[wryter2000]

92. They can work as long as they want

Unless their employer has a policy that they must retire at a given age.

Social Security has no effect on that.

[Evolve Dammit]

94. What a bunch of utter bullshit. We earned it, we paid into it, don't you fucking touch it. nt

[Samrob]

95. People who sit behind desks, or call themselves CEO, working white collar jobs and don t need the mo

money want to work longer. Everyone who works a legitimate and labor job wants out as soon as possible for health reason if for no other reasons. It is really disgusting. Maybe they should extend the age for all white collar jobs and keep the current retirement age or reduce it for blue-collar and service jobs? Screw these greedy, rich MF's!

[BidenRocks]

96. I call Grand Theft!

It is OUR money.

[Initech]

97. That's some bullshit!

God the GOP sucks.

[Dan]

98. Maybe a pilot program in his state?