Why shouldn't Social Security age be raised for future generations?

[nichomachus]

61. "People live longer" is a fallacious argument

Yes, people are living longer, but they're also living longer with more illnesses. As we push out mortality, we increase morbidity.

Yeah, there may be a person who is running a marathon at 80, but for many people, even though they don't die, their bodies start to wear down.

In fact, people's bodies start turning on them in their mid 40s. I have several friends who are going through that right now, as they're realizing they are no longer 20-somethings and can no longer do the things they did when they were 20 years younger.

I turn 70 in a few weeks. I'm actually in pretty good health, eat properly, and get exercise -- but there's no way I could spend 8 or 9 hours a day on my feet, or do eight hours of construction work or heavy lifting. My last job was an office job and even with that, it was a hectic environment and I would come home dead tired at the end of the day.

The only ones who should make decisions about raising the retirement age are people over 60 who have done hard work all their lives -- not some 30-year-old snot in a government office who doesn't even make his own coffee.