Too Old for a Job, Too Young for Social Security

[jtown1123]

Run time: 01:43 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCTeKhFx8G0   Posted on YouTube: July 22, 2010 By YouTube Member: NationalCommittee Views on YouTube: 111   Posted on DU: July 23, 2010 By DU Member: jtown1123 Views on DU: 1092

 
It's very disturbing that a handful of Democrats, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, think raising the retirement age to 70 is a good idea. This is a major benefit cut. Many people will be forced to retire early because either they are in poor health or cannot find a job, so their monthly benefits could be reduced as much as 40%. This is likely to be a hot button issue in the month's ahead. President Obama's Fiscal Commission is going to provide its recommendations for deficit reduction in December, conveniently after mid-term elections, and they've made it very clear they are going after Social Security for benefit cuts.

[LibDemAlways]

1. Raising the retirement age to 70 assures that

millions will be living in poverty. These days companies have no problem laying off workers in their 50's. Where those older workers are supposed to find jobs and how they are supposed to support their families is anybody's guess. My 59-year-old husband was laid off from a major corporation in January when the company shut down an entire division. The managers were transferred, along with their exorbitant salaries and perks, to other divisions. The worker bees were all let go to fend for themselves. Despite being an expert in his field, husband had a hell of a time finding something else. He finally found a position through a former co-worker - at a 40% pay cut. This, just as our daughter is about to start college.

Unless and until companies are forced to retain older workers until they become eligible for social security (fat chance) there is no way in hell politicians should even think about raising the eligibility threshold.

[jtown1123]

2. Let's hope you're right

I think right now, with all the deficit hysteria, politicians, Democrats included, are not doing their homework. Social Security is financially sound--will need some minor tweaks in 25-30 years, but it should not be included in this deficit reduction talk. So if someone convinces policy makers, "hey people are living longer and putting a drain on Social Security, let's raise the retirement age to fix the problem!" It doesn't sound like a bad idea. Except, not everyon is living longer. Wealthy, white men are the people who enjoyed the biggest life expectancies increases in recent years. Those are also the people who are more likely to work in jobs where being older is a good thing (lawyer, doctor, CEO, etc.) and they have access to the best health care.

That's good your husband was able to find work but I am sure the pay cut is especially devastating considering your daughter starting college.

For the most part, I think most people, the younger folk included, think raising the retirement age is a God-awful idea.

[lib2DaBone]

3. It takes 100,000 new jobs per month to accommodate new workers coming into workplace...

So what do our esteemed representative in Washington do? They ignore the young healthy workers and raise the retirement age to make older workers stay longer. All the while.. making health care harder for older workers to obtain.

Just brilliant. CONgress couldn't be more anti-human, less common sense if they tried.


How Much Do We Play?

Uncle Sam is Uncle Scrooge when it comes to vacation time. The United States is one of the only industrialized countries that doesn't have a minimum vacation policy. A survey of six countries by Expedia.com found Americans also start out with fewer vacation days -- 12 on average -- than workers in any other country surveyed. The same survey, conducted by Harris Interactive and Ipsos-Reid, found the average number of vacation days workers receive in the following countries:
• France: 39 days
• Germany: 27 days
• Netherlands: 25 days
• Great Britain: 23 days
• Canada: 20 days
• United States: 12 days

[jtown1123]

4. Sheer idiocy

You make a great point. If we force people to work longer, how will that affect young people just entering the work force?

The US vacation days are meager. Most other industrialized countries' retirement ages are 60-62. The US sure does like to work its people to death!

[freebrew]

6. But it benefits the owners.

They think it's their right to screw the employee as long as the bottom line is better than last year. No one cares about the worker in this country. When in fact, it's the workers that make the money for all of the corporations. Only to have that same corporation tell you that you're too old to work anymore, or that you can be replaced by a younger worker for minimum wage.

I worked for a major corp for 20 years, got let go at 57. Never had any trouble finding work before. Now, next to impossible.

[LibDemAlways]

7. "No one cares about the worker in this country." Absolutely. Companies

are ruthless about letting older workers go and no one wants to hire them. My 59-year-old laid off husband attended a job fair at a major corporation earlier this year. The recruiter told him he was well qualified for several of the positions, but that the company was only actually planning to hire new college grads. Good luck getting the work done with inexperienced novices. Cheap bastards are only concerned with the bottom line. Then they wonder why nothing works or is completed on time and under budget. Penny wise - pound foolish.

[awoke_in_2003]

12. welcome to DU...

:hi:

[LittleGirl]

9. Actually, Germany is 30 days plus fed holidays

6 weeks plus their national holidays. They get about 12 holidays on top of the 6 weeks. Of course, this is middle line workers and managers. Entry may not have all 6 weeks but their maternity leave is up to 3 yrs. And, 3 months for the father.

[Enthusiast]

14. +1 nt

[Altoid_Cyclist]

5. First of all, welcome to DU. Good topic to post with the current thinking in DC.

I'm in my 50's and have already had to retire on SS Disability due to my age and some health issues. I tried for over two years to find another job after being let go by the company where I had worked for 17 years. We're getting by, but my monthly SSD check is about 50% of what I made while working.

Luckily we never lived beyond our means so we're better off than a lot of people around here. We have friends who have been let go due to their age and/or health problems. We also have friends who will never be able to do their jobs into their 60's, let alone at 70.

This country has determined that older workers are at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to employment. That says a lot more about our screwed up priorities than the value of helping the older workers.

[jtown1123]

8. Thanks for the welcome! Such an important issue

I've been a lurker for awhile but feel so strongly about this issue that I wanted to share this. Unfortunately, I think if you aren't inside the Beltway, this Fiscal Commission has flown under the radar. The MSM has also done a terrible job reporting on this. If you've read the comments made by Fiscal Commission co-chair Alan Simpson http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/06/17/alan-simpson-cutting-social-security-benefits-to-take-care-of-the-lesser-people-in-society/, you can see he's delusional and very dangerous in his thinking. Anyone who says the Social Security Trust Fund is full of worthless "IOUs" clearly has no idea what he or she is talking about. With the exception of Rep. Javier Becerra, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and a few others, the commission is loaded with fiscal hawks, Republican and Democrat, who have been trying to dismantle Social Security for quite some time.

I am sure you are very grateful for SS Disability. I think many people forget about SSD and Survivor's benefits for children when we talk Social Security.

I am still young, but it terrifies me that these decisions about Social Security will affect me. I doubt I will be able to work until I am 70. What if I become disabled?

[Altoid_Cyclist]

10. I don't know if the word grateful is strong enough to describe the SSD decision.

The day that the letter from SS came, I was scared to death to read it even though my Atty. had already said that I had won my appeal.

I was shaking while reading it and read it a couple of times to make sure that it said what I thought it said. When I told my wife what it said, we were both almost in tears that I had been awarded a favorable decision.

I would have liked to continue to work, but I must have been turned down for at least a hundred to two hundred jobs that I applied for. You name it and I applied for it. These were all jobs that I was qualified for and I was willing to take less than I had been making. It came down to SSD in order to keep our house that we had worked so hard for.

The worst part was that I got the good news shortly after having another heart attack caused at least in part to all of the stress that we went through during the process.

The most telling part of the letter from the SS Judge was that technically, I could still do a sedentary job. However, she said that the economy was so bad that realistically, I had no chance to find work because of my age.

I will never know how Alan Simpson was picked to co-chair the farcical commission....uh I mean the Fiscal Commission. Well, actually I do know and it smells like a well oiled plot to me. It's obvious what his plans have been for a long time in regard to "entitlements" and the fact that Pres. Obama chose him just about cements what I've been afraid to admit.

I wish that politicians would stop trying to make us think that they really do care about the average American worker. With too few exceptions, they think that we're something to be wiped off their shoes on the way into their million dollar homes.

[jtown1123]

13. Thanks

for sharing your story with me. It is very frustrating that it take two years to be approved for disability.

President Obama picking Alan Simpson has made me fear the worst. I truly hope he doesn't sacrifice Social Security for something else. We need Democrats to stand up for this program.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. my father lost his job...

and could not find another. He was 62, and had busted his ass all his life. He now gets reduced SS. Raising the age up to 70 will be criminal.

[Enthusiast]

15. Raising the retirement age

is the worst of solutions. If they do anything it should be to place FICA contributions off limits. How they would accomplish this I do not know but there should be a way.

[butterfly77]

16. Kicked&Recommended..