One For The Ages

Nikki is the latest RRW demanding that SSN eligibility be pushed yet higher.

"What you would do is, for those in their 20s coming into the system, we would change the retirement age so that it matches life expectancy."

So, by her account, on average, no one would ever receive SS or Medicare payments. Just do the arithmetic, dude.

This cabal of RRW either are ignorant or evil: SS isn't a personal saving plan, which funds your retirement payments, it's a current account system and has been from the beginning. The reason for that is obvious: if the law had been structured as a personal saving plan (401(K) before that was created), then it would have been 30 or 40 years before anyone qualified. Not much help, that. So, of necessity, those of 65 were immediately eligible, and thus were paid out of the current account. It's been a standard braying point for years from the RRW that the number of workers supporting the number of retirees has been shrinking for decades. And there's a very good reason for that: the Baby Boom Generation was the pig in the python for 40 years supporting their Grands and Parents. Now we're squeezing out the ass end of the python.

Once the BB die off (and we aren't really living decades longer as the RRW want you to believe), a more equitable steady state will ensue. It's just a lie that life expectancy has jumped decades since SS was enacted (1935). Here's the relevant numbers (simple averages of male and female, for the most part) -

life expectancy at 65 (1940) - 79
life expectancy at 65 (2020) - 84

life expectancy at birth (1940) - 64
life expectancy at birth (2020) - 77

As they say, figures don't lie, but liars figure. Most of the data can be found here.

It's also worth noting that the most RRW associate increase in life expectancy from 1900, aka, the start of the modern USofA.

life expectancy at birth (1900) - 47
life expectancy at birth (2020) - 77

Where did that nearly 20 year increase from before SS even existed come from? Mostly antibiotics, vaccinations, and sulfa. Oh, and more widespread clean water; makes a hell of a difference.

Yes, the USofA spends a horrific amount of money keeping geezers alive for a short period of time what with cancer and all; and now looking for Alzheimer's treatments. But that's as much to blame on the RRW as the Dems.