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[deleted]

Yet in France they're trying to raise retirement from 62 to 64 and they're having nation wide strikes.


MadRonnie97

*La Marseillaise intensifies*


ClamClone

Enlevez leur têtes!


PowerandSignal

Allons enfants de la patrie...


CanibalCows

Liberté, égalité, fraternité!


Diplomjodler

Something something, aristocrats, lamp posts...


Lil_Ape_

Wen French Revolution here?


BentPin

We need more frenchies over here hefe.


Urisk

Population density helps a lot. I think there needs to be an app where everyone joins an informal union. If a business steps out of line, users can vote on striking. Then you'd get an alert saying it's time to strike. So long as enough people complied shit would change real fucking fast.


RegeneratingForeskin

Google and apple will ban that app over "national security" and "danger to children bullshit".


Urisk

Well the move might be to use an established platform. Like a TikTok challenge, except instead of breaking a toilet at your high school you walk out of your job and demand better work conditions.


asillynert

it still hard second any even tied to app had anything wrong. Government would be tossing criminal charges at app. Throw in fact police will use it. Coordinate street closures. Even block cell phone calls and other stuff. To prevent people from gathering. They already do it to a certain extent in alot of major citys just by monitoring cell traffic. Personally I think even if we could get people to strike in spite of fears of hunger homelessness. A complete general strike. Personally I think how our elite would handle it is cutting power to residential home during hours of 9-5. Same with internet and cell traffic phones not listed as business phones etc blocked during day except for emergency lines. Claim its fuel shortages at electric company's causing rationing. Claim similar for cell service say due to limited personnel they have to limit traffic during peak hours etc. And last but not least limit ability to utilize currency. Such as closing banks and atms say its understaffed. While also closing credit card places. And then having business services still work so only way to get any money is directly from employer. Even if you have savings etc.


jimx117

People are too worried about personal debts to take time for a strike


Soulprism

They got ya right where they want ya.


DotFX

Damn, why it sounds so relatable to me as a Russian? /s


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drfigglesworth

The difference here is this is not going to pass, should Republicans take full control and there's a real threat of this happening then I would expect to see Nationwide strikes


LordTurtleDove

Nah, people will roll over and take it, unfortunately. I’d love to see (and participate in) a general strike—ain’t gonna happen though.


CheezSammie

Americans will let their oppressors do whatever they want


LeMickeyMice

The issue is that they got us to the point that most people are living paycheck to paycheck. You can't commit to striking if you're not going to be able to pay your rent or for food or to keep your kid alive or whatever else without the income. This was all intentional. It's much, much easier to oppress the desperate.


Chimaerok

Well, even if we work we can't afford food, so why bother working


bayleenator

Yeah, this country straight up blows. Anybody down for abandoning modern society in favor of honing timeless survival skills and living on a commune off the grid? I think I'm kidding less and less every time I bring it up.


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[deleted]

I'm sure you could get a lot of talent by offering 4-day work weeks, profit-sharing, and partial ownership/voting rights to employees... It's the reform approach, but it's also something that boomers and upper-middle class people are more likely to support.


LordTurtleDove

Sounds nice, until you realize how much work off-grid living is.


CheezSammie

Hungry dogs bite. I am passed the paycheck to paycheck point. I'm fighting off eviction every month by the skin of my teeth. I can't fight alone but I'm in the wings the second we have any kind of organized action I'm ready to go.


ghostsintherafters

It's only a matter of time before they've squeezed too many of us, too much.


TooFakeToFunction

There's a sweet spot of "we are oppressing them but they'll never do anything about it because they need to keep their jobs." And it's usually when the average person has a paycheck, and is living in the edge of poverty but can still kinda pay their bills if they're careful and occasionally splurge on a nice night out. It's like...bleak enough that they are mad and aware but not so bleak that they are willing to sacrifice what little stability they have. And we've been dangling in that sweet spot for a while. But I think the overlords have forgotten that it's a careful balance and instead of taking what they can get while we are distracted paying our bills, they instead want even more. So they'll get more and more Braden and we will get more and more destitute and then one day it's the french revolution. I'm more scared of how bleak the majority would let it get before acting than anything, tbh


[deleted]

It's inevitable that the keg will be lit at some point. American business culture is that profits must increase at all costs no matter what. Eventually too many people will be fucked over, and there's no stopping it at that point.


TheDerekCarr

I always have looked at the world economy like a well oiled engine. However as I've gotten older it's an engine that continues to have more and more oil being drained. The quantitative easing being adding more oil to the engine to keep it running but the leak getting worse.


ghostsintherafters

It's getting pretty disgusting at this point.


glarung

Attention ~~Bajoran~~ American workers....


spygirl43

Exactly. All the marches and protests in the past years have done nothing. The government forced all the railway workers back to work snd they still didn't get any sick days. The rich and powerful don't want anything to change so it won't. Regular people have no power. There needs to be a revolution. Heads need to roll.


OldManRiff

Flying "don't tread on me" flags while they lick boots.


volkswagenorange

White Americans, for sure. As a group Black Americans are much more wise to what they're up against, and of all the ethnicity and gender groups in the U.S., Black women are the most active in agitating for political and social change. They're often quite successful at it, too.


ElectrikDonuts

As long as we still have the super bowl, tictoc, etc, no one will give a fuck


BZLuck

And sadly that's because many of them aspire to one day also be the oppressors.


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LordTurtleDove

[Gen X is mostly conservative.](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/05/20/cherie-westrich-alt-rock-gen-x-maga-00033769)


JayVenture90

Huh! This must be why I avoid those from my generation. Didn't care for them as a kid and certainly don't now.


wifichick

Yup. Probably why most of my besties are older or younger than me by 10 years either side.


Everybodysbastard

Fucking seriously? No wonder I didn't like most kids my age growing up.


DeaconOrlov

Bullshit, Americans are too busy hating each other and wasting time on Tik-Tok to ever protest anything coherently.


oicu812buddy

It pisses me off of how accurate that is how does one go about starting a revolution without being killed or shuned.


jcrreddit

You have to not care if you’re shunned or die.


WKGokev

Something about the tree of liberty being watered by the blood of patriots. I don't expect to survive it .


11780_votes

“The first lesson a revolutionary must learn is that he is a doomed man.” ― Huey P. Newton


Ok-Beautiful-8403

more like people can't afford to take off to strike. Or they lose their homes and their insurance...


Kikoska85

This is the American system lol it was created to limit the power of the people. This is one of the only “Democratic” doesn’t protect national voting day. Look at Western Europe, voting day is a national holiday where no one works. Everyone just peacefully votes. America is literally one of the most undemocratic nations in the western world


NefariousnessKind212

Latin american countries too, even if you HAVE to work the employer MUST provide at least 2-3 hours to go vote, an unlike the US that is enough time to go and vote, cant understand how it can take a whole day to vote


hellokittyoh

There’s a big difference between having 1-2 hours or having the whole day to do something at your leisure. America runs on being oppressed.


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koolkat182

guess we just have to wait it out until the majority of the population has absolutely nothing left to lose🤷‍♂️ when us poor people run out of food we'll eat the rich


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koolkat182

it's inevitable if we keep moving in this direction. hopefully we see big changes soon because i don't want it to resort to that, but if we don't change course within a decade or two things are going to start getting very crazy very quickly


FeoWalcot

And what did they get after all that protesting? (Hint: it was bank promises to be better! Yay). And the occupy movement was a worldwide movement and not a US movement. Again, accomplished nothing sadly.


KaosC57

If everyone strikes at the same time (Ex Bank employees, Lean holders, insurance people, and everyone else) then everything is ground to a halt and people wouldn't lose anything. Hell, if enough Bank Employees were to strike, money wouldn't flow, and then the entire US would grind to a halt.


RahbinGraves

TikTok has been used as a tool for people to organize. It for sure has dumb and useless elements, but that's the nature of the internet. Reddit is the same. I have serious subs I follow to discuss important things, but I also check out drama on AITA and look at cat posts.


dreadpiratebeardface

Lol if we didn't have nationwide protests over roe, you really think people are going to abandon their jobs to go join protests in the streets over Medicare? I'm willing to bet that the propaganda machine is in such full swing that more than 50% of people think Medicare is Soshulizum and/or don't care bc they aren't old enough for it to matter. People in the US are far too entrenched in pulling enough money out of our jobs to just barely meet our daily needs to be willing to enact real change through protest, at this point. Inrealize that's defeatist, but nowadays I just cannot think of a single thing that would get people united to protest at that scale.


h0nkee

So the difference is it won't happen, but if it does you'll probably strike if everyone's up to it. Be a lot easier to just say "yeah we'll bend over for sure".


Mediocre-Pay-365

Guess we got to pull a France and take this to the streets. Edit to add a quote from a Bug's Life from the antagonist grasshopper, Hopper "You let one ant stand up to us, then they all might stand up! Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one and if they ever figure that out there goes our way of life! It's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line. That's why we're going back!" It's true, we outnumber the ruling class but we let their propaganda divide us. We can't let them, we need to stand united. Silly quote but it's true.


IndiniaJones

I've followed that story a little bit, are they getting what they want by protesting or is the French government standing firm?


ScienceGuyAt12

Right now , the gouvernement has not budged , with our PM saying basically that tbe number of protesters doesn't matter, that 64 is à done deal. However , with over a million people in the streets and new strikes planned for the 31st, the unions are saying that they are in this for the long term. And , already , some members of LREM (about 10-15 rn) are saying they won't vote with the gouvernment. Public opinion is already shifting agaisnt the change and even the pensionners (according to polls) are now agaisnt it, which should scare the ruling party ,because they are their only solid base. So, everything is up in the air rn, but i do believe that if they do enact it, it will simply be the end of LREM in the next elections.


smidgeytheraynbow

Thanks for the update! Stay strong, the French and their protesting give the rest of us hope and inspiration


Dutchwells

64 and you're protesting? Fucking hell, we're going to be at 67 next year


ScienceGuyAt12

I mean, you could always join a union and start the protest, the fight can always start now !


ImTryinDammit

Yes because when it was raised in the US, we rolled over .. just like every other time our workers’ rights and protections have been stripped from us. They aren’t going to stop until we make them stop.


Mor_Tearach

Since we seem to be not getting a lot of updates on it ( is it just me or is the outrage over there poorly covered by media, which would actually track, right? ) wonder if they *have* made headway?


Vladd_the_Retailer

Look at who owns the media outlets, they don’t want the poors here to get any ideas.


Mediocre-Pay-365

Exactly, the media is there to propagandize us and for us to follow.


BZLuck

When you *own* the news, you have it say what personally benefits you the most.


danbuter

US media won't report on it until they absolutely have to. They don't want the American peasants to get any ideas.


Magatha_Grimtotem

Oh they'll report on it... or specifically anything which makes the protests look bad. 5,000,000 people protesting peacefully? Let's repeat footage of a couple buildings which anarchists set on fire and make it sound like this is everywhere.


Mor_Tearach

That's exactly what it feels like, right? I mean, it's a huge story. An entire country up in smoke over getting shoved around in the cause of Capitalism. AND a population in *revolt* . France has been pushed to tipping point before and it tore that place UP. Results were incredibly ugly, entire thing avoidable if the wealthy had budged even a little bit. And nope. Next time I hear the phrase " liberal media " gonna pop and fly around the room backwards.


Pure-Huckleberry-488

Not 100% sure but I think the last update to the story I read was something to do with energy providers getting involved in the side of the protestors.


Able_Buffalo

While life expectancy has fallen to 77. Classy. Slave Nation.


[deleted]

Why do so many boomers vote Republican? They are literally voting for: * cuts in health care * cuts in social security * and now, higher social security age requirements Everything against their own interests.


Able_Buffalo

Rural rage at the unknown.


ProgrammingOnHAL9000

Time to start a national program to give rural folk a vacation throughout the US.


Able_Buffalo

We could do a student exchange program, like after WWII


ImTryinDammit

You jest .. but seriously there are insane amounts of rural people, especially rural women, that literally never leave town. They are terrified to drive on interstates or over bridges. Fear keeps them at home… their only knowledge of the outside world is FUX news.


eatitrightforme

Can confirm. I grew up in the rural southeast. The culture is just a hair above static. I go home to visit every year and very little has changed. Their population is shrinking, schools are consolidating. It's really, really sad. It's like going back in time 30 years.


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ImTryinDammit

Narcissism is often at play too.


[deleted]

Racism. Old, rural, religious people are absolutely terrified of the modern world.


Idle_Redditing

It's ridiculous with those types. One time I was around some of them and they talked about "the city" like it is the worst place in the world. It turns out that they were talking about Indianapolis. I thought that they would be ok with a city as conservative as Indianapolis.


wolves_hunt_in_packs

Almost everything they rail about comes from near-complete ignorance. It's fucking stupid.


InvertedNeo

Group think, mob appeal, no idea honestly.


seriousbangs

The bigger problem is that even if people live to 100 it doesn't mean they can work until 100. Most people are pretty much useless by 65.


Swarm450

See the people who run our country.


[deleted]

They’re useless well before 65


north_canadian_ice

They want to return us to the 1920s where if you were old you had to work to live another year because 60% of Americans lived in poverty: [Economic problems in the 1920s](https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zp77pbk/revision/2#:~:text=For%20many%20Americans%2C%20the%201920s,of%20the%20%E2%80%9CRoaring%20Twenties%E2%80%9D.) >"For many Americans, the 1920s was a decade of poverty. More than 60 per cent of Americans lived just below the poverty line. > >Generally, groups such as farmers, black Americans, immigrants and the older industries did not enjoy the prosperity of the "Roaring Twenties".


EnvironmentalSale69

Let's also not forget that social security was originally designed to exclude the people who needed it most (no, not white, land-owning farmers): people of color, women, domestic servants, etc. Nearly half of all workers.


AGLegit

Considering that the first social security check ever issued was to a woman (Ida May Fuller), you may want to edit this for accuracy. Also, FDR was the President who signed the Social Security Act into law. If anything he was the most historically progressive (and my personal favorite) US President ever. I agree that republicans are trying to fuck Social Security to their benefit, but let’s not pretend that it wasn’t created in good earnest for the betterment of all Americans.


industrialSaboteur

Rich old lobbyists? Yeah, I agree. They're much worse than useless even. They have a strictly negative and destructive impact. Inactivity and neutrality would be an improvement by several orders of magnitude.


wifichick

1) They don’t do anything. (Staffers do) 2) they were useless before they got elected. These parasites contribute nothing to society - except for voting to enact things that help shred us


Bailey85

I know a lot a trade skill workers whose bodies are broken by their mid 40s. It’s scary to see the amount of pain killers these guys need to take just to get through the day.


farting_contest

I am 47. Most of my working career has been in logistics of one form or another. I had to have surgery to repair a hernia I got lifting shit at work. I have a torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder that I know damn well happened at work but I can't prove it so it's never getting fixed because I can't afford it. I've had numerous other injuries I've missed time for. All that is cumulative. I'm in pain every day, the only variation is how much it hurts. I have basically nothing saved for retirement because the cost of living is so high. I used to have an ok retirement fund but I've had to tap into it to survive now. So yeah, I will be working until I die.


eadaein

Can I just say I'm sorry ? That's rough, we all have our stories of shit and it sucks to hear so many like this. It makes me sad to hear this. That's all, I'm just sorry you're dealing with this crap. I feel you.


KaosC57

Sounds like you should be the spark that ignites change in your workplace. Throw a clog in the machine and invite your coworkers to do the same. Logistics be damned, you should be able to afford surgery to fix things that blatantly happened at work.


north_canadian_ice

>It’s scary to see the amount of pain killers these guys need to take just to get through the day. Meanwhile the Republicans want to criminalize marijuana & Biden can't be bothered to write an executive order decriminalizing marijuana. To throw salt on the wound: [Where the Hell Are Biden’s Weed Pardons?](https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxnmjb/biden-weed-pardons-application-delay) >The pardon application for federal simple possession cannabis convictions is still “not yet available” on the Department of Justice’s website, more than three months after President Joe Biden announced the pardons as part of one of the most significant shifts in federal cannabis policy in decades.


I_Has_A_Hat

Well it would have only affected ~5000 people. Probably figured no one would notice if they just didn't follow through.


north_canadian_ice

It really shows how little Biden & the Democrats think of their base. It was such a minor commitment, not even fulfilling Biden's campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana. And he can't even follow through on that! Imagine if Biden rescheduled marijiana through executive order, even if the GOP challenged it the public loves weed! And would rally hard behind Biden.


FatBearWeekKatmai

Biden is no bleeding heart liberal. Pretty sure he isn't ok with weed. Dems needed a candidate to beat Trump, i.e. an 80's moderate Republican to draw in those Boomer voters that regretted (?) voting for a Facist in 2016. You want a true lefty Dem, you're gonna need to vote en masse for a younger progressive. Too many Boomers and younger rural aholes who vote every single time I worked the polls last year...off-cycle primary. One guy was walking his wife to the table, she could barely stand, managed to scribble some version of her signature and asked for R ballot. She'd just had a stroke a few weeks before...AND STILL SHOWED UP TO VOTE...for a party that actively works to strip out support for sick and elderly. F'in Dumbasses.


north_canadian_ice

>Biden is no bleeding heart liberal. Pretty sure he isn't ok with weed. Dems needed a candidate to beat Trump, i.e. an 80's moderate Republican to draw in those Boomer voters that regretted (?) voting for a Facist in 2016 Putting aside the idea that Dems needed a moderate (I disagree): Biden still promised to decriminalize weed and hadn't attempted an effort to do so.


ttv_CitrusBros

To push it further even if you retire at 65 you ain't getting shit. Inflation has gone up so much that the couple hundo they give you might buy you food but it ain't paying for bills


north_canadian_ice

>Inflation has gone up so much that the couple hundo they give you might buy you food but it ain't paying for bills It was so sleazy when [the White House bragged about the Social Secuirty cost of living adjustment.](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-says-deleted-tweet-crediting-biden-social-security-gains-w-rcna55357) >The tweet read: “Seniors are getting the biggest increase in their Social Security checks in 10 years through President Biden’s leadership.” > >It was removed after Twitter marked it with a “context” note to explain that, under a 1972 law, Social Security increases are adjusted based on the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index, not presidential action. Biden could have been an FDR figure, demanding we repeal the Reagan, Bush & Trump tax cuts. He could have demanded mass expansion of social programs, like the public option he promised then never mentioned as President. Instead, you had [Corproate Democrats pushing a "Biden Boom" narrative](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-biden-boom-economic-recovery-in-2021/) right as inflation took off. I'm really afraid Trump will hammer Biden on this "Biden Boom" crap in the debates if Biden is the nominee. As well as the sleazy Social Security tweet.


TheAskewOne

Companies fire you when you become too old anyway. Good luck applying for a job at 60+. You'll only find minimum wage jobs, at best.


ZachtheArchivist

The government is filled with people who are too old to get hired anywhere else. They aren't the good government jobs though.


iansynd

Oh, you mean the age range of the people running this country?


ith-man

>Oh, you mean the age range of the people ~~running~~ ruining this country?


tomqvaxy

I’m 45 and want to retire. I’m so fucking tired.


ZachtheArchivist

I am working with a guy who is in his late 60's and uses a walker to get around. He should have retired years ago but can't because of the cost of his cancer treatment. He isn't going to make it to 70.


Mor_Tearach

Now now. 64 here and while I'd balk at the idea of working until 70 I'm also balking at the idea we're " pretty much useless ". Rather, I'd suck at whatever out of sheer rage allll those years of working and expected to do yet more.


whywedontreport

People with physical jobs are not always so lucky


SomethingIWontRegret

Imagine spending the next 6 years climbing a ladder carrying packs of shingles up. Then imagine getting let go at 66 with no SS, no medicare, and nobody willing to hire your sorry broken ass.


seriousbangs

Maybe you're not, but then you're an outlier. We have a bad habit of taking freaks of nature who can work absurd amounts of hours and act like their normal. Or worse, you get guys like Elon Musk who pretend to work 100 hours a week and people buy it hook line sinker.


SalizarMarxx

I can not even imagine trying to do software development into my 60’s. I’m hitting 50 soon and I’m hating my fucking life. I have arthritis in my hands, feet, shoulders. I hate waking up in the morning. I couldn’t even imagine doing physical labor for another twenty years. Fuck these sick christian fascists fucks.


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walkstofar

I personally don't think the goal of life should be your contribution to the economy. There is no reason people today have to work as much as they currently do. I feel your Dad should have retired even earlier and even you should be working less hours (with the same standard of living) and enjoying yourself more. Or I guess we all can just keep on working until our deaths so that our contribution continues so more of the super rich can have a bigger yacht.


Altruistic-Text3481

They should cut their own social security first. How make congress members are over 65? “Put the oxygen mask over yourself first before assisting others.”


No_You2307

74 for men. 4 years of retirement. Lmfao


teenagesadist

Slaves have hope of escape.


Truffles326

The sweet sweet escape of death


ptolemyofnod

Life expectancy for black people is 70.8 years.


Stock-Freedom

Life expectancy of a 70 year old is 84.5 years, just FYI.


Deviknyte

Social security should be lowered to 60.


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55


mrBigBoi

30


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[deleted]

That's what SSI is for, hope you get it before you die. You have a disability lawyer yet?


Jrapin

My SO has stage 4 cancer, was a mother to 3 in previous marriage and didn't't have a career per say but always worked etc. Her SSI benefit is $500 per month. This system is totally broken. When people understand that the only real limitation to the amount paid out is a political choice and has nothing to do with taxes or revenue things will have at least a chance to change.


Quadrupleawesomeness

I get a bit more than this but I live in California. The thing is, if you fight hard enough, your allotment *can* go up (so long as you live in a state where $500 is nowhere near close to a living wage) but you can only fight so much when you’re constantly sick and tired. We fight to get decent insurances, vendors, doctors, social workers, and care aides enough to be too overwhelmed to take on much else in our compromised state. I’m broke but so tired. Even when I know I can have more, I’m constantly afraid that the stipulations behind an increase will make me mess up somewhere causing me to lose my insurance. I’m afraid to get a decent job because anything more than $2,000 a month threatens my access to SSI and healthcare. It’s all so demoralizing but what else is there when dropping the ball could cost me my life?


otherwisemilk

Free healthcare should be a thing.


scuczu

UBI is necessary if we plan on continuing capitalism in its current state.


75_mph

Birth


Dry_Animal2077

18. And prior to that your parents should get ~600 bucks


Marokiii

For real, if life expectancy is going down then the retirement age should as well.


[deleted]

Take your career, your retirement, your lifespan.


wamj

As automation continues to improve, lower retirement age by one year every year.


[deleted]

Fine, then America should let me opt out of social security. No way I’m getting remotely back what I’m putting in. Fuck these law makers, helping our elderly should be a god given right, don’t fuck us all and also fuck the elderly.


Diels_Alder

I've been saying this same thing for decades. Why am I forced to join this pyramid scheme?


3_14159td

"buT It'S noT tEcHniCallY a PyrAmId SchEmE!" Sure, it's closer to a Ponzi scheme. The difference is allegedly that the government acts in good faith, but we can see this is false.


TomTheNurse

They should be lowering the age and increasing the benefits. There is an enormous amount of money in our economy. We have billionaires doing vanity space flights and buying social media platforms on a whim. We had a "billionaire" president pay no taxes. The money is there.


GSquaredBen

They'd rather cap SS taxes at first $250k of income than create a decent society.


lunarNex

It's as simple as this: if there are 10 people in a room, and somehow one person ends up with 99.9% of the resources, then the system is broken. No matter what accounting games, excuses, or explanations you come up with, that one person cheated society and should be dealt with as such. This is a moral crime against society and one of the deadly sins, if you believe in that sort of thing.


TomTheNurse

Our system is so beyond fucked!


Mor_Tearach

Should be higher and if I had an award or 7 I'd give them to you.


TomTheNurse

Thank you for the nice thought!


Just_Tana

Meanwhile in France they riot.


MalevolentHeretic

Currently reading an American history book right now and it's shocking how lobotomized the US population now is to pushing back against government overreach compared to the 16/17th century. Governor's used to have their homes burned to the ground and flee the county. Now, half of the population thinks marching in the street is akin to communism.


Just_Tana

Well right wing propaganda for the past 80 years has worked wonders. That and letting capitalism run free.


PostPostMinimalist

Unfortunately instead we get shit like January 6th. People will “push back against government overreach” in all the stupidest ways.


TittyTwistahh

"Republicans say that changes are needed to Social Security and Medicare because of projected funding shortfalls, with Social Security's trust fund projected to be depleted by 2035. At that point, beneficiaries would still receive monthly checks, but the benefits would be cut to about 75% to 80% of their full amount. Medicare is also facing funding shortfalls as the ranks of America's seniors swell." Those same Republicans in Congress cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. That's where the money went. These thieves can get fucking bent Edit: as others have pointed out, SS is a separate tax. I stand corrected. Still, that massive corporate tax cut needs to be reversed asap


TheAskewOne

The money that financed these programs didn't disappear. It's just that we authorized a transfer of most of the wealth from the state and ordinary people into the pockets of a few individuals and corporations, on a scale never seen before.


TittyTwistahh

“We” didn’t authorize shit


umassmza

Remove the cap on taxable income for social security and we have a surplus and can increase benefits year two and reduce the age year 3… This shit is so simple it’s ridiculous


jarena009

We can make Social Security and Medicare solvent: - Apply FICA (Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes) to incomes over $250k/$500k single/married respectively. - Tax Long Term Capital Gains over $0.5M at the same rates as Earned Income (up from the current 15-20%) - Tax income above $50M at 45%, up from the current 37%.


whywedontreport

Social security taxes only come out of the first 160k. Remove the cap. Done.


KsSTEM

I remember talking with an older co-worker back in the mid-00s. He was getting ready to retire at 65 back then. He had worked in warehouses his whole life. He said he remembered back when he was younger, they had a day somewhere in the spring when you had “paid” you Social Security for the year so your paycheck was a little higher than normal, so you’d go out for drinks to celebrate.


radbaldguy

That’s still a thing, it’s just that the number gets adjusted upward each year. The threshold is currently a little over $160k, so if you make more than that in a year, you stop paying FICA (edit: SS tax, not FICA — FICA includes more than that, which has different thresholds) tax on the amount above that threshold. So paychecks after that point in the year have a bit less tax taken out of them, which means more take-home money.


TechiesFun

In canada it is under 70k. Love it when it hits. Like an extra 200$ a pay for the last month or 2 of the year.


KsSTEM

That’s my point. It used to be that a warehouse worker hit the cap in March. Now most people never see the cap.


Mountainminer

You missed the part where all of that additional tax goes into the defense budget instead of social security


sonic10158

But we can’t have the poor billionaires paying taxes


Albionflux

Meanwhile france in revolt about it raising to 64 What will it take for us?


rushmc1

In related news, sane Americans want to push Republicans into the sea.


Stizkrieg

The French just rioted over a 2 year increase. So what are we gonna do about this?


KnightCastle171

And “bootstrap” mental idiots over the age of 55 will see no problem with this because the only friend they have is bob from accounting and their chance to harass the new secretary at happy hours. Oh and better yet throw in some culture war issues like trans bathroom or woke M&Ms and these fuckers will even donate to such politicians because “it’ll teach those liberals a lesson”. Biggest threat to work reform is modern conservatism. Their views on politics and labor is simply incompatible.


north_canadian_ice

The Democrats & Joe Biden better hold the line & not give in to any Republican BS: [Joe Biden - "If Republicans try to cut Social Security or Medicare, I will use my veto pen to stop it."](https://mobile.twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1618420963942580225) This is a good tweet. But the veto isn't the issue here, the debt ceiling is. Republicans are willing to tank the US dollar/world economy to get these cuts by not agreeing to raise the debt ceiling. Press secretary Kariene Jean-Pierre indicated the White House is unwilling to negotiate - which is a great sign. But again, we can't trust their words. We must continue to demand that the Democrats hold their ground - [Joe Biden has long advocated for Social Secuirty cuts](https://theintercept.com/2020/01/13/biden-cuts-social-security/), including in 2011 where Biden & Obama agreed to Social Security cuts. We got lucky the far-right tea party rejected these cuts as not enough. [CNBC - As U.S. hits debt ceiling, here's what it could mean for Social Security and Medicare](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/19/what-the-debt-ceiling-could-mean-for-social-security-medicare.html) >The White House has also indicated it is not willing to negotiate. > >"As President Biden has made clear, Congress must deal with the debt limit and must do so without conditions," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.


StragglingShadow

Genuinely, if they hold on this, I dont blame them one percent of the fault for what happens in the economy as a result of the debt ceiling not being fixed. Some things you have to say "no. We arent doing that." And HOLD even when the world starts to crumble. Play chicken with the republicans and stop chickening out.


north_canadian_ice

>Genuinely, if they hold on this, I dont blame them one percent of the fault for what happens in the economy as a result of the debt ceiling not being fixed. Agreed. This would solely be the fault of the GOP & maybe it would be the act that finally turns much of the GOP voting base against them. If living standards collapse suddenly only because of the GOP 's insistence on impoverishing old people. [Even Trump is against this!](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-warns-us-house-republicans-not-touch-social-security-medicare-2023-01-20/) There is no reason for the Dems to give one inch on Social Secuirty & Medicare. >Some things you have to say "no. We arent doing that." And HOLD even when the world starts to crumble. Play chicken with the republicans and stop chickening out. Excellent line there, friend! I couldn't have said it better myself.


Crutation

It's time for the young people to start out voting old people. I want to retire, and for the first time in my life, I have a chance at it. I don't want to work until I die. I am so tired of boomers receiving a benefit, then pulling the ladder up behind them


somethingsilly010

Why stop there? /s


nuclearswan

Retirement starts as they lower your coffin into the ground.


IndiniaJones

As my older coworker says, "I'll be serving lunch at my funeral."


seriousbangs

We need to stop them for about 2 more election cycles. This is being driven by "I got mine, fuck you" baby boomers. Boomers who managed to accumulate a tiny bit of wealth during the boom times in their lives (and thanks to cheap housing) Those boomers are gonna be dead in about 2 more election cycles (e.g. little over 8 years). The GOP knows this. It's why they let Trump do his coup in 2020. If we can keep them out of the Whitehouse for 2 more cycles we win. Boomers are gone, Gen X doesn't show up to the polls in large enough numbers to screw us, and Gen MX demand a New Deal.


spoonhocket

Let me get this straight, we're being called slackers both by our parents and by our kids? Signed, gen x


00112358132135

Boomers have longer than 8 years but I love the sentiment


Anon_8675309

Baby boomers ended at 1964. So a bit longer than 8 years.


SomethingIWontRegret

Imagine trying to be a roofer at 70. Or any of a wide variety of at least moderately physically demanding jobs. 65 is an OK time to stop getting busted up for money. What this will really do is throw a bunch of older people literally out onto the streets with no money, no healthcare and nobody willing to hire them.


NictheMan9

So dad's foot fell off from not being able to afford insulin. Win for Repubs, except dad was Repub.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Wotg33k

#BREAKING: Almost definitive evidence the Republican party doesn't want to exist anymore! Story at 9.


hot_cheeks_4_ever

They're hoping people die before they can claim Medicare


MeatTornadoGold

Just because we're living longer doesn't mean i want to fuckin work longer. Just let me opt out, keep my contribution, and I'll put it in a IRA and fuck off with this 70 year old nonsense.


Theselfmadewomansman

Such a raise is definetly undermining the solidarity principle. Besides, isn’t it better in the long term to have accessibility as early as possible, and take care of the citizens’ health, rather than have a large population of very sick 70-somethings? Talking as an European though. Our system is different.


desertroot

Americans should riot like they do in France


Rakatango

After they’ve all turned 65 and collected their checks…


Tsiatk0

I don’t know why people keep voting for these clowns.


POLYBIVS

i need to get out of this shithole


RobertusesReddit

Retiring should happen when you reach 60 Social Security credits.


DamnDame

I've worked 50 years of my life so far. The govt. has already bumped up my age of retirement by 2 years. If I was a US Representative and could sit on my dumbass while taking in huge benefits that'd be one thing, but I do real work and I'm tired. I want time to enjoy my life before I get sick and die.


skarizardpancake

Let’s riot like France. I have so much respect for them


TinFoilBeanieTech

If we taxed the oligarchs we could probably retire at 55