Radio show host and commentator Ben Shapiro made the case on Tuesday for why America’s retirement age needs to be raised.
Speaking on his conservative radio show, Shapiro first pointed to President Joe Biden’s own age, 81, as proof of why the retirement age is far too low.
“Joe Biden is 81 years old,” he said. “The retirement age in the United States, at which you start to receive Social Security and you are eligible for Government-run Medicare, is 65. Joe Biden has technically been eligible for Social Security and Government-run Medicare for 16 years, and he wants to continue in office until he is 86, which is 19 years past when he would be eligible for retirement.”
“No one in the United States should be retiring at 65 years old. Frankly, I think retirement itself is a stupid idea unless you have some sort of health problem. Everybody that I know who is elderly, who has retired, is dead within five years. And if you talk to people who are elderly and they lose their purpose in life by losing their job and they stop working, things go to hell in a handbasket real quick,” he added.
Listen:
Shapiro then pointed to the average life expectancy in the United States as another example of why the retirement age should be raised.
“When Franklin Delano Roosevelt established 65 as the retirement age, the average life expectancy in the United States was 63 years old. Today, the average life expectancy in the United States is close to 80,” he said.
“It’s totally insane that you believe that you should be able to work from the time that you are essentially 20 to the time that you are 65, which is a 45 year period, you pay in, and then you’ll receive Social Security benefits sufficient to support you and your family, you and your wife or whatever, for, like, another 20 years,” he added.
“That’s crazy talk. That is not fiscally sustainable. The notion that if you have to raise the retirement age to 67 or 68, that everyone is gonna fall apart — my parents are that age. My parents are not retired, and they shouldn’t retire. It would be very bad for them to retire,” he continued.
After the conclusion of his radio show, Shapiro took his talking points to X (formerly known as Twitter), where he continued to argue that raising the retirement age would be the right thing to do.
Except this time he added a caveat: Health.
“Yes. If you are mentally and physically healthy, taxpayers should not pay you to retire at 65,” he wrote.
Yes. If you are mentally and physically healthy, taxpayers should not pay you to retire at 65. When Social Security was created, life expectancy was 64. Today, it’s 78.
Also, people require purpose. If you can retire and find purpose, go for it. For many, that’s a bad idea. https://t.co/MrgtO0dEGT
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 12, 2024
Shapiro also proposed an interesting counter-offer: America keeps the retirement age at 65 but makes it MANDATORY for elected officials like President Joe Biden.
Look:
Seeing a lot of folks who say this is a losing political proposition. That’s probably true. That’s why politicians lie to you that they can magic their way to solvency on entitlement programs.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 12, 2024
Fine, fine, I’ll make you a deal: we can keep the retirement age 65 so long as we make that retirement age mandatory for our elected officials.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 12, 2024
While the commentator’s remarks prompted quite a bit of complaining, particularly from leftists but also some conservatives, they did inspire some agreement, especially from those who recognize that Social Security in its current form is on track to be insolvent.
“I agree. Because if we don’t do something we’ll never trim the debt. Plus I think it’s going to be insolvent by like 2036. So inevitably something is going to have to give,” one supporter tweeted.
“I guess everyone’s missing the main point. If we continue on the path we’re on, (everyone retires at 65) because they’ve put their time in, and the government has taken their money, against their will in most cases, NOBODY will get SS because it is insolvent,” another supporter tweeted.
See more responses below:
@benshapiro is 100% correct here. not remotely sustainable to keep social security paying out folks for 15-20 years after their eligible retirement age.
— CineSlamArena (@CineSlamArena) March 13, 2024
Social Security is a 20th century “solution” to a 19th century problem. Forcing free citizens to participate in an obvious Ponzi scheme makes a mockery of our Constitution
— Maine Opinion (@MaineOpinion) March 13, 2024
I agree. Because if we don’t do something we’ll never trim the debt. Plus I think it’s going to be insolvent by like 2036. So inevitably something is going to have to give.
— Jerry T (@Bushman2378) March 13, 2024
Retirement is a death sentence for most people, especially men. Very few can afford a retirement that replaces the social activity, physical activity and mental activity that our careers provide. @benshapiro is 100% correct
— Bo Jo (@bluetriumphst) March 13, 2024
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Vivek Saxena
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://americanwirenews.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.