David wrote:
"Increasing the ages at which SS can be taken for people far from retirement is the only politically reasonable way to fix this. It should be remembered that when SS was started with the age required to take benefits set at 65, the average life-expectancy (at birth) for Americans was 64"
A losing proposition.
The folks in this forum are mostly elitists. They never did much real physical work for a living (some have, others, no). Perhaps when younger... but over the course of a lifetime... no. (you're welcome to call me presumptuous, I don't care)
What about the mason (or the guy mixing the mortar), the carpenter, the plumber in the crawlspace, miners, or even guys "higher up" (such as rail workers or airline workers) who "earn their livings through the [actual] sweat of their brows and back? Or who rely upon both mental and physical acuity, such as a common truck driver? And have to do that for 40 years or more?
Some can still do it at 67, 70.
But many more cannot. Age catches up to us at different speeds.
In spite of medical advances through the years, many men are starting to fail by the early 60's.
That's the reason the retirement age was set as it was.
The SS system isn't going to be "fixed" this way.
And those that try to do it... will soon be voted into the minority.
Or out of office completely.
