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GOP: Raise Social Security's retirement age to 70
A Republican-held Congress might look to raise the retirement age to 70, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested Monday.
Boehner, the top Republican lawmaker in the House, said raising the retirement age by five years, indexing benefits to the rate of inflation and means-testing benefits would make the massive entitlement program more solvent.
"We're all living a lot longer than anyone ever expected," Boehner said in a meeting with the editors of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "And I think that raising the retirement age — going out 20 years, so you're not affecting anyone close to retirement — and eventually getting the retirement age to 70 is a step that needs to be taken."
The GOP leader said Social Security was the most important entitlement to reform, though he also pledged Republicans would bring legislation to the floor to repeal and replace the healthcare reforms passed earlier this year if the GOP wins back control of the House this fall.
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They'll lose every competitive race in the country.
I realize that stance is utterly unpopular and crazy to say aloud but I would not be surprised if that is a suggestion made by the debt commission in coming months or years. In order to really get to the major deficit cutting stuff, social security will need to be examined and changed. I don't like it one bit and I hate the idea of delaying retirement by 5 years for me and all of the hard-working people I know, but thanks to Bush's unpaid tax cuts for the rich, and 2 very expensive wars that were not paid for, among other bad decisions that took us to record deficits, I don't see what other choice we will have. But, you are right, the GOP may lose the one reliable voting block they have left over this suggestion: seniors!
Anyone else wishing we could go back in time to Clinton's surplus years/policies and just erase the irresponsible Bush years?
Great chart reminding us that we can thank Bush for the deficit problems we have today.
^^^ What Lep said.
Scarborough: Boehner lazy bar hopper
Joe hears it from "every" Republican, and brings it up on his show, there must be a problem with that most Republicans aren't happy about.
My conspiracy theory of the day... Maybe they are trying to figure out a way to dump Boehner.
The GOP leader... pledged Republicans would bring legislation to the floor to repeal and replace the healthcare reforms passed earlier this year if the GOP wins back control of the House this fall.
The health-care overhaul gained popularity from May to June, according to a new tracking poll.
The results suggest that the Obama administration's promotion of the legislation may be paying off or that the public may be warming to the law as early provisions take effect.
The Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 48 percent of the public had a favorable view of the law in June while 41 percent had an unfavorable opinion. A month earlier, the split was 41 percent favorable to 44 percent unfavorable.
more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/30/AR2010063000438.html
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It seems a lot of Republicans don't care to pursue HRC repeal, so the economy seems like it will take top billing, not that they want to help fix that either.
Health-Care Reform Repeal Petition Garners Few Signatures
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/29/health-care-reform-repeal_n_629682.html