What do you think about the protests in France about pension age rise?,what would you do if it happens in your country?
As far as the protests in France, they are merely a specific expression of a generalized attitude in the Western world as a whole. None too surprising and it has its parallel in the United States.
The American public talks a ferocious game against "big government," but when push comes to shove they will not relinquish it. This because that public has the following profile:
1 in 6 who works, works for government.
1 in 7 is a Social Security recipient - more about which anon.
1/3 of all families, this year, will receive some form of government transfer payment.
Further, protestations against high taxes notwithstanding, more than half of all Americans pay NO Federal income tax at all.
The case regarding pensions - SS in the USA and different systems in other Western countries - adding a particularly pointed dimension in that, first, people believe that they were paying taxes all their working lives and therefore have earned the benefit. This making their demands to receive those benefits all the more intense.
Further, and here the politics comes most into play, the population in the whole of the Western world is aging and older voters tend to come out in the largest numbers in election years. The net result giving older voters who want their pensions greater absolute numbers but greater intensity in political years.
Thus why, in the USA, any discussion of changing Social Security or Medicare is treated by political leaders - in BOTH parties - as if someone were setting out to touch up the Mona Lisa with a paint gun. They all but shriek in horror at the idea and insist that they will tolerate no reductions in SS or Medicare in any form.
The problem with this, however, is that eventually political demands must run up against demographic and mathematical realities. SS and Medicare are structured so that the young, in effect, pay for their elders. The understanding being that "we will pay for our parents on the understanding that our children will pay for us."
Given the demographic realities of an aging population, and with it a shrinking workforce and therefore a shrinking tax base - and given that younger workers object to tax increases and indeed that such increases tend to mitigate against economic growth - that is simply not viable over the long term. Thus does Social Security have $23 trillion in unfunded liabilities and Medicare has $46 trillion in unfunded liabilities. This in an economy that is $24 trillion in size.
Bottom line is that something will have to give. The structure of SS and Medicare is simply incompatible with the aging demographics not only in the USA, but the West in general. The will of the voters will not change the demographic and mathematical realities and the politics is crashing up against those hard realities.
It has been well said - and the recent COVID pandemic more immediately made the point - that "the American people never panic... Except in a crisis." It being most likely that nothing will happen in a meaningful sense to reform SS or Medicare until some financial or economic crisis galvanizes a change in the societal - and hence political - consensus.
It is not a happy answer, but those are the realities and there it is. As to the individual, the wises advice would be to invest in a private pension plan and to increase their savings more broadly as best they can. That is hardly a sufficient answer, but that is about the best that can be done.
The problem in the Western world - and the USA more specifically - being that human being are fond of willing the end but not the means to the end. It often taking a calamity of some sort to get people to think more than half a step ahead.
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Well like it or not, something similar will almost certainly happen in the US, and it's more a question of how. Our retirement-related policies, most notably the social security system, were created at a time in which a working man was lucky to live to or past 60, and there was a growing youth population paying into that fund by working. Now, the population growth is below replacement levels without immigration factored in, workforce participation in young adults is low, and most people are living to about 80. This is a subject that has been brought up pretty regularly in our politics, but almost always ends in political suicide just like going after most entitlement programs.
Doesn't matter what crap in what country they announce now. The world is run by our enemies, eugenicists who have total mind control over at least 99% of humanity, and you can see the worst scenarios around the world and combine them to apply to the whole planet. Totalitariansim in the east, asexual veganism in Japan, are only minor petties compared to the globalist's nearly achieved goal, thanks to our insane ignorance.
It's been planned for a long time, they aren't afraid of writing it in the books they publish.
I was going to post just one but as I was getting the link, I got too many from just one source not to post more.
Another "admiring" dictators...
(This one is also gender inverted as are all rockefellers,
there are so many inhumans with the name rockefeller that are androgynous as hell)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/WY8jAq9vTLYIt's all occult mind control that's the problem, not hating the blind followers opposite political party, although they have become part of the problem. “Whenever the people need a hero we shall supply him.” – Albert Pike 33 Degree Mason
Don't know about you all, but I was a hard core conspiracy theorist for years, and even I keep finding that I've still been falling for one trap or another. You may think I'm nuts, but the only solution to prevent what's coming, let alone reverse the current state of slavery, is if the whole world becomes twice as nuts as I am.
The pension age is already high in my country. As of now, you have to be 65 years old and complete at least 15 years of the qualifying period. Our government wanted to rise it to 67 years, but the labour union was about to start a referendum and protests against it, so the government backed off.
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The trouble is every from of pension regardless of Goverment or private is simply saving/investing for a share of the resources of whatever children we currently have to work when you retire.
Thus the fewer children any economy has the fewer resources will be available for anyone to retire.
Goverment pensions like Social Securty may be a particularly harmful form of 'pension' in that it does not via investment increase our overall economic efficiency but rather puts the money in the goverment to the most to inhibit said efficiency.
In the grand scheme of things neither 'pension' is a particular good idea for an economy as a whole. As both 'systems of security' take away one of people's historic reason for having and raising children who might actually provide said resources in the future.
Thus making everyone's retirement situation collectively worse.
noone ever says "I'll work harder and longer hours.. and smarter, and less vacation time". They always say "I want more"... with no reason why.
We'll... where does the "more" come from?
They could take it away from all the immigrants who invade their country and gobble up their resources and national identity for starters...
so the govt will just take from someone else or steal until the they can't anymore and system collapses, then do something else.
It will happen in EVERY country , pensions ( hand outs ) must be sustainable , now why such a big deal in France? They have been bought up on Socialist ideals. If you just take the money , you are basically stealing from the young , and France is far from alone , people are living longer they have to be prepared to contribute , but the best thing you can be is self funded , not a hand out recipient , its decisions you make along the way.
Socialism , sounds great - ITS NOT , work for longer France , it will not hurt you , may keep you alive.
Pensions need to be funded.As a French person who has been raised there... Any problems they have all relates to their socialist ideals and bad policy regarding social welfare which is choking industry, and basic economical growth. It redistributes wealth from people who create jobs and economical revenue, taxing it over and above to redistribute to people who are not working and or contributing.
This drowns out innovation and economical growth and an arena where everyone have a more equal stance of relative poverty. And you may think i am exagerating but if you are to observe a middle class American and a middle class French family in France, you'll be shocked at how worse off the French people are.
It's all bad policy
France is far too complicated to discuss online/in writing (or in English language).
It is also far too integral to the Roman Empire to be considered just a country or just any republic. It is France (one coukd say _the_ France). I lived in Brussels for ~10 years and worked in French speaking politics so got to experience... well, the Roman Empire mixed with tge Frankish Kingdom mixed with the French Republic - some of those things are legendary/beyond anything the English speaking pop culture can grasp - both astpunding and often incredibly difficult but so genuine that... well, again, it is too difficult to explain that 'on paper'/in writing. It must be experienced to be even believed, let alone managed.
I think rioting about such a thing is dumb. If you can riot you are actually proving you can still work lmao.
Retirement to me is and always has been for people who've aged to the point they can't function working properly so if it turns out you can? Why should you retire?Lol, I live in Denmark. As it is now - I'll be able to retire at the age of 68.
I'd say, I'd get pretty upset if they raised it even further up at this point - this isn't realistic for MANY people within different professions, including my own.
When SS was introduced in America, the retirement age was 65, while the average life expectancy way 60. While they would pay into the Ponzi scheme for their entire working lives, most of the population was never expected to live long enough to collect a pension.
In 2023, the average US life expectancy is over 77, and the retirement age for full SS benefits has only been raised to 67. So most of the population expects to receive benefits for t least 10 years. The scheme has been turned upside down.
For the scheme to continue as originally laid out, the US retirement age would have to be raised to 80.
I do not know about what is going on in France but often older people have a harder time getting a job, I can understand why they would protest if getting a job is harder because companies want to hire younger people who will be around for along time.
I do not think they should use average life expectancy as a guideline they should be using how hard it is to get a job once you reach a certain age due to age discrimination.
France is at it again huh? I haven't heard about this yet, but I believe it.
I think the government pulling out on prior promises is an example of them not keeping, or not being able to keep a promise. Oh they can't... yet I bet they spend on shit like gender and non-binary studies overseas and all over the place though...
Where they do and don't cut funding is what pisses me off.Retirement age in the US has been raised since Biden took office. Between the crashing stock market and the inflation everyone's Retirement accounts have taken a beating and the cost of most consumer goods have doubled. Those that are close to retirement age are putting it off indefinitely.
Pension is a lie
Basically you live life as a slave until 70 and after it you are expected to “enjoy” life really lol by that age you can’t hold your farts !
Don’t depend on it !
They are making fun of us they think of us a scavengers.. by they I mean those who hate us the world controllersI support pension age increases. It is the only way to keep the system from collapsing. As fewer people are born to replace the retirees, each new worker has to have a higher and higher percentage taken in taxes to support the retirees. Here is a chart that shows the long term issue with the U. S. Social Security System.
https://www.ssa.gov/history/ratios.htmlHistorically speaking the people of France know how to fight back against their rulers. Personally I don’t know what the retirement age is over there but if it’s anywhere within the range of the retirement age for Americans then I would be pissed off too.
The French are babies. Don't they realize they're living longer than they were? Who do they think pays for their pensions? Their kids, that's who.
To be honest though I sometimes think we Brits should protest more instead of just grumbling over our corn flakes.
France is different because you need to pay more taxes than in the US, where I live. Our pension age is 65, but we don't have to pay as much tax as in France (like around 50% tax of total pay?)
So in this case, I understand why people are upset. If you want to raise the pension age, lower taxes maybe. Or keep everything as is.
They're looking at raising it in UK too. One news site reported the proposed age is higher than the life expectancy in some deprived neighbourhoods.
The pension age in France is very low in comparison to many European countries, I think its 61 in France, while in Ireland it's 67.
I admire how French people always fight their government if they feel wronged, we should follow suit.
It's happening. I am sceptical if retirement will be a thing when I get old enough for that. They would have wasted all the money and the generation that will work in about 20 years will never cover the costs of the older generation.
Shit happens in every country. Greece and other countries went through the same things.
West is getting poorer so you need to wait longer for your pension.
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