Come on Down!

Washington has begun taking steps, very small ones, to demonstrate its seriousness about addressing the appalling national debt. After a spending frenzy, many in Washington are eager to put their profligacy behind them as they prepare for elections in the Fall. To this end, there is talk of raising the benefit retirement age from from 65, or 66 depending on exactly where you fall in the spectrum, to 70. No numbers were given on how much money such a move would be expected to save. It is very unlikely it will have any appreciable impact on the debt. The country is not going broke because too many people are retiring. But a step is a step and every step is a headline.

According to some, raising the age from 65 to 70 would be "politically acceptable" (a phrase which always brings to mind a party official addressing the Politburo), because it would have very little immediate effect. "Raising the retirement age- going out 20 years and not affecting anyone close to retirement, and eventually getting the retirement age to 70 - is a step that needs to be taken" said House Republican leader John Boehner. And a shrewd step that would be. Those receiving benefits would continue to receive them and those far from the the new retirement age would not pay much attention to it. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sought to demonstrate the new resolve and sobriety of Congress when he stated that "we are lying to ourselves if we say we can maintain our current levels of spending... without bankrupting the country." Many in Washington have a knack for stating the obvious only after it is no longer possible to avoid it.

People are healthier and living longer than they ever have before. Life expectancy in the U.S. is 80.8 years at the moment. It is expected to rise to 81.9 by 2020. That means people will linger even longer and mooch off the government for an additional year unless something is done about it. And, if Obama's health care plan works out as claimed, we can expect even more people to live well into their eighties, if not beyond. The mooching problem will only get worse. Even if the retirement age is raised to 70, it will not be so bad. People can still hope for ten years to enjoy it.

There is greater glory in creating new programs than mending old ones. In its eagerness create new programs such as national health care, the government has neglected those programs that already exist. To off set the massive expenditures by Washington, some will soon have to work until they are 70 before they can retire. When you consider there are far more people in their 30's than there are in their 70's, it is a clever plan. Very few people in their 20's and 30's can even envision being in their 60's, let alone their 70's. Besides, future burdens have always been easier to bear than present ones.

It is always better to pass social programs than rely on them. In order to scrimp some savings, legislators in Washington are tinkering with a program none of them will have to rely upon. Where many once might have hoped they could retire with some good years left, they are now having to face the possibility of spending another five out of however many years they have left working.

The government has just been giving things away. Like in those late night furniture commercials, the government has been saying come on down! They will give us a whole new living room set with no money down and no interest for a year. But let there be no doubt, that furniture will be paid for along with the interest.

The government has only just begun to realize they cannot just keep spending money and giving things away. Many have always known that, sooner or later, someone is going to have to pay for all the government is doing for us. They just hope it is not now and not them. In the mean time, come on down! This sale can't last forever.