Millionaire Jeb Bush Decides That Americans Need To Work Longer Before They Can Retire

Jeb Bush

Slackers. Jeb Bush is calling to push the retirement age to 68 or 70. That will fix you entitled slackers.

The former Florida Governor, who was in office when his brother – former President George W. Bush, son of the other former President George Bush – won an election determined by a narrow margin in Jeb’s state, has decided that you all need to work longer.

Like, say until you’re 70, because “entitlements”.

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Watch the Republican 2016 hopeful on CBS’ Face the Nation here:

Jeb Bush is going to “protect” your Social Security by taking it away for three to five years, “We need to look over the horizon and begin to phase in, over an extended period of time – going from 65 to 68 or 70. And that, by itself, will help sustain the retirement system for anybody under the age of 40.”

Asked about means testing, Bush said that sure, it could be considered. I mean, yeah, you would think if it were “entitlements” that Republicans were worried about, they would want to go after those double dipping richies, but Bush first wants to make sure you work longer.

That is what he would stand for if he were actually running for President, you see.

But Bush won’t say he is running for President yet, because that would mean he was violating campaign laws, and we all know laws are for the little people. Jeb Bush doesn’t mind talking on TV about things he would do if President…

… Just as a “thinking” about it kind of thing, which is why Bush was on CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday. Because he’s thinking about maybe running for president. And if he decides to, well then, wink wink, he won’t violate any campaign laws. Oh, no, he’s getting that done now. Wink wink.

Even though he’s not “running” for President yet and couldn’t tell the not-buying-it Bob Schieffer under what circumstances he would NOT run, we should still remind everyone that Bush’s “solution” to a problem that doesn’t exist yet (reports suggest it could be a problem in 2033, but by problem they don’t mean unfunded, they mean that the trust fund is projected to cover 77% of benefits due) takes aim at the middle and lower classes, because as a Republican he doesn’t believe in raising taxes – even the FICA tax – and because they won’t really consider means-testing.

But the bigger question should be, why attack this “problem” as if it were the most pressing issue of the day? Why not talk about getting some corporations to pay even a bit of the tax percentage that the average citizen pays. That would sure give us some money to help the deficit. Or how about talking about creating good paying jobs. Or helping families with a paid leave act.

Things that are pressing right now. Why would the first “solution” be to force the American people to work longer? Haven’t they been hit enough, being forced to pay for too-big-to-fail banks even as they lost their retirement savings due to those banks and then being told they had to tighten their belts because we must all give, while corporations and the very wealthy got away with legally not even doing their share?

Jeb Bush 2016: The same old “solutions” from the same old privilege. Y’all are so entitled, you will need to work until you’re 70 so that the real entitled, the people who are entitled to be entitled, don’t have to pay any taxes. Be grateful.


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