Gender-adjusted Social Security being considered?

[Mabus]

Perhaps most provocatively, Thomas said lawmakers should debate whether Social Security benefits should differ for men and women, because women live longer. "We never have debated gender-adjusting Social Security," he said. A House leadership official said that not even Republicans on Thomas's committee would vote for that idea. Thomas also said the system might take into account the need of blue-collar workers to retire younger than office workers.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/19/112640/723

[Sanity Claws]

1. That's interesting

Why don't we also lower the income tax rate for women too because we live longer and therefore pay more over a life time?

Or why don't we also lower the income tax rate for women because a greater percentage of men are criminals and impose a greater burden on society as a whole?

I just LOOVVEE the logical implications of this idea.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Nah what they want is to keep women down

and you and I know that

[Sanity Claws]

3. We both know that but

sometimes the best way of showing someone what an ass he is by playing out the logic implicit in his statements.
Also, what the guy is suggesting is discrimination in payment or taxation on the basis of gender. If an employer tried to do this with pension payments, it would be held to be in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

On Edit- corrected mistakes in grammar and misused word

[prodigal_green]

11. ding ding ding!!

A winner--men use something like 100 to 150 times the number of federal dollars that women do. Include deadbeat dads, automobile accidents and white-collar crime to that list.

[CountAllVotes]

4. it is already "gender based"!

Women earn 2/3 of what man does. Many women don't work during their childbearing years. Thus, women already get FAR lower Social Security benefits than most men do!

:grr:

:kick:

[mopinko]

7. and get robbed of payments

from our own earnings. when women retire they are paid either from their own accounts, or as a dependant to their husband's, whichever is more. it often is. so their own account, after paying in all their lives, disappears.

[CountAllVotes]

10. when my uncle died my aunt could NOT collect his SS

and that was because my aunt had worked and retired from the Federal government in a menial clerical job and she had paid into SS prior to the government job too. She ended up getting about $200 a month from SS and nothing from my uncle's SS. This was due to some rule where if you work for the Federal government, you can only collect your own SS I believe.

In any event, my aunt was screwed bigtime and mad too - she'd was married to my uncle for about 40 years!

[Journeyman]

5. But Shrub said last week Black people die younger. . .

so maybe they should be allowed to retire earlier?

By this logic, maybe a Black woman should be allowed to retire right out of high school (if she says she wants to be blue collar), or made to go to college first, then allowed to retire (if she wants to enjoy the benefit of never working in an office)?

Take it all to the extreme, people. It's what BushCo's doing.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Except when we don't.

Figures that a man would come up with this crap. Also, while manual labor does indeed take a physical toll on the body, office workers deal with stress sometimes daily, and stress can/does kill. Why don't these lawmakers offer up real solutions to the "problems" that SS faces in the distant future? bu$hCo., INC is just trying to steal SS monies for his Wall Street bidness Buds. Payback is what Chimp is about and nothing more. He continues to create problems where none exist.

[SoCalDem]

8. And, what they are forgetting here, is that when you "work in an office"

you are constantly subject to the hiring whims of supervisors, regardless of your age. It's an assumption that people in their 50's will work until 65, but more and more companies are eagerly "pruning" people in their 40's and 50's, because that's the age where the insurance premiums start to rise. The more "young" employees, the lower the premiums.. Three or four 55 yr old guys will really ratchet up the premiums, so it makes business sense to get rid of the older, higher paid people, and hire five or six "new ones" in their 20's..(Less wages, less insurance cost, so they can afford more of them)

Forcing benefit-restrictions/bans on "office workers", and making them "retire" later, all but insures that there will be MANY, MANY more uninsured, unemployed 50-70 yr olds. How are these people supposed to support themselves? Will they be forced into "physical labor" at a time when they are not able, so that they can then "qualify" for earlier retirement?

Who will employ them?? Walmart...that's who :puke:

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. Well you stated it better then I did.

I am seething that these "lawmakers" who have Federally funded pensions courtesy of U.S. taxpayers, want to steal from American workers who have paid into the SS program, many of whom will only have SS to retire on. As usual, they keep changing the rules, and that proverbial carrot they continue dangle in our faces, gets farther away with every rule change!

[V Lee]

9. Different races have different average lifespans too ...

... will that be next?

[superconnected]

12. harvard professors suggesting men are better at math and science

I mean, that women aren't as good as men, at math and science -without evidence, but still including many DU supporters, of course.

it all leads to sexists/racists/and just plain elitists, deciding a people must be kept down, so they can feel better about themselves.

[TahitiNut]

14. Statistics ...

Population in the Social Security Area
Males 65 and over - 15,410,000 (approximately 93% fully insured)
Females 65 and over - 21,152,000 (approximately 72% fully insured)

In 2000, the life expectancy of a 65 year old ...
male was 15.84 years
female was 18.93 years


http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/index.html

[w4rma]

15. Keep it simple. This makes it complex. (nt)

[TexasSissy]

16. Sounds discriminatory to me. There are all sorts of factors that say

how long one might live. Gender is just one of them.

If you consider gender, then you'd also have to consider other things: average age your ancestors died (whether you are male or female); average age white collars die vs. blue collar; educational level; smoker; drinker; overeater; RACE.

To single out ONE basis for average life expectancy is discriminatory. ALSO...when husbands die, their WIVES get cont. to get their benefits, if they worked in the home. Even divorced wives. I guess that yo-yo doesn't know that.

[KT2000]

19. Hey yeah!

smokers, drinkers, overeaters should get higher Social Security payments.Something tells me this Thomas guy is going to regret his stupid comments.

:smoke:

[MiniMe]

17. Does it cost any less for a woman to live after retirement..

than a man? Perhaps we should adjust housing and rent so women on social security can live off it, just in case their retirement was in Enron or Tyco. This country is getting scarier and scarier all the time!

[KT2000]

18. Lots of retire folks where I live

Here is how it usually works:

The husband has a serious health problem such as a stroke, Parkinsons' Alzheimers etc. The wife spends years looking after him and spending savings for uncovred medical costs. He dies and she then gets a reduced survivor's benefits. At this point the wife develops her own serious illness (stress of being caregiver is contributing factor). Sometimes she goes to live with one of her children but usually ends up in a home.

So - this Thomas ass would like to have her benefits reduced further.

[CarpeVeritas]

21. unfortunately- that sounds about right.

although del webb will try to tell you different.

[CarpeVeritas]

20. as a white hetero male, all i can say is...

it's about time something went our way!
:evilgrin: