Republicans are never going to stop plotting against Social Security, but they have gotten a little more savvy over the years in how they talk about their plotting. Since President George W. Bush declared in 2005 that he was going to use the “political capital” he gained from his reelection to dismantle Social Security and privatize it, the GOP has been more measured in its approach. That’s for good reason: Democrats reclaimed both the House and Senate in 2006. The GOP might just be setting itself up for another electoral whupping with this latest push.
They now want to focus the pain on Gen Z, because what Republican doesn’t relish a little generational warfare against those damned kids? Raising the retirement age for people now in their 20s is all the rage among would-be 2024 Republican hopefuls. Nikki Haley and Mike Pence are both talking about raising the retirement age for people just starting out in their careers. Pence has even floated the idea of private savings accounts for those workers as a sweetener, and because that’s been the goal of their scheming all along: to divert all that sweet old-age insurance money into their wealthy hedge fund-owner friends’ pockets.
The problem for the GOP is that the idea remains really unpopular with all voters, of all ages. A new Demand Progress poll, first reported at Semafor, shows that a large plurality of voters over age 45 are opposed to any hike in the retirement age—a full 48% of them. In fact, 40% think the current retirement age of 67 is too high and should be lowered, and only 8% back hiking the retirement age. For younger voters, the sentiment is even stronger, with 54% saying the current retirement age should be lowered.
RELATED: Voter response to GOP obsession with cutting Social Security, Medicare: Get lost
