Is it too late for Biden to retire?
- Thread starter foxwelljsly
- Start date
tones
Tones deaf
Hopefully the Trump fever will have broken by then. I suspect that Trumpism will be with us for some time yet, but without Trump himself, much of its impact will be lost. We saw that with De Santis - if anything, he was Trumpier than Trump, but it did him no good at all. The US does seem to go through these bouts of craziness every now and then, but it usually recovers. I await with interest to hear what explanations the likes of Lindsey Graham eventually have to offer.
Enfield boy
pfm Member
I hope you're right but if a second Biden/whoever term fails to lance the rancid pustule of fascism and corruption the GOP may have a permanent solution lined up by then.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
And keep in mind Bernie Sanders is a Jew.
I have long maintained that only a Jew could rein in Israel and force peace on the zionists.
Any goy with such intentions would have the full political and money power of Israel and AIPAC against them: they would never get into power.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
gez
pfm Member
But that wasn't the assertion. The assertion is that human cognitive power dimishes with age, specifically the speed of being able to learn new information. This has been well established for quite a while now. Of course other things, such as vocabulary, language use improves with age (to a point), and that somewhat balances out. But it's irrefutable that humans become less able to absorb and process new information (as quickly) as they age. Eventually we all get to a point where we are unable to assimilate any new information at all, and in fact we go in to reversal and start to lose what knowlege we had. That's just the reality of the human existance. Of course the age at which all of this progresses is not the same for everyone, and it may even be pushing in to older age as our overall health improves generation by generation. But it's inevitable non the less.
None of which bodes well for employment in later life, because now employers have an actual justification for not employing older people. Or certainly they'll act that way if left to their own devices, which is why more needs to be done to stop employers being prejudiced against people over 40 (as they clearly are now - especially in the tech industry).
les24preludes
pfm Member
Yes, of course cognitive power diminishes with age for everybody, not arguing with that. Just that the psychometric data shows that the higher the IQ in the first place, the better it lasts with age. It's not a level playing field.
Psychologists have written about the "best worker" phenomenon, where most workers decline in their 60s and beyond, while a small few remain just as able or even improve. I tried to find a reference for this but couldn't - maybe it's called something else these days. I'm retired so not totally up to date.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
The party has a convention to pick a candidate.
les24preludes
pfm Member
I'm a bit ignorant here - what happened after JFK was shot? Johnson would have taken over directly, and was he then endorsed by a convention or what?
sean99
pfm Member
Apart from pure cognitive abilities with age comes both experience, and, often, improved interpersonal skills - both very relevant to job performance. Older workers are often more reliable, also, having learned the life lesson that to be truly useful one must first be dependable.
In any case, the best case scenario is for society to provide a social safety net whereby those who want to retire when they reach their mid 60s can do so, safe in the knowledge that they will have access to the essentials for a dignified life - then let people chose when they wish to retire. Far too many people are forced to work into their late 60s and beyond for fear of destitution.
In any case, the best case scenario is for society to provide a social safety net whereby those who want to retire when they reach their mid 60s can do so, safe in the knowledge that they will have access to the essentials for a dignified life - then let people chose when they wish to retire. Far too many people are forced to work into their late 60s and beyond for fear of destitution.
PaulMB
pfm Member
That's different, as it was with Roosevelt > Truman. In that case there was no election campaign under way, so no need to pick a candidate. I assume (but Yank will know) that if Biden dies during the campaign Kamala Harris becomes president during what is left of Biden's 4-year presidency, but at the same time a special convention is held to pick the candidate for the elections. Who could be the "encumbent" Harris, as happened with LBJ and Truman, but could be someone else.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
That was in 1963, not an election year. When JFK was killed, he was automatically replaced by Johnson, the Vice President. Johnson then chose Hubert Humphrey as his Vice President. In 1968 Johnson was eligible to run for another term but chose not to, there was a very contentious party convention which ultimately went with Humphrey, who lost the election to Nixon. (Also Robert Kennedy was assassinated before the convention, otherwise he'd have likely been the front-runner for the party's nomination.)
If Biden drops out of the race for re-election, but remains President through the end of his term, then the party could replace him on the ticket. It wouldn't necessarily have to be Harris. If Biden were to die or resign from the Presidency before the election, he would be replaced in office by Harris, who would probably try a run for re-election but there's no guarantee she'd be the party's choice for the election.
les24preludes
pfm Member
The retirement age will be pushed higher and higher as governments can't cope with the rocketing cost of pensions. Macron is very unpopular for pushing this in France, but it looks like a new reality.
It would be nice to think that we could all look forward to a "dignified life" in retirement. Yes, it did happen in our lifetimes and it would be good to think we could continue in that nice life we used to know. But with the consequences of climate change I think the future is going to be a lot more radical and chaotic. Nothing will be the same again.
gez
pfm Member
I strongly suspect my niece, who's now technically just moved in to her "late" twenties, will be looking at a state pension age of 70.
Technically there already is no retirement age in the UK. The UK gov abolished mandatory retirement some time ago now. In fact employers can no longer legally force employees to retire, unless they can a) prove you're no longer able to do the job for age related reasons - infirmity etc or b) you work for certain services - such as the Firebrigade
On Memory.
www.nytimes.com
Opinion | I’m a Neuroscientist. We’re Thinking About Biden’s Memory and Age in the Wrong Way.
We are due for a national conversation, informed by science and not politics, about our expectations for our leaders’ cognitive and emotional health.
This is getting a bit off topic, but here in the US it is not uncommon for people to work well past what would be considered a normal retirement age. My Cardiologist is in his late 70s as is my Pulmonologist. I have colleagues who are well into their 70s, one who is 80+. All function at a high level, that is the key point.
The Social Security age here was raised to 66 from 65 some years ago and is scheduled.led to go to 67 in the fu5ure. Further increases are very likely.
Fortunately, large scale immigration has helped prevent demographic collapse. A shame Europe does not recognise the benefits of immigration.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
It depends on your year of birth. For me it's 66 years and 4 months, for two of my co workers who are a couple of years younger than me it's 66 years and 8 months.
If you go past the eligibility date before taking SS, the monthly draw goes up, until you max out at age 70.
Yes, depending on personal circumstance, health and life expectancy it can be advantageous to delay collecting SS benefits. Benefits increase by 8% per annum for up to four years, so deferring until age 70 can boost the payout by almost a third. On the downside, the break-even period can extend to 10+ years. So if you opt to delay your SS payout to age 70 but don’t live into your 80s, Uncle Sam wins.