Local News Comments

I bet the opposing 46% are in there 30.s cause if they were in there 50,s they wouldn,t be thinking that. If you were any kind of labor worker your worn out at 60. I think they should raise the emloyee cotribution and lower the age, and the big thing! if you didn,t pay into the system you don,t get anything out of it period! What about the money the government borrowed out of the system? never hear anything about that!

The important part of this article, given that there are serious pros and cons about raising the eligibility age, is the bit at the bottom about waste in the Medicare system. I would like to see much more emphasis put on addressing this issue, before they start penalizing people by raising the age. It's not only Medicare that has this problem, it is the whole darn health system, which has got to be one of the most inefficient in the world. We spend more per capita on health care in this country than anywhere else in the civilized world, and we have some of the worst outcomes. There is way too much inefficiency and duplication in the system, for starters. And don't get me start on the mirages of "choice" and "competition" as it applies to health care. It doesn't.

Hmmmmm....let's see. Members of Congress have Social Security taxes withheld from their pay like other workers, and are eligible for retirement benefits beginning at age 62. According to the Congressional Research Service, in October 2006 the average annual pension for a retired member of Congress who served under FERS was $35,952, compared with the current $174,000 salary for active members.Members of Congress can begin drawing their full pension at age 62 if they have completed five years of service, at age 50 with 20 years' service, or at any age with 25 years' service. So, what they want the rest of the country to do is retire at a later age than they do.

Funny how certain entitlements are alright by all the Repubs. I bet most of the "YES" votes came from non-republicans. Typical swindlers :)

You people still think the red team or the blue team is for you, they are for themselves. They are all corrupt politicians and that is it. Medicaid is as big a ponzy scheme as social security. they don't work and they are all bankrupt???Can't get more out then you paid in.

redline - that's a really uninformed comment. What people get back from Social Security depends on what they paid into it, and for how long. I paid into SSA for well over 30 years, and I figure it will be at least 10 years before I get back in benefits what I paid in. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that I will live to be 75 - many people don't. With Medicare, you pay premiums all your working life, but can only make claims when you reach 65. You also keep paying premiums after 65. How many other insurance plans work like that? Medicaid is a separate program from Medicare, and you have to be either seriously disabled or completely broke to qualify for it. Do some research before you publish incorrect information, or more to the point, before you retire.