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antigop

(12,778 posts)
Wed Jan 23, 2013, 11:53 AM Jan 2013

Raising the Medicare age could hurt young workers

http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/2lmedicare-age/index.html

Raising the Medicare eligibility age won't just affect older workers ... it could ripple all the way down the career ladder.

If senior citizens can't sign up for Medicare until age 67, many will likely stay on the job longer so they can keep their health insurance. That means it could be tougher for mid-career workers to move up, which in turn could make it harder for younger workers to secure entry-level positions, economists say.

"The only way to free up jobs at the bottom for young people is for older workers to retire," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University Channel Islands. "No one wants to retire without health care."


Shout out to all the DUers who have pointed this out.
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Raising the Medicare age could hurt young workers (Original Post) antigop Jan 2013 OP
Only true in fields with zero growth. Igel Jan 2013 #1
ZERO upside to raising the eligibility age Doctor_J Jan 2013 #2

Igel

(35,191 posts)
1. Only true in fields with zero growth.
Wed Jan 23, 2013, 12:05 PM
Jan 2013

Then the only way there's room for you is if somebody else goes away. If the other person doesn't go away, you have no slot to fill.

In a declining economy you get calls for lowering the retirement age. Get rid of those who have been around, make way for the newbies.

In an expanding economy you only get that kind of call from those who believe their unique, special gifts and talents are too slowly acknowledged and rewarded, who don't move up the social or corporate ladder as fast as their egos demand.

Of course, there's an unspoken assumption: That seniority trumps skills and talent. Sometimes true. Sometimes not. (When "not," then it's the inherent greed of employers who want to hire young, low-paid workers instead of the wise, skilled, expensive older worker.)

Me, I like expanding economies. They produce labor demand, drive up wages, and while they're often rough on the environment they also produce revenues and prosperity that lead people to value clean air and water.

 

Doctor_J

(36,392 posts)
2. ZERO upside to raising the eligibility age
Wed Jan 23, 2013, 08:50 PM
Jan 2013

politically, morally, financially. Big Insurance is wagging the dog here.

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