Why on Earth did Macron announce raising the retirement age

[edhopper]

a month before the election?
Did he want to lose?
Does he want to destroy the EU and NATO?
Might be the worst political move I have ever seen. And the World might pay a great price for his miscalculation.

I admittedly know little about French politics, so feel free to have your say.

[barbaraann]

1. Just like Sen. Scott is proposing end the of Social Security.

Do the global oligarchs have a grand scheme or are things like this just coincidence?

[elias7]

2. Appeal to the right

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. It helps the young people, who are tilting right these days. They won't pay as much SocSec earnings

Plus it appeals to other cohorts by being seen to be responsible, taking care and exercising diligence about maintaining the system.

French people in their 20s are leaning towards Marine LaPen.

[Farmer-Rick]

6. That part about paying less SocSec

How does that work? Was/is he going to cut SocSec taxes too? Or are SocSec taxes based on how much is paid out to older folks? But how would that even work?

If you increase the age of retirement here in the US, like Reagan did, it won't change how much the federal government takes out. In fact since the Boomers paid double SocSec thanks to Reagan, the current generation of workers are only paying for their own SocSec.

I like how you abbreviate Social Security. GOPers frequently abbreviate it as SS. Which makes it sound like a Nazi security force. But SocSec makes it sound like a pet's name....nice.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. To be frank I was speculating about the reductions, but it makes sense however implemented

Yes, it is possible that the young won't see an increase in their take home pay, but then they would have more confidence in the stability of the old age pension system for their own retirement. Or more confidence they wouldn't get hit in ten years with increased payroll deductions.

But I do not know the details of how the French system works or what changes would be brought in and I should have hedged and cautioned about my lack of knowledge.

Re SocSec: I have a slight perturbation from being reminded about NewSpeak from "1984" but I do prefer it to SS for the same reason you state.

However, such abbreviations are common in the military (SecDef = Secretary of Defence).
Further, camel case (internal capitalization) is much more common these days since it has been used for decades in computer programming.

[Farmer-Rick]

10. Thanks for the info

I'm going to use your abbreviation of SocSec from now on......if you don't mind.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. No need to ask, but sure, glad of it. . . . nt

[walkingman]

4. It appears that the nastier and meaner you are the more attractive you are these days.

[David__77]

5. Maybe it's what he wants to do and thinks he should be honest about it.

Also, I suspect that this will not be appealing to any age group, young or old.

[DFW]

7. That is closest to the mark, although honesty in French elections?

Their far right likes it from their own candidates. The rest of France, from center-right to far left prefers the fairy tale.

[edhopper]

12. So he gets points for intergrity

while handing his country to a Nazi.
What a pyrrhic victory.
Win elections first, then worry about governing.

[Hoyt]

9. Maybe Macron thought it best to deal with it, rather than kicking the can down the road.

"France’s finance minister has admitted that trying to push back the country’s retirement age is a “risk” for President Emmanuel Macron as he seeks reelection, but says it is necessary to reinforce and protect the French social system.

"Macron’s campaign pledges for elections next month features a shakeup of France’s complicated pensions system and the moving of the retirement age to 65 from 62. France currently has one of the earliest retirement ages among industrialized nations. The president made a similar promise before 2017′s election, but the final proposals were met with protests before being halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Speaking to CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on Thursday evening, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said it was “risky, but it’s a necessity.” “It is a necessity if you want to improve the global prosperity of the French nation ... Because that’s the best way of protecting our social model. That’s the best way of giving the guarantee to all the French citizens that they will have access to a fair and efficient pension system,” he said."

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/24/macron-wants-to-push-back-frances-retirement-age-to-65-.html


We are facing a similar issue in a few years. I question whether we'll do anything -- raise taxes, tweak retirement age, change formula to benefit those at lower end of scale, etc., -- until absolutely necessary. Let's hope Democrats are in control, when that happens.

[edhopper]

11. Our problem would be solved

if we indexed the cap on SS tax.

[Hoyt]

14. I think we do index it. Maybe it should be increased more each year. But to avoid

automatic cuts to benefits that are predicted to happen in the early 2030s, it's going to take more than indexing and reducing the amount that those on the upper end get in benefits.

Guarantee we will be sitting here as 2030 approaches with nothing done. Then, we can pray that GOPers don't get elected to key positions.

[malaise]

15. Macron is a pro privatization politician

who is interested in ruling for rich elites - I am not aware of his interest in the social good.