Social Security - Retirement v. Disability

Nobody ever get's younger. Only death and taxes are certain. Can anyone master death? Taxes?

Every Thanksgiving holiday, young people come home from their first year of college. It's a time to reconnect with those they've left behind - family, friends, high school, and perhaps their skateboard. Lots of happy reunions, and some disappointments.

What of that skateboard? Left behind, not forgotten. What of the skill? The finely honed tricks? Over the years, I've known a few that are disappointed at Thanksgiving. All the skills have faded and all that is left is a body incapable of doing what it had mastered for a lifetime. All that college life sucked the very energy out of that board and body.

I've never known anyone who claimed to be in better shape at 30, 40, 50, or 60 than they were in high school. The only ones who seem to make that claim are selling something on TV or in magazines.

What sense does it make to keep raising the Social Security retirement age? How many will just find a way to go on disability at 45? 50? 60? IIRC, one of the first things Obama did was to eliminate the 'backlog' of SS disability claims. Maybe some of those could have found another occupation?

I would imagine a lot of retirees feel their age but keep going until their SS retirement. What happens when the age keeps going up? How many will find the will to continue on until 80?

In many countries retirees get actual contributions plus 3%, I found this to be true of Mexico and South Korea.

Why do American get paid without contributing? How many lifetime disability cases are diagnosed at birth? Autism comes to mind. To my simple mind, the symptoms of birth autism seem a lot like abuse and neglect.

What if some folks don't want to contribute anything towards their future? Decide to spend it all as soon as they make it? Decide to let their kids take care of them? Live off charity?

Should everyone pay for these folks? Or, should they live in their retirement as they planned during their working careers? Relying on charity?

I think the paradigm needs to change. How much more will they be taxing everyone? There are lots of sound alternatives.

Everyone needs to contribute. There is an old saying "Those who dance to the music must pay the piper." or "If you want to dance to the music, you have to pay the piper."

Why aren't all potential recipients contributing in advance? Contributing? Getting back what they've contributed, no more and no less? Planning for their own future needs?

just my humble opinions