French backlash over raising the retirement age is a warning to the U.S.

Parts of Paris and other cities in France have literally gone up in flames in recent days as protesters have denounced President Emanuel Macron’s plan to raise the country’s retirement age. 

U.S. lawmakers who’ve made similar proposals should take note of how this is playing out — and change course. 

Several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have endorsed plans to raise the retirement age for some, if not all, Americans.

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Yes, Republicans have called for cuts to Social Security and Medicare. February 8, 2023 / 06:24

Last year, the House Republican Study Committee released a budget plan calling for the retirement age for full benefits to be raised to 70, with the potential to go even higher.

As Paul Krugman wrote for The New York Times in November:

The committee’s proposals center on raising the age at which Americans become eligible for Social Security and Medicare. Its plan calls for increasing the age at which workers can collect full Social Security benefits — which has already risen from 65 to 67 — to 70, and then raising it even further in the future as life expectancy goes up (if it does). At the same time, the plan would raise the age at which Medicare kicks in, which is still 65, to match the Social Security age. Given the Social Security proposal, this means delaying Medicare eligibility by five years, to the age of 70, and possibly delaying it even further in the future.

Semafor reported late last month that a bipartisan group led by Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., has been looking at raising the retirement age as well. It’s noteworthy that a lot of the people pushing for raising the retirement age are independently wealthy, not far from the new age and/or well past it. (Cassidy is 65, and King is 78.) 

Multiple Republicans who might run for president next year also have proposed raising the retirement age, saying it should be adjusted to align with changes in life expectancy. But the averages don’t account for major differences in life expectancy between privileged and marginalized groups, which is to say: Raising the age may feel tolerable to some … but it could feel like thievery to others. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who announced her Republican bid for the White House last month, and former Vice President Mike Pence, a presumed candidate in next year’s race, have been the most outspoken backers of raising the retirement age for younger Americans. Interestingly, this stance has brought them in conflict with former President Donald Trump, who recently criticized Republicans for targeting Medicare and Social Security.

It appears Trump and I are on the same page about at least one thing: our belief that touching entitlements could be a political death sentence for Republicans. Or, at minimum, severely damaging. 

Don’t believe us? Try giving President Macron a call.