Billionaire Tells Seniors That 65 Is A 'Crazy' Retirement Age

[turbinetree]

'Out-of-Touch Billionaire' Larry Fink Blasted for Calling 65 a 'Crazy' Retirement Age

By Jake Johnson — March 28, 2024

Larry Fink, the billionaire CEO of the world's largest asset management firm, wrote in his annual letter to investors on Tuesday that it is "a bit crazy" that 65 is viewed as a sensible retirement age in the United States, drawing swift backlash from Social Security defenders and policy analysts.

Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, replied that the CEO of BlackRock apparently doesn't know the U.S. already raised the full retirement age for Social Security to 67 under a law passed during the Reagan administration—a change that inflicted benefit cuts across the board.


"I love how rich people are treated as sources of great wisdom when they obviously don't know their ass from their elbow," Baker wrote on social media.

https://crooksandliars.com/2024/03/billionaire-tells-seniors-65-crazy


Hey Fink why don't you pay your fair share into the social securty system.............well were fucking waiting...............well....I guess your all in on two class tax system, when it comes to social secuity........well were still waiting........Fuck Blackrock......how many people has your "firm" hurt ...............a lot......

[usonian]

1. See also:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218812746

[dlk]

2. Another entitled billionaire condescending to the "little people"

Fink has more money than God. He should go back to counting his billions and stop meddling in other people’s lives, and pretending he has any idea whatsoever what life is like for the majority of senior Americans.

If he’s looking for positive meaning in his life, there are an infinite number of ways he could better spend his time.

[Caliman73]

17. Society enables the attitude.

We bestow these billionaires and multi-millionaires with the reverence that leads to their thinking that they know more about everything than anyone else.

Think back a couple of months ago to a thread where a DU'er said that "billionaires should not exist" and the backlash from Liberals to that sentiment.

Really, what good do Billionaires offer to society? Most of them have some kind of attitude similar to Fink. Some people like George Soros use their money to help fund decent causes but that seems to be mainly out of atonement for some of the damage they did to secure their fortunes.

Most Billionaires and multi-millionaires "meddle in people's lives" primarily to protect their wealth from being redistributed for the benefit of society. They use portions of their wealth to support politicians who will vote to keep their taxes low, which means either higher taxes for us or needed services cut, or both.

I have my own hypothesis that once a person reaches a certain threshold of monetary wealth, that they start to think of life not in terms of money but in terms of power, specifically the power to impose their views on people, and even in extreme cases, the power to decide between life and death for people.

I don't think that there is anyone who is a billionaire or high level multi-millionaire (say triple digit multis) got their money without hurting other people.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. I love Dean Baker's retort in the third paragraph of the article.

Over and over again, rich people in this country are treated like a fountain of wisdom with solutions for everything. Being successful at making money doesn’t make it so, as much as they would like us to believe.

[getagrip_already]

4. Well, there is work, and then there is WORK...

As a billionaire, I can only imagine what your work day is like.

Someone else
- sets out your clothes
- makes your breakfast
- drives you to work
- schedules your day
- handles your calls
- handles your emails, texts, and social media
- arranges your lunch and dinner partners
- gets you home
- arranges all travel
- handles all logistics
- does all your shopping
- carries all your bags
- fixes all your problems
- pays all your bills
- arranges all your sexual adventures and cleans up loose ends

So "working" past 65, for you, is probably fun. It isn't a grind at all. You don't have to sit or stand in one place all day. You aren't lifting heavy objects while arthritis or back pain is coursing through your body. Your body isn't suffering from years of health care neglect due to lack of affordable or available care. You don't have to work 3 part time, minimum wage jobs to make rent snd a food bill.

So stuff it.

Unless of course you are willing to raise all workers to the point where they can work like you do..

[IcyPeas]

12. "Gets you home" *

* yeah, but which home. He probably has 5 or 6...

And has crudités with the likes of Dr. Oz.

[Kaleva]

5. I'm 65 and just had to take on a part time job

Living on SS alone makes things really difficult

[PatSeg]

6. It isn't just that people in their sixties

may not be able to work because of health restraints, try being in your mid-sixties and looking for a job that comes with a living wage. It was hard enough finding work when I was in my fifties. Most employers want young people that they can mold and control.

Raising the retirement age instead of raising the FICA income ceiling is cruel and for some elderly people, a possible death sentence. I'm sure billionaire Larry Fink could easily spare a few more bucks for Social Security.

[Wonder Why]

9. They want young people that they can pay less and cost them less for healthcare.

[PatSeg]

10. Yes, that is true

[patphil]

7. First off, the official retirement age is 67 for anyone born after 1960.

Second, a lot of jobs require physical abilities that someone over 65 just can't handle anymore, either because of loss of strength and/or endurance, or illness.
Third, some companies give incentives to retire so they can fill jobs with young, more healthy employees.
Fourth, people who have put in 40-50 years in the labor market deserve a chance to enjoy their old age.
I could go on, but the problem I see here is that he isn't willing to accept the idea that us old folks have a life outside of work...something he apparently doesn't have.

Fink's a fuckin' billionaire, and we aren't. His view of life is entirely alien to ours.
His commentary on what we see as important in life is irrelevant.

Edit: I think the maximum amount that is taxable for SS should be raised to $500,000. If Fink really wants to do some good, he should get on board for that as an answer to future SS funding.

[struggle4progress]

8. ... his company, BlackRock, is the largest investor in weapon manufacturers ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Fink

[Redleg]

11. Ditto on what Dean Baker said about rich people

not knowing their asses from their elbows. Screw those clowns. I am looking forward to retiring at 67. My work is not very physically demanding but I do have sore feet by the end of the day from standing while I teach my classes.

[raccoon]

13. Somebody should tell him to go pound sand.

[genxlib]

14. It is more than the rich against the poor

It is also white collar against blue collar.

It is east for someone who works behind a desk to say that people should work longer in life.

But what bout construction workers, carpenters, roofers, landscapers.

Hey I think I will coin a new term "white-collar privilege"

For the record, I am white collar and will have good prospects to work as long as I want for good compensation. I consider myself fortunate in that regard. I would never ask people that work so hard for a living to work one day longer than they need to.

[Tickle]

15. 66 and 8 months for me NT

[Captain Stern]

16. Alternate headline: "Guy that lives to work is mad at people that just work to live"

I worked for 37 years. I liked my work. But, it was just a job. I retired as soon as I could.

We've only got so much time between when we are born, and when we die. We can spend it wisely..or not. My Dad always said, "Nobody on their death bed says that they wished they had spent more time working"

[CRK7376]

18. Billionaire Jackass!

I am a 66yo retiree loving life as a double dipper. 21 years of Active Duty in the Army and 21 years teaching high school Social Studies and coaching Cross Country and Track, additionally 15 years of Army Reserve and Army National Guard service. Not all years were good towards retirememnt in Guard/Reserve while in college So 42 years of public service kind of tells me I've worked long enough to retire. I have a nice Army retirement Check each month along with an NC Department of Education Retirement Check each month and a monthly Veterans Affairs Disability Check, and my wife and I are both drawing our Social Security checks now for our years of work. Our farm and house are paid for as are our car and truck. Two kids college loans have been paid off and we have about 6 months of our daughters college loan left and we will be free and clear of debt.....So Piss off Billionaire and do some real work.