As a labor lawyer I cringe when Democrats talk of "saving" Social Security. We should not "save" it but raise it. Right now Social Security pays out 39 percent of the average worker's preretirement earnings. While jaws may drop inside the Beltway, we could raise that to 50 percent. We'd still be near the bottom of the league of the world's richest countries - but at least it would be a basement with some food and air. We have elderly people living on less than $10,000 a year. Is that what Democrats want to "save"?
This is the kind of social spending that, morally, we should do...except that we are "broke" from our military spending. It's guns versus butter, and the guns have prevailed, again. We could do it if we really wanted to, but we're too busy shooting rather than talking, and also mighty busy preserving and increasing the wealth of the wealthiest at the expense of the regular folk.
Oh, and the nexus (I love that word!) to Ultrarunning? Maybe there's none, other than when I retire I hope to be able to continue to enjoy leisure pursuits such as Ultrarunning without having to worry about paying for the basic necessities of life. For example, food insecurity or heat insecurity would kinda make it tough to enjoy trail running. Survival always trumps play.
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