If your goal is to be 65 and sitting on a beach for the rest of your life doing nothing, then the social science tends to say, that's not very good for you. You actually should be involved in your community and get involved and still have a side job and all the rest of that. But if we really believe that we can't raise the retirement age and we're never going to change that, we will go bankrupt. [00:00:17] You know, that's super sexy. Debate over what contributes more to our national debt came up during my appearance on CNN last night. Ben Shapiro thinks we need to raise the retirement age to 110 years old, because Social Security, of course, is bankrupting the country. [00:00:34] But I disagree. I actually blamed a different reason for our growing U.S. Debt. I focused on military interventions and endless foreign aid and involvement in conflicts abroad that, you know, we spent a lot of money on [00:00:49] and don't have payfors baked into. So I'll make my case a little better after we hear more from Ben Shapiro. Take a look. All the talk about cutting at the margins, whatever Doge is doing, that's not going to touch the real driver of the systemic debt. [00:01:05] In the United States, women are living to 85 if you make it to 65. Men are living to 83 if you make it to 65, that's 20 years on the public dime. When you talk about hold on, when are you talking about the government paying? You're talking about Social Security, which is people's money. Well, it is. It is. - Well, it is not the money you paid in. - It's it's a system that they pay into. [00:01:21] - Well, no. - Your paychecks. Yes, but believe me, I pay a lot. I pay Social Security. I don't know if I. Promise you the amount. The amount that people are taking out is not the amount that is going in, which is why we are going bankrupt. Okay, so I've been advised by Ben to look at a chart of our national debt, [00:01:40] and I'm going to do that in a minute. But before I do, Jake, what are your thoughts on what Ben Shapiro had to say? People are living a little longer, right? And it is true that the amount of revenue that goes into the Social Security trust isn't enough to cover the benefits, right? [00:01:56] We do borrow a little bit every year as a result of that. Now there is a fix to it. But what are your thoughts. Yeah. So there's a lot of misdirection here guys. I'll talk about the retirement age after we fix the bare minimum fixes that are super easy actually. Okay. So, number one, they say, oh, look, we want we're raising the retirement age, [00:02:16] not because we want to take more of your money and make sure that you can't take that money out and give it. We want to give it to rich people in tax cuts and corporations and subsidies and grants. No, it's because we want you to have time to get involved in the community. [00:02:31] That's not why that's hilarious. Okay. You can get involved in the community any way you like and bless your heart. And I heard that discussion you guys had, and I encourage it. Right. But that has nothing to do with what age we should set, because if they move it from, let's say, 65 to make up a number 69, right. [00:02:48] So those are four years you would not get benefits. That is stealing from you every single year a significant amount of money. It has nothing to do with what you're going to do with the community center. And then when he says going bankrupt, what does he mean? [00:03:03] Does he mean Social Security going bankrupt? Or the budget itself, the entire country going bankrupt? Because those are two separate issues, as we're about to tell you. Fixing Social Security is actually very simple. - Shockingly easy. - Yes. And that's not going bankrupt at all if we do that one easy fix. [00:03:19] And then in terms of the country, that's a larger conversation and one I'm thrilled to have. And we should have all those conversations before we get to moving the retirement age. Okay. So I responded to what Shapiro said there. So I want to go to that moment and then we'll break it down further. [00:03:36] I just totally reject what you just said about how we're going bankrupt due to Social Security. Really? You don't think like the trillions of dollars we've spent on wars in the Middle East might have something to do with that? - It is not. - Even our national. Debt. What we spend on social. National debt shot up significantly after nine over 11, after we started [00:03:54] invading countries in the Middle East. You should look at Iraq. Now we're at 30. So it's kind of hard to hear because we're talking over each other. But he said at the very end, you should look at a chart of our national debt. And I took his advice. So let's take a look at her chart of the national debt and see where it shot up. [00:04:12] Oh, wow. Would you look at that using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis. This chart shows how US spending, or I should say, the debt really shot up exponentially beginning in the early 2000. Gee, I wonder what happened then. [00:04:27] So the last time the United States, by the way, had a budget surplus, not a deficit, not a debt budget surplus was when president Bill Clinton was leaving office in 2000 and George W Bush was coming in. So obviously Social Security wasn't bankrupting the country. [00:04:45] We weren't dealing with debt at that point. And Social Security was already, you know, a well established, you know, program. So what changed in the early 2000? What could it have been? Well, here's Senator Bernie Sanders. [00:05:00] This is a speech he gave on the Senate floor in 2012. Basically taking us down a trip or taking us on a trip down memory lane. Take a look. President Bush assumed office, and within a few years, we were fighting not just one war in Afghanistan, but another war in Iraq. [00:05:19] Many of the deficit hawks today, the people who tell us, oh, gee, we've got to cut Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid and nutrition and education. We got to cut, cut, cut, cut. When asked to pay for those wars, they had nothing to say. [00:05:36] Nobody knows exactly how much these two wars will end up costing. But the guess is that by the time we take care of the last veteran, seven years from now, 70 years from now, those wars may run up over $3 trillion. [00:05:52] And we did not pay for them to the tune of one penny. So understand what Senator Sanders is saying there. He's saying, look, we just keep engaging in conflict abroad, [00:06:08] starting wars in the Middle East. There are no payfors. We are literally borrowing money to do this. And that is why when you look at a chart of our national debt, you will notice our national debt skyrockets beginning in the early 2000. [00:06:26] This is not rocket science, okay? It really isn't. And so I'm about to get to Scott Jennings in just a moment because, you know, he heard me talk about invasions in the Middle East, and it got his dander up about Israel. So we'll get to that in a minute. But, Jake, any any thoughts? [00:06:43] Yeah. So, I want you guys to understand how much they're thinking of robbing from you. So average payments for the average American from Social Security every year is about $24,000. So if they move the retirement age by four years, that means they're going [00:07:01] to literally take $100, 000 that every American would have been paid if they retired at 65. And they're going to take it from you and make sure the government has it. Now, if the government spent it, well, that would be one thing, right? But what does the government spend it on? Well Anna's right. [00:07:17] So how much did the global war on terrorism cost, for example, $8 trillion. So one of the tricks that Ben Shapiro is doing in that appearance is, well, you know, Social Security is a huge part of the budget. Yes. But a huge percentage of that has already been covered [00:07:35] by the amount we put in through our checks throughout our entire lives. I hate scams, especially the ones that target seniors, and Medicare is chock full of them between commission hungry brokers and thousands of confusing plan options, most seniors aren't on the best plan for them. [00:07:50] That's why I partnered with chapter. They're fully independent and they work for you, not the insurance companies. That's really important. They can review all your options in under 20 minutes, and the average senior, they help saves over $1,100 a year. And the best part of it is it doesn't cost you a thing. So if you're turning 65, call the number on the screen [00:08:07] to connect with a chapter advisor today. So now we need a little bit extra on top because it's not quite covering it, but that little bit extra on top is the issue, not the entire Social Security budget. Exactly, exactly, yes. So that's why when you look at that little extra on top versus the 8 [00:08:24] trillion on the global war on terror, let alone the Department of Defense, which is now up to $1 trillion a year, those dwarf Social Security as a concern. But on TV, you get all this pyrotechnics to try to trick you into thinking it's [00:08:39] your fault and you should retire later instead of us starting endless wars. And this type of conversation is so frustrating to have in the format that we were having it in, because it's a quick segment on CNN. We got to go to break. There's like five people on the panel. Six if you want to include the host, Abby Phillip. [00:08:57] And so it's so it's so easy to trick people in the way that Ben Shapiro can trick people. Right. And so that's why I'm having this conversation now. Because I want people to understand what we're talking about and what that little [00:09:12] trick and conflation is from Ben Shapiro. And people, conservatives like him who want to do away with Social Security entirely. So what also stood out to me was Scott Jennings immediately jumps in because when it comes to our taxpayer dollars, [00:09:31] obviously Israel is entitled to it. And how dare you bring up the Middle East? So let's take a look at how that exchange went down. Honestly, these foreign conflicts have a lot more to do with our national debt. - As opposed to us paying it to. - Social Security. Israel is a bigger portion of our budget than Social Security. [00:09:49] I think we spend way too much money on military. Aid. - For. - Foreign countries. Do you think Israel is more social security? Social security is more of an issue compared to how much money we just shell out for conflicts. As a matter of expenditures and math, both both entitlements. [00:10:06] And defense are are a big issue. Okay, so, I would prefer not to fund a genocide. So there's the moral issue with that, obviously. But I also have a problem with, providing military aid to a country that had [00:10:25] an economic surplus as recently as 2021. How do you justify that? Yeah, I want to get into more detail there. So, another misdirection here. So Scott Jennings is trying to say like, oh, that that's $3.8 billion we give [00:10:41] Israel every year is very small compared to the slice of the budget. That's Social Security. Again, the overwhelming majority of the Social Security budget has already been paid for by you through all the taxes you paid. So that's misleading number one. Number two, that's not the only thing with Israel. [00:10:57] We also gave them $20 billion in the middle of the genocide. Overall in inflation adjusted numbers. We've now given them $310 billion. That's point number one. Point number two is we had no business interacting, did not attack us on nine over 11. In fact, they were an enemy of al Qaeda. [00:11:12] But at the time, Israel and the neocons said it was Israel's number one enemy, and that for our security and safety, we had to attack their enemy who is actually against al Qaeda and killing al Qaeda at the time. Okay, so now they say we have to attack Iran, and we did attack Iran, [00:11:29] and they say we have to attack. We have to do all the entire global war on terror. Okay, wait, that's another 8 trillion on top of the 300 billion. And now, as I said, the Department of Defense has gone from about 800 billion in recent years to now close to $1 trillion a year. Now, it's not just Israel, it's also the defense contractors [00:11:46] that benefit from that. But now you see how quote unquote defense of quote unquote America is, when in reality it's about offense for Israel has cost us literally trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars. - With no payfors. - Right. While they're trying to distract you with, oh, it's just 4 billion a year, right? [00:12:06] That's the tip of the iceberg. They're trying desperately to make sure you don't see the iceberg, not only because the size of the iceberg, but also because they're trying to get you to work more years of your life to pay for those wars for Israel. Think about how disgusting this argument is. [00:12:21] Like, the more I think about it, the more enraged I feel, right? Because what they're effectively communicating here is our problem here in the United States is all these elderly people collecting their entire entitlement benefits, okay. Not the fact that we've been shelling out trillions of dollars for global wars, [00:12:41] in many cases on behalf of Israel with no payfors. That is so sick. It's so sick that, like, it's ingrained in the minds of these pundits on on the right and some on on the left as well, meaning the Democrats [00:12:57] in positions of power that like, no, I mean, our government shouldn't, shouldn't work on behalf of taking care of its constituents, of its people, of its citizens. Your resources shouldn't actually be used to enrich your life, [00:13:13] to protect you in your old age. So you're not out on the streets with nothing. It's just we should focus all of our energy on, What? What are we getting out of those wars? Again? Absolutely nothing. Nothing that benefits you. So, back to the mines. Back to the assembly lines. [00:13:31] You're not allowed to retire. We need more wars. And even if you say, look, guys, I don't know if Iraq was about Israel and Iran I bought into. Oh my God, it's so scary. They both have weapons of mass destruction, even though they both literally don't. Right. [00:13:46] And et cetera. ET cetera. But I bought in, I bought in I love Israel, and I want to defend it. So you're going to work and you're going to make all the rest of us work. Two more years, four more years, etc., to pay for all those wars. Again, put aside Israel. Well, what do we need the wars for? Why? [00:14:04] Why do we need to bomb a ship coming out of Venezuela like we did the other day, starting up conflicts for no reason? Why are we talking about Taiwan and China and all these conflicts abroad? We need all these bases. So in the beginning, when Trump was talking about ending the wars [00:14:19] and maybe pulling back some of our bases and bringing people home, that resonated. It did. It helped him win in 2016. It definitely helped him win in 2024. He comes back in and all of a sudden we're talking about Department of War instead of Department of Defense. We're talking about. No, you need to work longer because we haven't started enough wars. [00:14:36] That's insane. It's. None of these countries are about to attack us. It's all made up. And on top of that, guys, the last part of the misdirection is. So we promise you guys that. Hey, what's the simple fix to Social Security? All you have to do is raise the cap. Right now, it's at around $170,000. $176,100. [00:14:55] Yeah. So at that point, you stop paying into Social Security. If we if we just raise the cap. So you everybody just pays into Social Security no matter what their income is. Let me rephrase that. So affluent Americans pay pay more of their income. [00:15:12] Right. Or the cap is lifted so more of their income qualifies for Social Security taxes. Okay. These are the wealthiest people. I mean, most American workers are not making $176,000. Let's keep it real, right? So the vast majority of American workers have the entirety of their income tax [00:15:31] for Social Security. But if you're wealthy, right? If you're making above $176,100, any dollar you make above that amount doesn't get taxed for Social Security. So they are paying a lower percentage of their income for Social Security [00:15:46] than you are, which is unfair. And so it's simple fix you fix that and Social Security has a surplus. We can actually give you more money once you retire. Right. So they don't want to do that fix. Why? Because it affects people making above $176,000. And that is Ben Shapiro's core constituency. [00:16:03] That is the Republican Party's core constituency. So they want to help rich people. They want to start more wars. And by the way, look at all the garbage that they make us pay for. See, I'm starting to have sympathies. I know you are for libertarians, etc. Because they say, okay, look, it's one thing what the proper [00:16:19] tax rate should be, right? And that is a good and worthy debate. But it's another thing when you whatever the tax rate is 20, 40, 60, you take it and you don't give it to any of us. You don't help the American people build bridges, schools, etc. What you're doing is $35 billion a year in oil subsidies. [00:16:36] Why? Why are we giving subsidies to the richest companies in the world? And then you have interests on on. The payments are gigantic. So we got to pay down the debt so that we stop wasting $870 billion a year in interest payments. [00:16:52] And then, of course, tax cuts for the rich. And so they just added another $3.4 trillion to the debt. Why? Because the rich had to get even more tax cuts. And all of this has got to be paid for somehow. And how are they going to pay for it? [00:17:08] Back to the mines. Back to the assembly lines. - By robbing you? - Yeah. American taxpayers. You have to work till you die to pay for all the money going to the wealthy, to corporations, and to foreign governments. Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets its wings. [00:17:24] Totally not true. But it does keep you updated on our live shows.