“I’m Tired, I’m Sore, and I Don’t Want To Work Until I Die”: Nikki Haley Says 65 Is “Way Too Low” for Retirement

Amy LewisNov 6, 2023

Minute Read

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has claimed that 65 is “way too low” for retirement. Naturally, her comments have generated a heated backlash.

Leaving America Bankrupt

GOP — Image Credit: Gil C / Shutterstock.

Haley blamed the GOP for its part in the federal debt before going on to discuss entitlements. She said: “You’ve got multiple candidates on that stage that said they wouldn’t touch entitlements. Any candidate that says they’re not going to touch entitlements means that they’re going to go into office and then leave America bankrupt.”

A Bold Admission

Haley boldly admitted that Biden didn’t cause the debt. “The truth is that Biden didn’t do this to us. Our Republicans did this to us too. When they passed that $2.2 trillion COVID stimulus bill, they left us with 90 million people on Medicaid, 42 million people on food stamps,” she said.

Spending Like Drunken Sailors

Image Credit: Consolidated News Photos/Shutterstock.

The presidential hopeful also said Republicans spent “like drunken sailors” and blamed them for “raising the debt limit.” She then gave her suggestion: “We change the retirement age to reflect life expectancy. Instead of cost of living increases, we do it based on inflation. We limit the benefits on the wealthy and we expand Medicare Advantage plan.”

Ukraine and NATO

She went on to highlight the importance of supporting Ukraine and called for a NATO expansion. “The problem is that Vivek doesn’t understand. He wants to hand Ukraine to Russia. He wants to let China eat Taiwan. He wants to go and stop funding Israel. You don’t do that to friends,” she said.

Time To Get Things Done

Image Credit: Aaron of L.A. Photography / Shutterstock.

Haley discussed the importance of allowing a new generation of leaders to step forward: “I think I’m going to be the winner of the primary and I think that’s why we need a new generational conservative leader. We’ve got to leave the past and the negativity behind us and we’ve got to start focusing on the real problems at hand and start getting things done.”

The Internet’s Response

News of Haley’s controversial remark was shared across the internet and people flocked to comment sections to give their views. For the most part, they condemned her and pointed out that she doesn’t know what it’s like to have a physically challenging job.

Calling for Better Healthcare

Some commenters discussed age discrimination and explained that it’s difficult for people in their 60s to get jobs. Some called for better healthcare to enable Americans to work for longer and others even said that individuals should be able to retire while they’re young enough to enjoy it.

Twelve Years of Retirement

Plenty of Republicans supported a lot of Haley’s statements – but her comments about retirement had people across the political spectrum concerned. “U.S. life expectancy is 77 years old. So we get 12 years of retirement and they think that’s too much?” one social media commenter said.

It’s Not an Entitlement

Another individual wrote: “I have worked all my life. My knees are shot, my back is shot, and my hands are shot. I’m in my 60s – and yes, I deserve to retire and it’s not an entitlement. I have paid in all my life.”

Borrowing From Social Security

Others called for “borrowed” money to be returned: “Maybe the government should stop spending our SS and fund it back to where it should be in the first place. Stop letting people that never put money into it take money out of it.”

Medicare for All

Another commenter wrote: “So, Ms. Nikki, are you going to support legislation that makes it easier for the elderly to keep working, such as Medicare for All and bans on age discrimination? Yeah, I thought not.”

Addicted To Corporate Money

Echoing the aforementioned individual, another person said: “People in their early 50s start experiencing age discrimination in the workplace. Cut the entitlements and you better start going after businesses that discriminate against seniors. It won’t happen because the Republican politicians are addicted to corporate money.”

Something for Nothing

“These aren’t entitlements. That is a term that the Republicans use to make it seem like people are getting something for nothing. We all paid into these programs as insurance. No one is giving us anything,” another commenter wrote.

A Real Job

Others said Haley had never worked a “real job”: “I doubt she’s ever worked a non-desk job in her life so she has zero clue, and I mean zero clue, how much a real job that involves near-constant movement, even just standing and walking all day, wears your body down over the years.”

A Work-With-Your-Hands Job

Echoing the aforementioned commenter, another person said: “You try doing a blue-collar, work-with-your-hands job for 45 years and see if your body isn’t completely worn out by the time you hit 65.”

Cost of Living and Minimum Wage

Others called for the government to consider cost of living when it comes to the minimum wage: “Notice they want to tie retirement age to life expectancy but have no interest in attaching minimum wage to cost of living.”

A War on Young Americans

Another person wrote: “Republicans want to raise the voting age and the retirement age. They want to block student loan forgiveness. They are rolling back child labor laws to put children to work. Republicans continue to expand their war on younger Americans.”

No Intention of Changing

One person said conservatives have never done anything to make the country better: “I’m tired, I’m sore, and I don’t want to work until I die. What’s the point if we don’t get any time to enjoy the life that we worked so hard to build? I don’t know of a single positive thing that conservatives have ever done to improve our country and she is showing us all that they have no intention of changing their ways.”