I have an idea for a debt ceiling compromise.
We should strive to help make every American healthier so that it will be possible to raise the retirement age for Medicare and Social Security. This would involve incubating and funding companies focused on helping people live a healthy lifestyle—like Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers, but truly effective. It also would involve incubating and funding companies that would make it easier to help people live healthy, such as healthy restaurants, healthy chefs, track meets, adult soccer and basketball teams, and preventive medicine clinics.
74 percent of American adults are overweight, and 42 percent are obese. This is a national emergency. If we ever had to go to war, it is arguable that a majority of our population would simply not be fit to serve in the military. And more importantly, being overweight cuts short people’s lives and lowers their quality of life. (I write this as someone who has struggled with my weight myself.)
We should also make it easier for people to take time off during the day, during work hours, to cook and exercise.
It is also important to fund and enable longevity research to find scientific breakthroughs that would reverse the biological aging process. Such breakthroughs would allow us to raise the retirement age even more, as people stay young and healthy and avoid diseases such as cancer.
Thank you for your consideration.
