Thoughts from the Russian Federation

[Warren Dew]

(01-04-2020, 12:13 PM)Isoko Wrote: That is correct. People were actually content with Putin, half the country even supporting his annexation of the Crimea, until he decided to raise the pension age. That was it, overnight the country hated him. Had he left the pensions alone, he would be alot more popular right now and people content with his leadership.

I'm somewhat surprised that much of the country opposed annexation of Crimea.  What were the arguments against it?

Pensions and retirement are a big problem everywhere.  With people living longer, and population growth slowing or ended, retirement age needs to be pushed back to keep retirement obligations from becoming overwhelming, but it's never going to be popular.  The retirement age in the US is shortly going to be pushed back from 65 to 67, but that was passed into law way back in the 1980s, when the people affected were still in their 20s or before.  And we're going to need an additional increase to 70 or so soon.