Ron DeSantis Seems To Think People Dying Sooner Is Good For Politics

Ron DeSantis is really not on the good side of any issue. But his new plans are weird, even for the king of weirdness. He keeps mentioning how the life expectancy in the United States has declined in recent years, from 77.28 years in 2020 to 76.4 years in 2023, according to the CDC. Gee, I can’t imagine what could have happened during that time! Anyway, DeSantis seems to think that this decreased lifespan is a good thing.

In Iowa, the Florida Governor spoke about people’s fears of losing Social Security and Medicare protections, saying, “It should reflect life expectancy and what we’ve had in this country is a pretty significant decline in life expectancy. And so given those circumstances to raise (qualifying ages), it would be cutting against where the demographics are going. So that’s not going to happen.”

Earlier in August, during an interview with CNBC, he mentioned life expectancy rates again. But he didn’t just blame COVID-19. He also talked about “deaths of despair” like those caused by drug use. OK sure, but shouldn’t our policies and medical advancements help to offset some of that stuff? We know Republicans don’t really care about mental health. Or gun deaths. Or environmental disasters. It’s not just that the governor brings up these rates. It’s almost like he takes some sinister glee in these statistics; like they will get him out of having to make tough decisions on policy. 

DeSantis doesn’t seem to know what he would actually propose when it comes to entitlements. He has admitted that changes are coming but has been walking back proposals to privatize. He noted that he doesn’t expect himself to have some of these programs when he’s older, if there aren’t changes federally. He said, “I think a lot of younger people like me are receptive to this because I don’t assume we’re going to get any of this at this point right now.” (Writer A.G. Gancarski noted in a Florida Politics article that DeSantis is 44, though his lifetime of saying and doing odd things makes him seem much older.)

Hopefully, with DeSantis running for President, he will be forced to craft a more succinct plan for entitlements. I think someone who is the Governor of Florida, holy land for the elderly, would already have these policies clearly laid out. But alas, waffling is still always in the back (or front) of politicians’ minds. Either way, Americans deserve to know where he stands. Other Republican candidates have to speak more on this issue as well. Individuals need to come out and denounce this crap and say what they believe in and how they will protect benefits for Americans as they go into retirement. Hoping we’ll all die young is not an acceptable way forward.

(featured image: The CW, edits by TMS)

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Autumn Alston