Social Security Concerns

 

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As I am sitting here typing, Congress is deciding whether or not I will keep Medicaid, SNAP, and other government benefits. Social Security is also being obliterated by Elon Musk and his minions. The house continuing resolution budget, passed yesterday, is before the Senate now. As has been the norm in recent days, Democrats are not actively resisting the government coup d’état in a united way. Senate Democrats are divided as to whether they will vote to pass this budget.

It seems that most Democrats are against the bill with its increase in defense spending and the cutting of many social safety net programs. However, if they do not pass the budget, the government will shut down on Friday, in just two days. While a government shutdown is not a good choice, ripping away the social safety net of millions of children, elderly, veterans, and the poor, is less desirable. I hope the budget does not pass. I fear it will.

How can this budget be supported? We all know who will benefit from the cutting of these essential funds…billionaires, who will receive a continuation of tax breaks.

The former commissioner of Social Security, Martin O’Malley, warns that all the hacking already done by Musk and cohorts,  will result in a “system collapse” within the “next 30 to 90 days.”

Elon Musk has called Social Security a Ponzi scheme. He is targeting it because the fund is one of the largest in the treasury. However, that money is not the government’s money. Retired taxpayers have paid into social security for decades, which has been taken out of payroll taxes. It is not an entitlement, as Republicans have been calling it for decades. Asserting that Social Security is broken and insolvent is just a way to discredit the fund to pave the way for it to be dismantled and the funds stolen.

Social Security is a popular program, yet with all the disinformation promulgated by Trump/Musk, the public is getting confusing signals. Those who still follow the corrupt government may have started to lose confidence in Social Security, and may not be as likely to oppose its dismantling. That, apparently, is the game plan of DOGE.

Actually, those who say that Social Security will become bankrupt by 2030, fail to understand the situation. While it is true that if Congress takes no action whatsoever, Social Security will only be able to pay 77% of benefits beginning in 2034, it is not in danger of going bankrupt. The other issue is that if the cap on salary on which payroll taxes are paid, $128,700, were lifted, the fund would be flush in no time.

Many retirees are concerned about what we will do if our Social Security benefits are stopped. I am disabled, and have limited ability to work, as do many others my age. Will we all end up on the streets, adding to the already burgeoning homeless population?

And what about Medicare? Musk has it as his target, as well.

 

Notes

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5173332-social-security-cuts-risk-collapse/

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/opinions/social-security-myths-opinion-richtman/index.html