"there are parts of the plan that we will not share with the left."

No, there were parts of the plan that they wouldn't share with the American people, because they knew if they did, Trump wouldn't have won re-election.

"People that survive only on social security cannot save money"

They will have to cut back on nonessentials as much as possible (no new clothes, e.g.) and cut down on essentials as much as possible (lots of rice and beans, etc.).

This all part of the GOP's plan to make people turn against government services like Social Security and Medicare that folks have relied on for decades:

"The American public needs to understand that one of their major social safety nets is in dire jeopardy," said Jill Hornick, a union official at the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1395, which primarily represents Social Security offices in Illinois.

"It'll take a while for the effects to be felt, but they're coming," Hornick said, predicting what will happen to Social Security is going to be "far worse" than the planned cuts to Medicaid.

For people who are already receiving Social Security benefits, most of that is automated and may not be affected, she said. However, processing new claims " whether it be for retirement or disability benefits --may take longer since those cannot be processed without Social Security employees, Hornick said.

As the ramifications of Trump's actions on the economy through DOGE cuts, the GOP budget, Trump's tariffs, etc. are felt by voters throughout the country, it will be harder for Trump, Musk and the Republicans in Congress to lie about what they are doing and about the pain and havoc they are causing. If you lose your Medicaid benefit, the price of cars goes up thousand of dollars, you can't get your Social Security processed or the IRS to answer your tax questions, the price of groceries continues to rise, etc., people will know it.

If the Social Security office in your area closes, you will know it:

DOGE v. Safety Net UPDATE: February 28, 2025

The Trump administration, through Elon Musk's DOGE, is moving to slash up to 50% of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) workforce"a move that could bring the agency's ability to process benefits to a standstill. This is a direct assault on Social Security, targeting the very infrastructure that ensures payments reach 72.5 million retirees, disabled individuals, and survivors each month.

Key Developments:

Mass Layoffs Imminent--Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek has ordered agency managers to prepare for mass workforce reductions, with up to 30,000 employees set to be fired.

Offices Set to Close Nationwide--With fewer staff, hundreds of SSA field offices are expected to shut down, making it harder for Americans to apply for or manage their benefits.

Deliberate Chaos as a Strategy--DOGE's goal is not to streamline' Social Security--it's to cripple it, creating delays and dysfunction so that Republicans can later argue the program is broken and push for privatization.

Federal Judge Blocks Some Firings--A recent court ruling temporarily halted the mass firing of probationary federal employees, citing concerns over due process and legality. However, this does not stop broader agency downsizing.

Consequences:

Longer Wait Times for Benefits--SSA is already struggling with backlogs. With half its workforce gone, waiting months--or even years"for Social Security benefits could become the norm.

Massive Economic Disruption--Social Security pumps $1.4 trillion into the economy each year. If processing slows or payments are delayed, millions of seniors, disabled individuals, and families could face financial ruin.

Gutting SSA to Justify Privatization--This is a calculated sabotage of one of the most popular government programs in U.S. history. By crippling its ability to function, Trump and Musk's endgame is to push for privatization"handing Social Security over to Wall Street.

The Bottom Line: This isn't about efficiencyit's about dismantling Social Security from the inside. By making the program unworkable, Trump's administration is laying the groundwork to gut it entirely. Millions of Americans who paid into Social Security their entire lives now stand to lose the benefits they earned.

If you haven't gotten any SS benefits yet it's quite possible now that you never will.
Posted by donnerboy

People need to speak up, protest, push back NOW:

Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com
Mike Lawler: "I've been very clear: I will not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid."

(Bookmark this one.)

#24 | Posted by donnerboy

Yes, they are breaking the federal government, and then they are going to say, "See, we told you it was broken." Precisely.

Yes, time is of the essence. Get this information out there to every senior you know, everyone who will soon be a senior and everyone who has a parent who follows into one of those two groups and who will have to support their parents if social security is disrupted:

Elon Musk is Dismantling Social Security
(Washington, DC) " The following is a statement from Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works:

"Elon Musk slandered Social Security over the weekend by calling the vital and beloved program a criminal Ponzi scheme, the same lie Donald Trump used before he decided to run for president. Musk's comment is no surprise, given his recent actions to begin the wholesale dismantling of our Social Security system.

The Social Security Administration is cutting 7,000 jobs and closing half of its regional offices. It's no coincidence that Elon Musk called Social Security a "ponzi scheme." They're gutting the program to make room for more billionaire tax cuts. It's time to speak up.

~ Robert Reich

The time to "speak up" was Tuesday, November 5th 2024.
#35 | Posted by donnerboy

You're preaching to the choir.

"The Social Security office in my city was closed."

So was the one in mine.

Here is a list of Social Secruty office closings:

A glut of cuts have taken already place across the country. Alabama has been hit especially hard, which officials are calling "devastating." Offices inAnniston, Cullman, Gadsden, and Jasper, Alabamaare alreadyconfirmedto have closed. Five Georgia offices are set for closure inBrunswick, Columbus, Gainesville, Thomasville, and Vidalia.The Grenada, Greenwood, and Meridian, Mississippi SSA offices are also scheduled to close. The Franklin, North Carolina office has been closed, while the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina is scheduled to close, along with the Greenwood, South Carolina office. The Nashville, Tennessee,Rockford, Illinois, andMelbourne, Florida offices have all also been closed.

The Columbus, Ohio office moved to a different federal space, although many of the city's federal buildings are currently in DOGE's sights. Meanwhile,service reductions are planned for the Poughkeepsieand White Plains, New York offices, which has been met with backlash by local officials. DOGE also lists a variety of Arkansas offices as "agency approved lease termination" targets: Forrest City, Jonesboro, and Texarkana. Similar language is used on the DOGE site to describe SSA offices in Houma, Louisiana, Elizabeth City and Greenville, North Carolina, Lawton, Oklahoma, Abilene, Texas and Victoria, Texas. The Nacogdoches, Texas office is closing, however local news outlets say that has less to do with DOGE and more to do with a planned move spanning 15 years.

Per the DOGE website, the following Social Security office closures are currently being negotiated: Grand Junction, Colorado; Kalispell and Missoula, Montana; Minot, North Dakota; Rock Springs, Wyoming; and Horseheads, New York.

What's the point of a mass closing of Social Security offices except the deliberate terrorization of old and sick people?
#54 | Posted by Zed at 2025-03-04 11:

Here's how the Social Security Office being closed will affect people in this area:

NY AG on Social Security closure: 'It is simply unconscionable'

In a letter to the SSA acting commissioner, James said, "Recent reports show that currently, without the devastating impact of this reported closure, the White Plains office has a roughly 2,000-case backlog and that redetermination hearings come with an eight-month wait. It is simply unconscionable to strip away the services altogether rather than trying to fix an already challenging situation."

"Let's not forget: ALL OF THIS is being done to justify MASSIVE NEW BORROWING to give away in tax cuts to the world's wealthiest one-tenth of one percent."

Check out this cartoon's depiction of the situation:

And now we know why they are closing so many Social Security offices: it's the first step toward outsourcing/priviatizing the operations:

Sam Stein
@samsteindc.bsky.social

NEW: In an email obtained by The Bulwark, the acting Social Security administrator made clear they're going to outsource-privatize operations. The expectation is it will be the call centers that seniors depend on.

Elon Is Coming for Your Social Security

So much this:

Randi Mayem Singer @rmayemsinger.bsky.social

"They'll never cut Social Security" is the new "they'll never overturn Roe v Wade."