Summary
At the first meeting of the DOGE Caucus, a new congressional group focused on government efficiency, Republican Rep. Greg Lopez stated that cuts to Social Security and Medicare are likely “on the table” as part of debt reduction efforts.
The caucus, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, aims to slash government spending, raising concerns among advocacy groups about potential attacks on anti-poverty programs.
Critics, including Social Security Works, warn the caucus may push for privatization and benefit reductions.
This comes despite Trump’s prior commitment to protect these programs.
This is what happens when you’ve never ridden on the subway.
Hopefully they stop all those subsidies that go towards farms and we all starve and die.
who needs crops when we can eat the oligarchs?
There’s not that many of them, many people will be hungry
Those subsidies mostly go to huge Ag corps that pretend they’re split up into hundreds of little family farms…
doesn’t need to be, of course. they just want to cut social security because ‘the poors’ rely on it more.
This could end badly for them. Old people without a means to continue surviving either have to continue working till they die, or die fighting the government.
There’s certain people who continue to receive social security from childhood if they have a qualifying disability and make under a certain amount of money. I think to qualify for social security your primary caregiver has to be on social security, like if you live with a grandparent or you have an older parent.
I’m not even touching on those on SSDI. Just the common retired 67 year old. Just imagine a retired Walmart worker with no SSI income. Way too many of them with nothing else to do other than die; be homeless, suffer and die; or die taking in the government.
The wealthy, who have had help all their life but imagine they did it all on their own, see needing help when you’re poor as a disgusting moral failing. Many of them will also call themselves Christians.
Wow! Who woulda guessed they would immediately reneg on a campaign “promise” and immediately attack the side of the population that most reliably votes for them?
And they still will!
At least until the next pandemic
Surprisingly enough, retired people were mostly evenly split. Trump mostly won due to Gen X’ers.
A huge, mouth watering steak walks up to you and says, “There’s no more food.”
Thank you, I couldn’t think of a better analogy
That’s rich.
ill see myself out
The House R’s have a very tiny majority and their constituents will not be happy about this idea and will let them know it. So I feel like they won’t be able to get the votes to do it. I also think they’re going to prioritze things like more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations first, as well as the border stuff, before they would get to that. Ya never know, but that’s what I’m hoping for.
The House R’s have a very tiny majority
You’re assuming there aren’t 20 Dems who will join them.
I know a lot of bitter Boomers with bad health and nothing to lose, this could be an interesting year.
Most of them are too stupid to understand how this affects them.
When it comes to intelligence, standard deviation applies evenly to all age demographic. You ageist asshole.
Their comment was clearly aimed at Republicans.
Don’t worry, the cuts will drain social security just in time for when you go to collect. Current recipients will go un affected. I have no insider knowledge, I just understand that corporate America hates my generation.
It’s funny at this point. Either the rich pay their share or we Mangione them. Tick tock musky. Tik fuckin tok.
I’m legit surprised some big stock brokerage or finance firm hasn’t loaded up to the tits on Tesla short positions and then sent in a couple of Luigi’s.
Wouldnt the company be more profitable without his interference and huge salary/bonus?
Yes if you consider tesla a company. No if you consider it as a way to buy influence via President Musk. (am slightly being sarcastic)
Nah, he’s basically projecting that he’s in a position to remove any agency blocking anything he wants to do with his company. We’ll see if Congress actually lets him do it
Tesla valuation at this point isn’t vaguely related to how good or bad their actual business is, at this point it’s people buying into “co president Elon”.
“But they won’t take away MY social security…”
For most boomers, this is true. It’s genx and younger that will suffer.
older millennial, checking in.
I’ve been hearing since the 90s that social security would be bankrupt by the time I’m eligible for it, so i haven’t included it in my retirement calculations at all.
It’s like we exist, as a generation, to subsidize the lifestyles of boomers.
I like to think of it as the boomers have reverse mortgaged the country.
No there the fuck will not be cuts to either thing.
Bring it, bitches. It’s high time we face the consequences of our collective stupidity.
My stance. We voted for this. Let them do it. Get it over with. Let it all burn
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I didn’t vote for this clown but the country did. Give em what they want. Make it fast
OK, but we have to make it absolutely crystal clear who is doing this, who it’s hurting, and who is benefiting. That’s why reporting like this is important.
Trump just won an election by blaming democrats for Trump’s own terrible economy.
People have no idea how the government works and they’re not taught that for a reason. Most people also have very short memories and do not understand that most legislation takes years to take effect. They only remember what they are currently being told and the more times it is repeated the more effective the propaganda.
Yet if there is any discussion on increasing taxes on these fucks all of a sudden it’s government overreach on the “job creators”
This is going to go down like a lead ballon, even with the 60+ year old MAGAs.
I hate to tell you but it won’t. My in-laws fall into that category and I constantly watch them twist themselves into knots trying to justify this stuff. They would also rather do without insurance than watch someone “undeserving” get it for “free”.
I’m sure they say that now, but I wonder what happens when they actually have to live it.
I guess we’re about to find out
I have a feeling they will just grandfather people in, and reduce for future recipients.
They will blame immigrants, single mothers, non-whites and LGBTQ+ people, and ignore the facts.
All they have to do is tell them the reason it has to be done is LIBRULS and boom. All anger directed at Nancy Pelosi, all is forgotten.
Yup, all Trump has to do is say how the cuts would have been way worse under Kamala and the brainwashed masses eat it up without a single critical thought.
Friendly reminder that Social Security is a separate government program that funds itself.
What Musk is talking about is stealing from Social Security in order to cut taxes elsewhere (namely cutting taxes for people like Musk).
That’s exactly his plan. So how are we going to stop him?
Right now, it is looking like we have missed our chance to do much about it. The only other options on the table are pretty grim.
We had our chance a little over a month ago. Now our only hope is their own incompetence.
That’s not completely true. Social Security is supposed to fund itself, however it’s currently facing a funding shortfall with current estimates that it will be depleted in 2035. There are many suggestions on how make this program solvent, including bolstering it with general funds.
I think a good start would be to stop allowing Republicans to raid Social Security for quick cash, like they’ve been constantly doing since the Reagan administration.
But then how could they argue it’s insolvent‽
That’s not completely true. Long ago they put it into the general fund. There is always a shortfall in the general fund. Before they put it in there it was solvent, and if they wouldn’t have it would be completely solvent today.
It was already stolen. They want the rest.
How does it fund itself? What’s the income? Just Social Security Tax?
Another thing about the tax is that there is a cap on the amount you pay into it https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/social-security/articles/what-is-the-social-security-tax-limit. Meaning it’s a regressive tax where lower income people pay more than wealthy people (not to mention that many wealthy people may not have traditional income and pay no taxes for this).
Yes, it’s a payroll tax. Your paycheck may show how much you are paying into Social Security. This is money meant to help you and others after retirement. Musk wants to take that money and instead use it to fill unrelated gaps in the federal budget, gaps caused by Trump’s tax cuts for the very wealthy.
Holy shit I never realized it until you explained it like this. Thank you, and also we are fucked.
We are only fucked if we let it happen.
ffs
This is one of the rare cases where I want to laugh at the silly US, but can’t because our “scial security” (we call it “retirement savings”) is being missapropriated for general funds as well :(
I just this year set up regular investment (part of my paycheck) into various funds to save for retirement privately.
I just this year set up regular investment (part of my paycheck) into various funds to save for retirement privately.
Social Security got the structure it has after the Great Depression wiped… well, you know. Everyone. Out.
I’m sure your private equity will be run much more responsibly throughout your life though, no need for some big ol’ stupid government to guarantee your retirement or anything. Carry on!
no need for some big ol’ stupid government to guarantee your retirement or anything.
I still have the government guaranteed pension as well, not as if I could opt out even if I wanted to, which I don’t.
The concept of the day: Diversification!
Social Security fund invested in government bonds, so the interest from that goes into the fund.
To be fair the budget deficit was there before Trump. His campaign promises are going to increase it, but they can offset that partially with spending cuts. Also, the government has been using money from the Social Security fund routinely, again nothing new under Trump. They just count it as an internal debt. According to Wikipedia, by 2022 it’s been already about 20% of the fund “borrowed” by the government.
It doesn’t fund itself, but it’s a completely separate fund [bucket of money] than the rest of the government budget, with a specific tax that goes directly to it and nothing else.
