Social Security Checks Could Stop Going Out by April, Ex-Head Warns
www.thedailybeast.com
The former Social Security commissioner said the system could “collapse,” causing disruptions in payments within “30 to 90 days.”

Summary

Former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley warns that staffing and funding cuts under Elon Musk could cause Social Security payments to halt within 30 to 90 days.

The SSA is reducing its workforce and closing offices, prompting concerns from Democrats, who accuse the Trump administration of trying to dismantle the program.

O’Malley predicts a major political backlash if payments are interrupted.

Meanwhile, leadership changes at SSA have added further instability, with no confirmed commissioner in place.

  • Zier@fedia.io
    88·
    10 个月前

    Just a reminder: People don’t steal food. No one has ever witnessed a hungry person stealing food, that is a myth, an urban legend. It never happens. If you thought you saw someone stealing food, you were wrong and should call your eye doctor for a vision check. In conclusion, hungry people do not steal food, that’s not a real thing. The More You Know.

    • optissima@lemmy.ml
      33·
      10 个月前

      And for everyone else that was barred from representation? This isnt going to hurt who you think it will.

          • cabron_offsets@lemmy.worldBanned
            26·
            10 个月前

            I would prefer that all republicans spontaneously combust. Or something more painful than that, whichever.

            I am for the quickest possible path to what is the inevitable outcome: turmoil, suffering, and through that, change.

            • optissima@lemmy.ml
              10·
              10 个月前

              I too wish for change, and I recognize that turmoil, suffering may be part of the process. However, I am sorry for those that are victims, because losing empathy for the sake of change is not a healthy form of change.

              • cabron_offsets@lemmy.worldBanned
                15·
                10 个月前

                I have sympathy for the kids in this and the non-abstainers, (edit: non-third-party voters,) non-trump-voters. The others, well, I couldn’t care less about their fate. But we must face reality: this ends with blood in the streets.

              • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
                5·
                10 个月前

                Agreed. But we’re in the shit now, and the only way out is through. We can’t afford to only have the country mostly break down but continue to limp along for another few decades. If we want to make a real difference we are going to have to change some fundamental assumptions about American society. The only way that happens is to have enough people care to make the change, and the only way that happens is by having a majority of Americans become personally hurt by this situation. We have proven time and again that we have a remarkable talent for ignoring anything that doesn’t affect us personally. So now I’m in favor of big, horrible things that personally hurt everyone in the country because that’s what is required to make people wake up and open their eyes to the reality that exists around them.

                I do not wish any suffering on anyone beyond what is required to make them see. I find it upsetting and immoral that this suffering is what is required to make them see. But this has been a problem for a very long time and we are now at a crossroads where this all comes to a head and explodes. If people won’t pay attention to anything that doesn’t hurt them personally then you’re going to need to hurt them personally to make them pay attention. Simple as.

              • MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com
                9·
                10 个月前

                Honestly, everything causes vulnerable people to suffer. Voting (which everyone should do) clearly does nothing substantial, revolution has never been a safe path regardless of if the revolutionaries win, and accelerationism makes things worse in basically the same way a revolution does, but at least people aren’t pointing at revolutionaries as the problem when accelerationism happens. I think we’d all much prefer being able to snap our fingers and making the world perfect, but it looks like the world chose accelerationism all by itself. Certainly wouldn’t have been my first choice.

          • electric_nan@lemmy.mlBanned
            5·
            10 个月前

            Have you not seen all the democrats here absolutely jerking off over the idea of Palestinians getting genocided even harder under Trump?

    • pivot_root@lemmy.world
      23·
      10 个月前

      If it’s any consolation, they’re inviting leopards inside their own homes while doing so.

      You would absolutely not be surprised how many Trump supporters rely on some form of welfare like disability or child benefits. As usual, those complaining about the others taking advantage of the system are either projecting, trying to reduce competition in the hopes that they get a bigger slice of the pie, or both.

  • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
    36·
    10 个月前

    I really wish they do. I guarantee you people who can’t pay for food or rent because they didn’t get their check will exact violence on those responsible.

    • zephorah@lemm.ee
      29·
      10 个月前

      The fact of the matter is it’s still far, far easier to punch sideways than up.

      If your child is screaming in hunger, do you plan a trip to Washington? On what time and money? Or do you grab your gun and visit the neighbor’s house to get him some food?

      What’s that middle aged lady in the parking lot of the grocery store going to do if you just push her down and grab her groceries from her cart? Or even approaching grandma and gently taking the grocery bag from her hand and hopping into a vehicle before she even knows what happened.

      You think your house window is a barrier? Psychological, yes, it is. Actual? Not at all.

      This is where things get violent but not for the rich men in Washington because they’re not accessible.

      Frankly, as someone who has studied people for 35yrs, I am bordering on an intense fear that could be likened to terror. People go for what’s easiest, in general. You all are thinking of Luigi, but he’s the exception not the rule. Most people grab what’s easiest and closest and pull from their guts, not careful planning.

        • zephorah@lemm.ee
          1·
          10 个月前

          Here’s hoping we get the timeline right on that when (not if at this point) it happens.

      • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
        1·
        10 个月前

        The fact of the matter is it’s still far, far easier to punch sideways than up.

        And yet revolutions happen on a regular basis. Explain that one…

        • zephorah@lemm.ee
          3·
          10 个月前

          When was the last time revolution happened here in the United States?

          For starters most of our young, single men feeling angsty with the world and their existence are behind a screen right now, sans pants, eating/drinking. And that’s just one demographic.

          • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
            1·
            10 个月前

            Never underestimate the power of hunger and destitution.

            Desperate people who have nothing to lose are known to do things they would never normally do.

            • zephorah@lemm.ee
              1·
              10 个月前

              Absolutely. No question there. You assume a moral compass like your own though.

              What was that detective series? 3 pines? Alfred Molina. Lead detective makes the point of saying everyone, and he meant everyone, is capable of murder, it’s simply a question of finding the right motive, for them. I do believe that’s middle of the bell curve stuff in that bit of writing.

              The issue is people typically move like water, path of least resistance. Yes, there are exceptions, I’m taking about the fat part of the bell curve here, not the tails. And that means punching sideways to get what they need.

              We need people like you. I appreciate your belief in the moral high ground.

    • Ex Nummis@lemmy.world
      25·
      10 个月前

      That’s the excuse they’re waiting for to declare martial law. And this time, they’ve made sure that the people who wouldn’t obey orders to fire on civilians are gone. It’ll be a major bloodbath that will make Tiananmen look like peanuts in comparison.

      Price of gold will also skyrocket I reckon.

      • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
        12·
        10 个月前

        Price of gold will also skyrocket I reckon.

        More importantly, the price of Crypto will explode once the dollar tanks. That’s what these chucklefucks are going for.

        • SabinStargem@lemmings.worldEnglish
          2·
          10 个月前

          I am expecting Monero or some other privacy coin to become big, because people would want the discretion of dollars while still having digital flexibility. Musk is almost certainly angling to make a Muskcoin to go with an X Everything app in the Chinese fashion, so people will naturally go for something that isn’t controlled by the Fascist States.

          Of course, gold and foreign currencies like the Euro will see a major uptick. Again, to avoid Fascist oversight. No one knows what the right answer to this crap would be, so every decent person will just take a guess. Along with a shot, for courage.

    • floofloof@lemmy.ca
      19·
      10 个月前

      I guarantee you their violence will be deflected by the rich onto other poor people.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
    30·
    10 个月前

    Sorry about the needy, but for us outside the US it is high time to stock up on popcorn.

    I wonder if the gun owners under the affected population will sell their weapons to buy food, or if they will use them to remedy their situation.

    Maybe the number of seats needing re-election will rise next month…

    • Feelfold@lemm.ee
      9·
      10 个月前

      A few weeks ago I did the math. In my very liberal corner of the US, one egg was worth 2.002 9mm rounds, or 1.6 12 gauge shells.

      In other terms, it’s not cost effective to sell the guns in order to buy food.

    • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.socialBanned
      4·
      10 个月前

      At first I wanted to say “nah, you need to be 65+ these days” but you know what? That just means the boomers (who proportionately voted for Trump less than Gen X) have nothing to lose.

  • boreengreen@lemm.ee
    21·
    10 个月前

    Will the ones not recieving their assistance understand why they are not getting it any more?

      • lost_faith@lemmy.ca
        14·
        10 个月前

        It is funny how when Trump took office the first time, riding Obamas economy, he took credit for it. Now with his words he has started the downward trend of the stock market and now it is Bidens fault, Bidens economy.

        As for the people that will be affected by the SS not coming, they will believe what they are told to believe.

        • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
          6·
          10 个月前

          Those old people homes would suddenly get much further out of reach for many families. Pull up your bootstraps at 84 and go get a job or your going to jail for being homeless.

          • nomy@lemmy.zipEnglish
            5·
            10 个月前

            This is exactly the world they want to make.

            Criminalize homelessness and buy up all the property. Own the businesses and you have indentured servants that can never pay off their debt to you. They want us to pay a subscription to live.

            It wouldn’t surprise me to learn they’d bought up all the funeral homes just to fuck you one last time when you die.

  • meowmeowbeanz@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    7·
    10 个月前

    Elon Musk’s ‘efficiency’ gambit risks millions of Americans’ livelihoods—social safety nets aren’t corporate experiments. Clear presentation of facts, though it lacks deeper analysis of potential solutions.

    🐱🐱🐱🐱