Essentially the most tone-deaf second in latest politics arrived final week. In a podcast interview, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — value over $1 billion — said of old people on Social Safety, “If Social Safety didn’t ship out their checks this month, my 94-year-old mother-in-law wouldn’t complain. She’d suppose one thing received tousled and he or she’d get it subsequent month. A fraudster all the time makes the loudest noise, screaming and yelling. Anyone who is aware of funds is aware of you cease the checks, and whoever screams is the one stealing.”
Excuse me? Did he simply say that anybody complaining about not getting their verify is probably going a thief? That the administration’s true goal is to make use of baseless claims of fraud to interrupt aside Social Safety?
Social Safety is arguably probably the most profitable anti-poverty program in American historical past. Earlier than President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into legislation in 1935, more than 50 percent of seniors lived in poverty. As we speak, that quantity is about 10 percent.
In line with the Middle on Price range and Coverage Priorities, Social Security is the only thing keeping 22 million adults and kids above the poverty line. The middle additionally notes that just about 6 million of its beneficiaries are beneath age 65 and practically 1 million are kids.
But the administration continues undermining this system in plain sight.
As former Social Safety Commissioner Martin O’Malley recently wrote on X, “The Musk/Trump co-presidency has already taken 90 p.c of the actions essential to drive Social Safety into a complete system collapse.”
The same, fact-based evaluation of ongoing assaults towards Social Safety comes from the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “[Social Security] is already at its lowest staffing stage in a long time,” Schumer mentioned. “And now Trump and Musk’s [Department of Government Efficiency] is shedding greater than 7,000 Social Safety staff. These are the individuals who assist seniors navigate their advantages. With out them, seniors are left at nighttime.”
Previously, Social Safety was seen as political kryptonite for any politician imitating Superman and flying on the program within the title of reducing authorities spending. The reason being that seniors are the most reliable voting bloc within the nation, and AARP remains one of the vital highly effective lobbying organizations in Washington.
After profitable reelection, President George W. Bush declared he would spend political capital making an attempt to denationalise Social Safety. Bush was compelled to desert the challenge, and just some years later, the 2008 monetary collapse vindicated those that had resisted playing retirement on the inventory market.
When he was Home Price range Committee Chairman, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) tried to channel Tea Occasion anger at well being care reform into cuts on Social Security and Medicare. These proposed price range reductions went nowhere.
Now the assault on this program has taken on new life beneath Trump. He’s making wild claims that thieves, “a number of hundred individuals older than 220,” and one aged 360 years, are getting Social Safety checks –— a tremendous report when the nation just isn’t even 300 years previous.
However the true tragedy is that this: The Social Safety belief fund is in hassle with out the traps being laid by the Trump group.
Within the close to future, the system is projected to go insolvent. The reason being that Individuals live longer, and the price of dwelling continues to rise. The answer is to not destroy this system — it’s to strengthen it. The apparent reply is to have higher-income Individuals proceed paying into the Social Safety system past the present revenue cutoff level of just below $200,000.
One other apparent reply is to lift the retirement age, since persons are dwelling longer.
The poet Maya Angelou as soon as famously said, “When somebody reveals you who they’re, consider them the primary time.”
Within the political world, the far proper has been saying for a very long time that Social Safety is on its kill checklist. They mentioned a lot the identical about ending constitutionally protected rights to abortion. They succeeded in 2022 with the Supreme Courtroom’s Dobbs resolution.
Equally, the far proper has lengthy pushed to open the door to extra darkish cash from wealthy donors and companies searching for decrease taxes and fewer regulation of trade. In 2010, they got a win when the excessive courtroom equated huge political spending with free speech.
Now, the president’s prime monetary supporter has near-total management of the federal authorities — whereas the president films endorsements for his car company on the White Home garden.
And in case you examine Project 2025, the correct wing has lengthy wished to abolish the U.S. Division of Schooling. Their aim appears to be to free state and native officers from federal penalties for not correctly educating disabled kids, poor kids and minority kids. Simply final week, Trump signed an executive order to interrupt aside the division.
Now, the motion has set its sights on its largest dream: dismantling Social Safety – its “Moby Dick” to their Captain Ahab.
When requested why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton supposedly replied, “As a result of that’s the place the cash is.” Social Safety is an enormous vault of cash — and Republicans wish to empty it to pay for extending the Trump tax cuts for billionaires like Trump, Musk and Lutnick.
This brings me again to Maya Angelou. The far-right agenda has been saying it for a very long time. Their aim is to finish Social Safety. Open your ears to their more and more loud assaults.
Juan Williams is senior political analyst for Fox Information Channel and a prize-winning civil rights historian. He’s the writer of the brand new e book “New Prize for these Eyes: the Rise of America’s Second Civil Rights Movement.”
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