this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
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Summary

Staff at the Social Security Administration (SSA) warn the agency is in “complete, utter chaos” due to drastic budget cuts, office closures, and job losses led by Elon Musk.

Plans to cut 7,000 jobs and centralize operations have disrupted services, with website outages and record backlogs.

Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek backs DOGE’s changes, despite union opposition and legal pushback. Critics say Musk is pushing misinformation to justify dismantling SSA.

With staffing at 50-year lows, experts fear a “death spiral” and potential collapse in service delivery.

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[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 125 points 2 days ago (7 children)

This is the most powerful anti-Trump message you can deliver.

A lot of Boomers are completely reliant on Social Security to survive. Those folks vote in every election.

Tell any old person you meet that Trump is closing their Social Security office and that Musk is moving all services to online.

[–] huppakee@lemm.ee 63 points 2 days ago (2 children)

This reminds me of Brexit, where a lot of leave voters were farmers who actually had a net-benefit from the subsidies the eu hands out to farmers. Now a big part of the country suffers from bregret, but there is no way to go back in time to change the vote. I'm afraid an anti-Trump message makes as much as a difference to the people in America as bregret does in the UK.

[–] Embargo@lemm.ee 40 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Bregret is so fucking funny to me since I always thought Brexit was the most cringe and unbelievable official name.

[–] dalekcaan@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago

Even worse were the conservatives in other countries trying to follow suit, like Nexit in the Netherlands or Frexit in France. Luckily then Brexit happened and everyone suddenly went quiet.

[–] JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I live in Ireland- the UK press, and to an extent, possibly as an effect, the general public, use these infantilized, gross ass cutsie words to describe things. Footie (football). Chockie (chocolate). It makes me nauseated.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Americans do this too. Trash panda, chicken tendies.

[–] JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago

Im moreso talking about news headlines. Leaving the EU was an incredibly serious situation and the news media made a cutsie pun nickname for it and said it on TV with a straight face.

Just as a side point, saying "someone else also does it!" doesn't further anyone's understanding of anything in my opinion.

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

"Vote for the Breversal!"

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago

I remember a billionaire moved his hq to France after brexit happened

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 38 points 2 days ago (3 children)

The problem is that many Trump-supporting seniors have been told for all of their adult lives by Conservative media that government is corrupt and wasteful. So when the checks stop coming, they won't blame their team for it, they will ask Trump to double down on the cuts until everything is fixed. They take it as axiomatic that everything wrong with government is due to bloat and waste, and good luck convincing them otherwise.

[–] OffColor@sh.itjust.works 39 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I dunno. Fucking with trans people, black people, women is cool. Destroying the economy in general is cool. Eradicating education and free lunches is cool. Cozying up to foreign states that are clearly fascist is cool. Sexually assaulting women is cool.

But fucking with old, white people's money is most certainly not cool. It's surprising how quickly a mind is changed when it is finally their turn to suffer. This isn't something many seniors can live without, literally. They rely on social security as their only income source. If social security fails, the Republicans will kill a significant portion of their own voter base.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No, when the checks stop coming Conservative media will say "This is all part of Trump's Master Plan, the woke corruption runs deep and it will take a while to fully root it all out", and their voters will buy it (but nothing else, since they all are running out of money)....

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Good thing Fox news is on cable something that won't be able to afford without those checks. So I hope they al fucking strave to death. Sick of these old fucks getting in the way and stopping progress. Because of their short sited racist views.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It's not just Fox anymore, though. If anything, the hardcore ones have migrated off of Fox onto other, more extreme platforms.

[–] kautau@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Like Facebook, which boomers are addicted to and lap up every bit of misinformation years after telling their kids “not to believe everything they read on the internet”

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

Yea it's oan newsmax, right wing grifters

[–] Civil_Liberty@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Well, if the qons think their elections are at risk because they killed so many of their own base, they'll find a way.

[–] Bristingr@lemm.ee 9 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I'm not giving them any sympathy. They voted for it.

I already expected that I won't get Social Security as a Millennial because of these fucks. They simply added everyone else to that list.

My mom still refuses to believe they'll end social security as they've "been saying that for 30+ years", but I guess she'll learn that Musk doesn't give a shit.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

Not only that job prospects for some fields are piss poor or extremely difficult to get into it

[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

[–] Bristingr@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

Not in this scenario. They'll play both sides.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They can excuse racism, but they draw the line on welfare

[–] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Thank you, Britta.

[–] takeda@lemm.ee 8 points 1 day ago

Maybe, but on 4/5 protests yesterday I saw something interesting.

Typically it is younger people, minorities that are oppressed.

This time majority were white people, vets, seniors (many on walkers or wheelchairs). Actually there was a very small number of minorities. As I understand it is because of ICE and threat of being locked up in prison in El Salvador (not criticizing, this is all understandable as being darker skinned places a target on you for corrupted law enforcement)

Though this gives me hope that actually a large number of seniors actually understand who is responsible.

[–] kautau@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Yeah exactly. Good luck convincing them this wasn’t some “joe and the ho” plot that they so easily ate when russia spent billions on social media telling that the dems were coming for their money so they could put Krasnov in power to destabilize the west.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 7 points 1 day ago

With oz planning to cut Medicaid and care, which Republicans are reliant on type 2 diabetes meds

[–] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You know what the protests had a ton of?

Boomers. That is a good sign that I heavily anticipated. Boomers need that social security.

But us millennials and gen-zers need to rememember - Boomers used to be far more politically active than we ever were. My parents we active in the 70s and 80s. I've had great aunts and uncles tear gassed. Many arrested, one arrested multiple times (and she has not stopped protesting as she never had kids).

I'm personally bringing out my inner Zelensky - the guy when from comedian body to military body once Russia invaded again. If the old people out there have health events, you can bet your ass we need to save them.

[–] UraniumForBreakfast@lemm.ee 7 points 2 days ago

The boomers in my family didn’t do shit. 😅

In fact, they prided themselves on barely passing high school and still making a ‘decent living’.

[–] kobra@lemm.ee 6 points 2 days ago

Take it a step further and add something like: “as a democrat I think it’s great they’re embracing remote options to keep people safe from the ongoing pandemic”

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 4 points 2 days ago

Those Democrats! Why would they do this!

Bike meme.

[–] BrokenGlepnir@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Maybe, but the fact that they are willing to attack this shows is that maybe they didn't think they need their votes anymore. Hopefully we prove them wrong, because it's a scary thought otherwise

[–] GrumpyDuckling@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Reminder that employers have to pay 6.2% of your income to social security.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Isn't that the point of "doge"?

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 8 points 1 day ago

Where's the conservatives saying he won't do these things