BREAKING Big Cuts at Social Security

[senseandsensibility]

From Josh Marshall three minutes ago: "Okay looking at the details of the memo. But the plan for massive reduction in the size of the social security administration has just dropped. It's happening. More shortly."

He is covering this as breaking news on BlueSky and is asking anyone working for ssa to contact him. He calls it the gutting of the social security administration.

Edited to add that he apparently has obtained an internal memo sent to SS staff.
"A short time ago the Human Resources office of the Social Security Administration sent out what it titled a major 'organizational restructuring" of the agency. As one SSA vet put it to me, this 'we are giving you a chance to leave of your own accord before we fire you." Marshall wrote.

[lapfog_1]

1. good luck getting anything changed about your SS payments

or even complaining.

[SheltieLover]

4. Have you ever tried to call SSA?

Gawd, it's at least an hour wait, then they tell you to go to your local office, which fELON is planning to close many of.

[Bengus81]

6. I did when I signed up back in 2018 and it didn't take long that I remember. Called Medicare two days ago

that hold was maybe five minutes if that.

[SheltieLover]

11. Lucky you!

[debm55]

62. Last week , mine took two hours.then they had to get a manager. Three hours on the phone. Three hours that I

Last edited Thu Feb 27, 2025, 10:05 PM - Edit history (1)

will never get back. Put on speaker and did my crafts. The did tell me that I could have call back in 2-3 days. I wasn't staying
around the house for 2-3 days waiting

[WestMichRad]

68. Took my spouse about 4 months to land an appointment to just talk with them.

Many hours on hold that resulted in absolutely nothing.

They’re severely understaffed now, BEFORE any cuts.

[Grins]

33. Mine was less than a minute.

IRS? That was longer, but the issues with IRS callers are more complex.

[Wifes husband]

47. Medicare gets a bad reputation

They have always been easy to work with

[lapfog_1]

7. I went months of calling to get my sister

the SSA that she earned from her now deceased ex-husband... I don't remember how many calls, letters, documents, and a few meetings this all took... but the entire process was maybe 8 months.

[SheltieLover]

12. Ridiculous!

Anything that serves the people paying the bills is inconvenient at best.

[milestogo]

28. Whether you are dealing with Social Security or Medicare, its a nightmare.

Its obvious they are already understaffed. After they cut back more I have no idea how they will get anyone to work there. It will go from really bad to impossible.

[SheltieLover]

45. Right!

[slightlv]

80. Yes, they've been complaining (like the IRS) that they're significantly understaffed.

The fact they're cutting the administration means not only that wait times on phone and in-person visits will be that much harder to get, but I worry that the few staff that are left in office will be able to keep up with sending out the SS money each month, every month, to each of the current SS recipients... let alone those he's "retiring" from Fed Service right now. (There were still a LOT of Boomers working for the Fed govt when I retired early at 63).

Hubby cleaning out our bank accounts due to falling victim to a scam was hard enough to handle... it'll be just like not getting a social security check on time one month. I've got most of the bills coming due around that 13th of the month date. I worked things to get it that way. And who sends out my annuity check (as small as it is) on the 1st of the month? Since I retired as DoD civilian, does that stay inhouse with DoD... or is that farmed out to SS?

Christ almighty... nearly 70 years old and I'm having to deal with this crap, while also caretaking hubs whose memory is basically shot. I've already instituted changes around here for bill paying, to make it easier on myself and make myself track more each month. Hopefully that'll stop forgotten bills. And clue me in to those invoices I've not gotten for some reason (like hubs throwing one in the trash last month). Always have the money to pay 2 months total + $40 late fee.

Kill Musk... one way or another. Why the hell isn't anyone taking him to court? He wasn't elected to anything, and Congress did NOT create his "special department." He's got teenagers wading through our PI willy-nilly and selling it to who knows who. I know some major Countries that would love to get their hands on our PI.

Of course, no matter what, count on Musk/trump taking it to the SCOTUS and the SCOTUS ruling immunity for trump... with nothing said or done about musk (because trump wants him there to do what project 2025 wants and then take the blame when it all falls to pieces.)

A hell of a lot of people... even more Magas, I'll bet... are gonna find out they depend on the federal government for a lot of payments and/or services. I hope the Magats suffer. I'm sorry to say that, but I have no empathy left. My new phrase: Own the Magats.

[calimary]

97. We should make sure that EVERY SINGLE ONE of these complaints has trump's name attached.

FIRMLY attached.

[LiberalArkie]

82. Kind of like calling the health insurance company

[SheltieLover]

86. Exactly!

Anything that serves consumers...

[LiberalArkie]

91. All because an executive caught one of the call center people having the time between calls to check email.

So therefore, we must have to many people working the phones. Too much free time.

[SheltieLover]

92. Right...

[Bird Lady]

101. Worse

If you can get a human to talk to you will be wasting your time. As a retired dod employee I have geha insurance for health and dental. I now have been waiting for my cards for this year. I have made emergency requests for the cards. My pharmacy has denied my refills because I can’t prove I am insured. I’ve called opm twice and geha three times, the last time I was assured they were coming. That was a month ago. I have been paying for them for more years than I can remember. No more next open season I will jettison them, if I’m still alive.

[Demobrat]

60. I was given a time for a callback

and somebody called me back on time. And they were lovely.

[SheltieLover]

87. Lucky you!

[Wolf Frankula]

61. I tried to call a month ago

I was put on hold for two hours, then they hung up on me.

Wolf

[Wifes husband]

70. It helps to call during the evening. At least for me.

[SheltieLover]

88. That's typical of many experiences

[Lonestarblue]

85. I called SS when I retired, left a message, and got a callback within half an hour.

The person who called was incredibly helpful in answering my questions and getting me enrolled. A couple of years ago, I called Medicare to report a fraudulent billing. I was on hold for maybe 3 minutes. The person I spoke with expressed gratitude that I was reporting the fraud (multiple billings for expensive diabetes supplies from a company in another city and for a disease I do not have) since so many people just do not bother. The fraud Musk is hunting for is not committed by government workers. It’s committed by private businesses like his.

[SheltieLover]

89. Ty for reporting G he fraud!

I totally agree with you about the fraud companies commit!

Glad you had great experiences.

[ChazInAz]

93. Nine hours for me.

SS deposit didn't happen, tried to contact them.
Tried calling them. Nine hours. Nada.
I have bills to pay.

[SheltieLover]

94. Sorry to hear this.

I hope you get it resolved!

[homegirl]

78. I have had occassion

to seek the services of my local SSA office a few times in the recent past. Each time my wait, without an appointment was around 15-20 minutes. The location seemed to be understaffed, yet my service was polite, speedy and effective.

[SheltieLover]

2. Kicking

[RoadRunner]

3. How long before the wanker goes after benefits?

I’m guessing it’s already on the table.

[erronis]

13. Oh, yes. Those cash outflows to recipients look like prey to musk/putin/orangutang

I'm actually surprised I got mine this month.

At this point it isn't how much $$$ they can steal from this country. It has to be how they can destroy the people.

[Irish_Dem]

43. It's both. Destroy the US and Americans, and steal as much money as possible.

[Gary 50]

53. How much will these nazi billionaires have to take from us

before the pitchforks come into play. They need to be made afraid.

[Irish_Dem]

54. Both Trump and Musk want to be trillionaires.

I don't know if or when the public will get mad.
Not just at Musk and Trump but all the other greedy billionaires
and corporations.

If it were me, I would be asking France to loan us their guillotines.

[The Madcap]

66. And dull the blades...

[NJCher]

63. not that this will stop him, but

Legally that will go nowhere. This is not an entitlement; it is a system where we paid in and they are legally obligated to pay out.

[HighFired49]

98. It is an entitlement

That word "entitlement" originally meant that since we individually paid for it, we are entitled to the proceeds of our investment when we retire. The R's have used it incorrectly, or given it a bad name, implying that it's something free that we feel entitled to, just because.

[NJCher]

102. wouldn't surprise me

if they misused the word. I'll check on that when I have a little time and change it accordingly.

[Bengus81]

5. Yeah...72 million on SS and Medicare. Hell Trump they could probaby do everything

with 50-75 employee's. Drop DEAD fucker...TONIGHT!!

[KatyaR]

8. Just saw this after in local news that

they're closing the SS office in Lawton, OK, home to the Fort Sill Army Base. I believe that means people will have to drive anywhere from 50 to almost 100 miles, if not farther, to see someone at an office.

[Sky Jewels]

81. Well, Oklahoma loves it some right wing Nazis

Soooo, yeah, at least they won’t have any trans athletes playing high school sports.

[Amaryllis]

9. link to memo all employees at SSA got:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/memo-on-organizational-restructuring-at-social-security-administration

[bucolic_frolic]

10. It'll all be done with AI and Zoom. And a fake generative AI person who looks real.

[yellow dahlia]

17. When computers call me, I hang up.

This will be another contract for muskRAT and other techbros waiting in the wings.

I have heard AI is not ready to take on all of this kind of stuff.

But also - how much $ will actually be saved? The cost will just shift to privatization and contracts for the oligarchs, or "piraticization" (as coined by Kid Berwyn).

[bluestarone]

14. I'm thinking that they would have a war on their hands if

they took SS away from Americans.

[senseandsensibility]

16. It seems they are doing what they can to

make running the administration of this enormous agency impossible. There is a lot of damage that can be done without cutting benefits. And by making the agency dysfunctional it will lose some of the enormous popularity it enjoys now.

[bluestarone]

19. Well, they keep pushing the limits slowly to see what they CAN continue to do.

We cannot allow even small illegal victories. When we actually KNOW what the Supreme Court will do to protect TSF we have to make a move!

[EndlessWire]

26. Just want to point out

that it will not lose popularity if it's the only money you're getting to buy food and pay utilities.

[senseandsensibility]

34. True, assuming

there is someone to mail it to you. But turning non recipients into sceptics is a long-term goal of the libertarian types. They know that if younger people feel the system is broken, they will be less likely to want to pay in or to support politicians that protect social security.

[RobinA]

95. That's My Sense

of where this is going. Eventually our government will just grind to a halt agency by agency. Getting it up and running again will be much harder than shutting it down was.

[Diraven]

20. They'll claim

That they never took it away. When people just stop getting Social Security because not enough people are left to run it they'll just repeat the conservative mantra that "government doesn't work" so we might as well just stop having one.

[synni]

35. And how would the people win this war?

The Republicans are hiding from town halls, and the Democrats are doing very little, except for a few of them.

[maxsolomon]

41. Where are Dems supposed to do something? In Congress?

Making a stink on TV isn't actually DOING anything.

When the Repukes need to pass a CR to keep the Fedrul Gubmint open on March 15th, you'll see the Senate Dems doing plenty.

[Hieronymus Phact]

49. Wrong

"Making a stink on TV isn't actually DOING anything."

Yes it is! it's raising awareness, It's getting the word out, its one of the few things they CAN do as the minority.

[chouchou]

58. Oh Yeah..Your words are true.

We need to hammer-into-the-public how disgusting this administration is going to screw us..

[maxsolomon]

99. No, I'm right. "Raising awareness" is not the same as DOING SOMETHING to stop it.

MAGA holds the Executive and Legislative branches, and the Judicial branch is sorely compromised with their hand-selected ideologues.

Democratic Pols can only stop this slashing agenda through legislation. The CR to keep the Fedrul Gubmint open is that opportunity. 2 weeks from now.

I'm so aware of what's going on my mental health is impacted. Low Information Voters? They don't listen no matter how loud Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders gets.

[Hieronymus Phact]

110. Democratic Pols can only stop this slashing agenda through legislation. ???

Is that a joke? what part of having virtually no power over over legislation are you not understanding. They have some, SOME Tiny leverage for votes they're needed for, but that's it. They have no power to do anything "through legislation." That's why they need to be vocal and visible in the media.

[maxsolomon]

111. They have power in the upcoming CR negotiations

Repukes will have to compromise to get it through the Senate or the Gubmint shuts down.

They don't have power to stop a Reconciliation bill.

The slashing agenda is being done outside the Legislative Branch. The Dems cannot stop that with speeches. They haven't stopped it in the 2 weeks since I made my last comment in this thread. It wasn't a joke.

[bluestarone]

46. We'll see

WE Americans will surprise lots of people

[ancianita]

52. It would be a youth backed war, too, since younguns don't need one more thing to burden their lives.

They love their grands, but the expense and sacrifices of their own lives and livelihoods would totally shift them into stealth attack mode.

[Srkdqltr]

15. Husband was supposed to get ss after an injury. He was rejected at first, we went to a ss lawyer.

It was faster and he did all the fileing . He took a portion of our first check, but it was worth it.

[dalton99a]

18. Kick

[CoopersDad]

21. Cuts in staff, not cuts in benefits, correct?

I’m just saying, we’re all worried and don’t need unnecessary worry.

Thanks for the post!

[senseandsensibility]

23. Right

I can appreciate that. Just quoting Marshall. But how will they run the agency if they fire the workers? One thing we know. It won't go smoothly because everything they do is chaos.

[orangecrush]

29. With massive cuts in staff

Your benefits may not show up.

[Silent Type]

48. Honestly, SS should be pretty much automated beyond signing up. Don't want anyone fired but

55K employees seems excessive. It’s not like some employees have to calculate payments with a pencil and adding machine. But I’m not for cutting positions without some study. They do handle disability hearings, etc. Would not want those impacted. Also think attribution would tighten things up, if that’s really necessary.

I’ve worked for government and private employers. There are inefficiencies in both.

[Wifes husband]

74. All they have to do is administer 70,000,000 acounts

Last edited Fri Feb 28, 2025, 01:55 AM - Edit history (1)

56,000 people should be enough.

After all, everyone of those people are completely trained, no performance reviews have to be conducted. No one retires or quits so that there is no problem finding qualified and completely trained people.

No one has to answer the phone. None of those 70,000,000 people have questions. Luckily, answering those questions does not require trained personal.

No computers have problems, none have to be bought and set up. There is never a software glitch.

Congress never changes the rules so that they never have to be analyzed and implemented.

No one tries to game the system, so they don't have to have people checking to maintain the integrity of the system.


What we need to do is get a bunch of arrogant, snot nosed children, with no credentials or experience to just try to overhaul an unbelievably complicated system in a couple of weeks.

Piece of cake

[Silent Type]

77. 70 M accounts that pushing a couple of buttons sends checks, etc. Now, disability and the like

is different.

I bet no human has even looked at my SS account in 10 years. Again, they do other stuff.

[Wifes husband]

79. Yeah. I tried to illustrate the "other stuff"

There is a lot of work involved in "just pushing the button". Lot of overtime, missed weekends, etc.

And it sure looks like people appreciate it.

But, I give up.

[wishstar]

83. SS offices also handle Supplemental Security Income which is very complicated

There are many more eligibility variables with SSI because it is "needs based" where income, savings, property, family living arrangements and changing circumstances determine benefit amounts for disabled children and adults and seniors with low income.

Unlike Social Security, the over 7 million SSI recipients have to be contacted for redeterminations every year (or more if they have had changes). This program is not paid from SS trusts funds but from general revenues but is administered alongside Social Security by the field offices Federal employees. So it's not like they just plug in someone's initial data and are done with them.

https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2024/fast_facts24.html

[WestMichRad]

67. Yeah, they're not cutting benefits (yet)...

… just trashing the staffing so that the organization can’t function effectively any more. Then will come the demand that it be privatized, cuz “government doesn’t function.” And once privatized, money would begin to disappear mysteriously…. and SS benefits would then spiral downward.

Nothing at all to worry about!

[Joinfortmill]

22. They are such assholes.

There is so much wrong with our system that I was not aware of.

[Magoo48]

24. I am one of the millions of geezers in this nation.

And, if we don’t get off our collective asses soon and really find some creative ways to fuck with these people, they will bury us. The magnitude of the response we must quickly unleash is unprecedented. Can we do it? Will we do it? What we need most, in my opinion, are some willing organizers to show up where there are large communities of us to help get us started.
Stay tuned.

[orangecrush]

30. Truth

[PatrickforB]

32. Yep call your worthless lizards in Congress, AND ring the AARP phone off the hook. Those jerks claim to

be advocates for Social Security and Medicare but they suck in terms of actually doing it.

[Amaryllis]

39. MIne are not worthless. Wyden and Merkley have worked tirelessly for us. IT's not fair to generalize like that.

[PatrickforB]

65. Sorry, Amaryllis, but I've worked hard, hard, hard all my life and I've paid in full-boat to Social Security for FORTY

years.

Let me just ask you this. What do we have to show for these Democrats who have fought tirelessly for us all these years?

Trump? DOGE? The rise of the Klan and American Nazis? A nationwide abortion ban? A media that is so biased we as a people no longer know truth from lies? RFK already refusing to even plan for next year's flu vaccine?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I'm just saying it is time for the Democrats to get mean and ugly. Make these people fight tooth and nail for every inch.

Time for US to learn to play the long game because we're going to have to.

[Amaryllis]

42. Check out Indivisible. https://indivisible.org/ They are doing alll the things you ask for. A Wonderful organization.

But it has been hard to get DUers involved. Seems many would rather just complain.

[Cha]

64. Okay.. TY!

https://indivisible.org/

[Magoo48]

96. Yes, I've investigated them. Looks good.

[Linda ladeewolf]

55. Bernie Sanders knows how to fuck with them.

It is my hope that he holds rallies all over the nation and helps us organize. He will know where to hit them the hardest legally and what methods will be most effective. I think he’s been preparing for it where the rest are throwing up their hands in despair. Timothy Snyder is very good and Malcolm Nance as well. We will get it together in time.

[Wiz Imp]

25. There's already Huge delays in Social Security processing new retirement applications

Just imagine what this is gonna do. It may take years for some people before they start getting their benefits.

https://community.aarp.org/t5/Social-Security/Huge-delays-in-Social-Security-processing-new-retirement/m-p/2492283

[senseandsensibility]

27. Yes

and they have a new task that wasn't funded: The SS Fairness Act signed by Biden. How will they proceed with that now?

[Quakerfriend]

38. Yes, they need more workers not fewer.

I applied online to begin receiving retirement benefits on 10/23/24. The approval finally came through on 2/18/25. 🙄

Luckily, I was not depending on that income.

[Wiz Imp]

50. I'm glad you finally got approved ...

but never should have had to wait that long. Now you just have to hope they don't mess with the payments.

[Skittles]

56. in all fairness

applying for benefits four months ahead is encouraged

[Silent Type]

71. In this case I have no idea what caused that, but I bet money the system can be improved in ways that

don’t rely on more people. I don’t support firing people without a thorough evaluation, using attrition over several years, helping with reassignment, etc., if RIFs are necessary.

Fortunately, a few agency heads have been able to convince trump/musk that their back of a napkin calculations on dismissals won’t work.

[Wiz Imp]

72. It's been pretty well documented that delays at the SSA can be traced directly to under staffing.

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/downsizing-staff-will-make-it-harder-receive-social-security-payments#:~:text=Shortages%20in%20trained%20staff%20in,twice%20the%20prepandemic%20wait%20time.

Downsizing Staff Will Make It Harder to Receive Social Security Payments

For the more than 1 million Americans with pending decisions for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits, the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce will assuredly make it harder to receive approval, meaning even longer wait times to receive their benefits.

Already, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has a backlog of claims on track to exceed 2 million beneficiaries (PDF), even if current staffing levels remain flat. Shortages in trained staff in recent years have increased the number of pending claims, increasing wait times. On average, applicants for SSDI and SSI disability benefits currently wait seven months for an initial eligibility determination, twice the prepandemic wait time.

In 2023, a fully trained disability examiner resolved an average of 579 initial eligibility determinations a year (PDF). But staffing shortages mean fully trained examiners must take time to train new hires, reducing their productivity. The number of fully trained disability examiners who were not training others dropped from 6,627 in 2018 to 5,252 in 2023, and pending claims increased. More staffing cuts will likely prolong this trend, leading to even larger backlogs.

Without enough staff to address claim backlogs, wait times to receive benefits increase, which can place people with disabilities at risk of serious negative health and financial outcomes. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, wait times have increased by 100 percent, now taking more than six months on average for an initial decision to be made.

When it comes to Social SEcurity, it may well not be possible to squeeze any more savings out of the benefit review process.

https://blog.ssa.gov/the-tough-necessary-work-to-reduce-disability-wait-times/

Consider this: As recently as 2018, SSA’s operating budget represented 1.2% of the annual benefits it pays, an overhead rate much lower than insurance companies. At that time, DDS offices could make an initial determination, on average, in less than four months. Today, though, SSA’s budget has shrunk to 0.94% of annual benefits, leading to challenges such as hiring and keeping state-level staff at DDS offices. As a result, turnaround times on initial determinations have roughly doubled. We want to work with Congress to secure the increases in the President’s 2025 budget, which is a big step in the right direction to help SSA to improve service levels and reduce wait times.

In total, over the past four years, Congress has funded SSA’s operating costs at a level almost $3 billion below budget requests. This underfunding – which began in 2018 – led to an increase in pending disability claims by 94%, a processing backlog jump of 60%, and a tripling in the time it takes to answer calls on our 800-number.

[PatrickforB]

31. OK, massive blowback. All of us on here should be calling our senators and representative DAILY on this exact issue.

Because we have to DO something about these fucking pieces of human excrement.

I've paid full boat into Social Security and Medicare for FORTY YEARS and those fucks better not fuck it up.

And you know what? IF there is another election..............................ever.................................here in 'Murika, I will gather all the old folks like me in my representatives district (heavily red) and we will stump for whatever lame candidate the Democrats run against her. Hell, my Siamese cat would be better than her.

Fuck! Fucking assholes.

You know there will be a reckoning for Eyore and Trump and the rest of this mobbed up bunch. Maybe not in my life but these pieces of crap will end up in the dock for crimes against humanity and I am rooting for us to bring back the guillotine.

[TimeToGo]

36. Civil service protection?

[Sibelius Fan]

37. Step one is firing staff.

Step two is arbitrarily stopping benefit payments to a large number of recipients in the name of “eliminating fraud.” There will be no fraud, but benefits will still cease being paid.

Step three is good luck trying to reclaim your falsely suspended benefits when there’s no one left at the office to call.

[intrepidity]

76. Yes, you describe exactly what I fear. nt

[Raftergirl]

44. I recently had excellent service from my local SS office (all over the phone) irt my spousal benefit increase

as my H just had applied in October. SS actually contacted me by mail telling me I was eligible to apply and name of person and number to call. He got his first deposit in January and I got my SS boost in my January deposit.

I’m thrilled we were able to get it all done before the Nazi’s took over.

[mentalsolstice]

51. I'm 64, turn 65 in December, I've been getting SSDI since 2007.

Supposedly, the way it used work, once you turn 65 your benefits turns from SSDI to regular SS benefits, and you’re free from the work limitations of SSDI. Frankly, I’m scared of what the next six months might mean for people on SSDI who will be transitioning to regular SS.

[Trueblue Texan]

57. You know, even before a corporation changes a logo...

...they put extensive time and study into it. These MFERs couldn't care less, no in fact, they INTEND to wreck the systems we rely on. They are going in slashing and destroying and they have no intention of trying to understand what they are doing...what's to understand? They are TRYING to create confusion and unrest to bring our nation to its knees. No study required for mass destruction.

[Farmgirl1961]

59. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm 63 -- will be 64 in October. I am eligible to collect my SS benefits, but was planning on waiting until 67 to get full benefits (as the monthly payment is significantly higher)... but now I'm wondering if I should start the application to collect sooner... in the event there aren't employees, or an agency or the benefits to pay out. Thoughts? BTW, my husband filed for his benefits back in December and is supposed to start receiving his benefits any day now (finally cleared the last step about a week ago).

[mahina]

73. Wondering about this too. I had planned to wait. The stress these traitors are causing American citizens!

[Farmgirl1961]

109. After thinking about it...

I really need to wait until I am closer to 65 to apply. I am on OHP (Oregon’s Medicaid program) and the state marketplace options aren’t that good). I know that things may change down the road with respect to OHP funding and coverage but at the moment I need to get all my medical services covered.

[HereForTheParty]

69. Could you change the title to "Social Security Administration"?

Otherwise it's clickbait.

[Skittles]

75. it's not just the people being cut

the workers left are overworked, demoralized, and live in fear of layoffs

the misery from Trump.2 spreads far and wide

[mucholderthandirt]

84. Oh, guys! Don't worry, Musk has an AI to run the government, no people needed! Just wait...

It will all work perfectly and we'll be so happy we don't have to bother calling anyone, or waiting in line at some dump of an office. It's going to be a utopia! Really. Why are you looking at me like that?

[HarryM]

90. I hope that people

At very least contact their Legislators. If and when they do this, they will find out that they are burying themselves

[Bluetus]

100. The government shutdown isn't in mid-March. It is underway now.

But the major media is not reporting it.

There is no point in fighting to keep 1/3 of the government open in March. The best scenario is to confront this all head on -- no cooperation on anything until all the firings have been annulled. and DOGE eliminated. If the Good Old Putin party has enough votes to move forward without us, so be it. Then we can devote 100% of our time to the PR battles.

[BrianTheEVGuy]

103. Hmmmm

I want to be sad, but seniors overwhelmingly supported Trump.

If someone must be harmed by Trump, let it be those who supported him. I will work to help the non-Trump minority while reminding MAGA seniors that they’re getting exactly what they voted for — and exactly what they deserve.

[louis-t]

104. When magats start to feel the pain

they will turn against him. Already started, but not enough. 50% of his voters need to turn against him. Be vigilant, be aware. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

[timms139]

105. I don't think the people

will let them screw up their benefits and not take up arms at that point to take the country back . I think that will be the red line for this bunch of quacks to cross .

[mdbl]

106. I had to wait three weeks for a callback

And they did call. Now I hope everything gets processed.

[DENVERPOPS]

107. They can't trash SSI directly

so they do the next best thing; Neuter them

Reagan was infamous for doing that to many Federal Regulatory Agencies.......And now, Trump and the Republican party are outright trying to do away with them entirely. And not just the ones Reagan castrated to the point of being in-effective, but a bunch of other federal regulatory agencies at the same time......

[snot]

108. You can only speak with a human at the SS office in my major metropolis

on certain weekdays, and the line outside the office to do so is around the block.

And I've seen no sign of inefficiency among the employees I've managed to deal with.

This will be a disaster.