Former Social Security Administration U.S. Commissioner dispels the lies and details how and why the Trump/Musk administration is destroying Social Security.
Trump & Musk destroying your Social Security.
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Summary
Former Social Security (SSA) Commissioner Martin O’Malley explains how Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their allies are deliberately sabotaging Social Security by underfunding the agency, cutting jobs, and spreading misinformation. Their goal is to cripple the program, turn public opinion against it, and ultimately privatize it for the benefit of billionaires. Musk falsely claims SSA is a “Ponzi scheme” and funds undocumented immigrants, while in reality, undocumented workers contribute billions without receiving benefits. The real solution to future funding concerns is simple: make the wealthy pay their fair share.
Key Takeaways
- Deliberate Sabotage: Trump and Musk are working to collapse the Social Security Administration by cutting 7,000 jobs and underfunding the agency.
- Misinformation Campaign: Musk falsely claims SSA funds, dead people and undocumented immigrants, despite evidence proving otherwise.
- Manufactured Crisis: The system is under strain because of intentional budget cuts, not because it is failing independently.
- Simple Solutions Exist: Removing the earnings cap on payroll taxes would fully fund SSA for generations.
- Billionaire Greed: The ultimate goal is to dismantle SSA and hand its funds over to Wall Street, benefiting the ultra-rich at the expense of working Americans.
The attacks on SSA are not about fixing inefficiencies; they are about robbing Americans of their hard-earned benefits to enrich billionaires. Trump, Musk, and their Republican enablers want to break the system so they can privatize it, funneling trillions into corporate hands. This is a fight for economic justice—Americans must rise up, reject the lies, and demand that Social Security remains a strong, public program for all. Please watch the entire video.
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Social Security serves over 67 million Americans, providing critical retirement and disability benefits. But under a decade of GOP-driven cuts, the SSA operates with its lowest staffing levels in 50 years, despite serving a record-high number of beneficiaries. Now, the Trump-Musk agenda aims to eliminate 7,000 more jobs from an already struggling system.
Former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley warns that these cuts are intentionally designed to cripple the agency. He explains that as experienced staff leave, outdated computer systems will fail, wait times will soar, and service will deteriorate—all of which will feed the false Republican narrative that SSA is inefficient and unsustainable.
Americans already face long wait times for SSA benefits. More Americans than ever are dying while waiting for disability approvals. These cuts will make the situation even worse. The objective is clear: make SSA so dysfunctional that Americans lose faith in it, setting the stage for its privatization.
Who Really Pays for Social Security? (Hint: Not the Billionaires)
One of the biggest lies pushed by Trump and Elon Musk is that SSA is running out of money. In reality, SSA is funded primarily by payroll taxes. In 2023, $1.3 trillion was collected from workers and employers, and benefits were paid out using this revenue along with interest from the SSA Trust Fund, which holds $2.7 trillion in reserves.
The so-called “solvency crisis” that Republicans keep talking about is entirely avoidable. The easiest solution? Eliminate the earnings cap. Payroll taxes only apply to income up to $168,600 (as of 2024). This means a billionaire like Musk pays the same amount into SSA as someone earning just over $168,600 annually. By removing this cap and ensuring the wealthy pay the same percentage as everyone else, SSA would be fully funded for generations.
Undocumented immigrants, whom Musk and the GOP falsely blame for “draining” Social Security, actually contribute $22 billion per year to the program—without ever receiving benefits. This money helps sustain Social Security for all Americans. The real freeloaders are the ultra-wealthy who exploit tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share.
The Real Reason They Want to Destroy Social Security
If Social Security is stable and fully funded, why do Trump, Musk, and other right-wing elites want to dismantle it? The answer is simple: greed.
The Social Security Trust Fund represents trillions of dollars that Wall Street billionaires would love to get their hands on. Privatization would allow banks and hedge funds to gamble with workers’ retirement savings, just as they did in the 2008 financial crisis—where millions of Americans lost their life savings while Wall Street got bailed out.
Furthermore, Social Security proves that a government-run program can efficiently and effectively serve the public—something conservatives desperately want to disprove. The Republican Party, under the influence of corporate elites, wants to eliminate all public safety nets, forcing Americans to rely on private industries for healthcare, retirement, and essential services. This would funnel even more money into the pockets of billionaires while leaving working Americans vulnerable.
Stopping the Theft of Social Security
The only way to protect Social Security is for Americans to fight back against this manufactured crisis. This means:
- Pressuring Congress to fully fund the SSA and expand staffing to improve customer service.
- Rejecting GOP lies and holding politicians accountable for spreading misinformation.
- Electing leaders who will protect and expand Social Security rather than gut it.
- Demanding that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share by lifting the payroll tax cap.
Republicans and billionaires want you to believe Social Security is unsustainable, but the reality is that it is only at risk because they are actively trying to sabotage it. The only “crisis” is the one they are creating to justify their true agenda: stealing trillions of dollars from working Americans.
The American people must not allow Trump, Musk, and their billionaire allies to dismantle one of the most successful government programs in history. The fight for Social Security is a fight for economic justice, and progressives must win it.