Summary
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are falsely claiming that tens of millions of dead people collect Social Security to justify cutting “waste” and “fraud.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick echoed this, calling Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid “wrong” while supporting Musk’s plan to slash $1 trillion in spending.
Despite Trump’s public assurances, House Republicans’ budget proposals include deep cuts to these programs while prioritizing massive tax breaks for the wealthy.
Experts note improper Social Security payments are minimal, contradicting Musk’s claims.
As a masochist, I still regularly check Facebook comments. The vast majority of Republicans are calling this “fake news” and still claim that Trump would NEVER cut their social security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, disability, etc. They’re in for a wild ride. And I say that with an incredibly heavy heart, knowing how many people this will hurt.
Sometimes, people only learn when they get kicked in the dick.
Sometimes, they get violent. Guess we will see what happens because this administration is creating a lot of desperate people in a country awash in firearms.
The second amendment was supposed to be about the citizens protecting themselves against a fascist government, right? (Though I don’t think the term existed back then)
Here’s the fascist government, Americans. What are you actually using your second amendment for?
What happens is likely to be violence against trans people, immigrants, and minorities who will be scapegoats for breaking the social safety net.
They can’t attack the govt so they’ll attack their supporters. If you’re foreign, it might be a good idea to keep away from the US for a while.
deleted by creator
And when it finally happens, they’ll probably blame it on someone else
They already are blaming Democrats and immigrants for everything that is currently happening :(
I’m surprised they are even calling it fake news instead of celebrating about how it’s going to own the libs with how they will gladly suffer if it means others do too.
Yeah, I’ve heard that half of Trump voters receive some sort of government assistance, and if true, this will hit them hard. These folks won’t be able to put food on their table or get the medical care they need without bankruptcy. I’m torn between “haha face eating leopards” and feeling incredibly defeated because humans are going to suffer, and I never want to see that. It’s such a complicated mess.
I’m a school bus driver and most of my colleagues (and me for that matter) are either already collecting Social Security and Medicare or working towards that in a few years. They are also mostly trumpers and love what is currently happening. They are certain the republicans won’t cut SS or medicare because then 70 million people would be marching on Washington - which is pretty laughable coming from people that have trouble climbing into their buses in the morning.
My fear is that the Muskovites will keep these benefits in place for their supporters and cut them off for democrats, something they could easily do with their control over information technology and social media.
Selective benefit canceling is a wild idea but I would not be surprised at all if it happened
I’m sure people will say “they can’t do that!” lol. They can do anything they like with nobody to stop them.
Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that Trumpers would gladly destroy their own lives to see me and mine dead (Queer folk), I’d feel somewhat bad for them too. However, they’ve shown time and again that they want us dead for the pettiest and most made up reasons, so I’ll feel nothing but contempt for them as they burn. As for everyone else… for them, I will weep openly, as they do not deserve this fresh Hell.
I think I feel significantly less owned because these dumbasses voted for their own demise. Not that that really helps at all.
LOL! Man… these people. Hopefull that’ll be the wake up call that’ll bring about a general strike.
Either Medicare or Medicaid is funded by the states, not the federal government, can never remember which.
kagis
Hmm. I guess it’s Medicaid, but it’s only part state-funded.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/245350/total-medicaid-federal-and-state-expenditure-in-the-us-since-1966/
I haven’t been following it, but I understand from recent news articles that there’s some dispute between the budget that the Senate Republicans want and the House Republicans want. IIRC, the Senate was trying to get their version moving, as they said that it wouldn’t take as long. House Republicans bill involves more spending cuts, and Trump apparently indicated that he’s onboard with waiting for the the House version.
https://www.newsweek.com/social-security-being-cut-republican-budget-2030704
I believe that normally those budget numbers are discussed on a 10-year basis, so that’s $200 billion/year.
Welfare programs are actually where the real money is, not in federal wages. If you want to significantly cut taxation in the US, gotta bite into the welfare programs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_federal_budget
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_spending
At a high level:
And a breakdown of mandatory spending for 2024:
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/60843/html
EDIT: Yes, the mandatory-spending $2 trillion cut figure is over ten years, so they need to reduce the above numbers by $200 billion. Apparently there’s also a push to do $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over the same ten-year period.
Medicaid and Medicare are adminsitered by the states but receive the bulk of their funding from the federal govt. The Democrat states will continue to run these programs but the Republican states will abandon Medicaid and privatise Medicare.
If you’re unsure what’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, ask, don’t lecture.