this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2025
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politics

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Summary

Former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley warns that staffing and funding cuts under Elon Musk could cause Social Security payments to halt within 30 to 90 days.

The SSA is reducing its workforce and closing offices, prompting concerns from Democrats, who accuse the Trump administration of trying to dismantle the program.

O’Malley predicts a major political backlash if payments are interrupted.

Meanwhile, leadership changes at SSA have added further instability, with no confirmed commissioner in place.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Sorry about the needy, but for us outside the US it is high time to stock up on popcorn.

I wonder if the gun owners under the affected population will sell their weapons to buy food, or if they will use them to remedy their situation.

Maybe the number of seats needing re-election will rise next month...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

At first I wanted to say "nah, you need to be 65+ these days" but you know what? That just means the boomers (who proportionately voted for Trump less than Gen X) have nothing to lose.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 39 minutes ago

People on disability under 64 also get social security.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Will the ones not recieving their assistance understand why they are not getting it any more?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Sure, it will be Biden's fault. What do you think? /s

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

It is funny how when Trump took office the first time, riding Obamas economy, he took credit for it. Now with his words he has started the downward trend of the stock market and now it is Bidens fault, Bidens economy.

As for the people that will be affected by the SS not coming, they will believe what they are told to believe.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Those old people homes would suddenly get much further out of reach for many families. Pull up your bootstraps at 84 and go get a job or your going to jail for being homeless.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 hour ago

This is exactly the world they want to make.

Criminalize homelessness and buy up all the property. Own the businesses and you have indentured servants that can never pay off their debt to you. They want us to pay a subscription to live.

It wouldn't surprise me to learn they'd bought up all the funeral homes just to fuck you one last time when you die.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 8 hours ago

Just a reminder: People don't steal food. No one has ever witnessed a hungry person stealing food, that is a myth, an urban legend. It never happens. If you thought you saw someone stealing food, you were wrong and should call your eye doctor for a vision check. In conclusion, hungry people do not steal food, that's not a real thing. The More You Know.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Bring it, bitches. This is what the fucking idiots voted for, let’s go. I got a bigass bowl of popcorn.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

And for everyone else that was barred from representation? This isnt going to hurt who you think it will.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 10 hours ago (13 children)

They’re all along for the ride. Fuck you, fuck me, fuck us all. Take it out on a republican.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

No taxation without representation.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 hours ago

I like this far more than the "taxation is theft" rhetoric.

Like, yes, taxation is theft the way it has been used, but it doesn't have to be if it's done transparently and used for the benefit of all.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 10 hours ago

Well, I guess the price of eggs won't matter if they don't have any fucking money, huh?

[–] [email protected] 88 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

If such a thing does not incite mass revolt, I cannot imagine anything ever would.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 9 hours ago (5 children)

Why would retired old people suddenly riot? They will call their social security rep and wait for hours on hold while they watch Jeopardy and cable news that tells them rioting is bad and only criminals do that.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Between Social Security Insurance and Supplemental Income, there’s about 70 million recipients (holy wow - just shy of 20% of the U.S. population). Most of them are elderly, sure - but not all, and not all of those elderly will be infirm.

The way I see it is if these checks don’t come in April, we’ll start to see protests as the winter weather fades into spring.

I think a lot of folks feel disempowered by the system. Voting doesn’t work. And even when voting does work, the political parties seem to have their own agenda that is divorced from their purported constituents, their promises, and even reality. (Purported, because we know that voters are just the vehicle, but money is the fuel under our current system. The constituents they claim to have are not the constituents they serve.) Beyond that, they’re slapping felony convictions onto college kids who protested a genocide. Even if you want to soften the language, they were protesting violence in a nonviolent way, and they are going to have their entire lives impacted by criminal charges for expressing their ‘right’ to freedom of speech. Add in that a lot of folks are trapped in media bubbles and don’t even realize there are problems, or if they realize there are problems, they don’t really recognize their severity. And as we’ve repeatedly seen, Trump does not see justice, and there are no advocates for democracy or the rule of law. The only person that a lot of people felt was ‘on their side’ was Luigi Mangione, and failing attempts to paint him as a terrorist, the media has done their best to quash coverage of him to erase him from the national consciousness. The deck is clearly stacked in every which way.
So I mean, the consequences are dire, the impact of Trump’s actions are not yet being felt broadly or acutely enough yet, and it’s frankly kind of shitty outside, so no one wants to go stand in freezing temps, cold rain, or ceaseless winds for no gain, and incredible peril. I hate to serve up excuses, but I think the situation will have to get much worse before people are driven to action.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 hours ago

Oh, we are definitely getting protests. But, will we see riots? Will we see people taking control of their workplaces? Will people start growing their own food and shopping at farmer’s markets instead of grocery chains? The only people who have the ability to dismantle the vestiges of power that control them are the people themselves.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 hours ago

The imagery is compelling.
Elderly people slowly starving while watching game shows and calling an anonymous entity in the hope of salvation. Reminds me of a certain movie, though that one wasn't even about politics, just addiction. One could argue that many people are addicted to outrage, misinformation, fear and hate today - maybe it's not such a difference in the end.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I don't know specifically about elderly people, but I have heard it said that historically, people who cannot afford to eat have a higher chance of overthrowing their government.

And so it is often in a government's interest to have some sort of social programs that provide food security.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 hours ago

Historically, there have been riots during the Great Depression where people raided grocery stores. But, hey, homeless people and poor single parents have been doing this for years and are called criminals for doing so.

These people will need to be okay with being considered criminals if they truly wish to riot and change things, but they’ve spent decades voting to put people who do those things in jail.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Because many of their children and grandchildren would pick up the slack.

People are already struggling just to get by. Imagine suddenly having to house, feed, and/or care for an elderly person on top of that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 hours ago

More than one i would bet in a lot of cases. If it 100% dries up between me and my partner we may have to help up to 6 or more people between parents, grandparents, and aunts/uncles.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, I guess if the only people who ever rioted were those personally affected you'd be right. Not really able to see it that way, myself.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Sorry, but you should. Historically, the only people who have ever rioted were people who were directly affected by said issues. If they can successfully be convinced that Daddy Government is going to fix everything while demonizing the actual protestors on the streets, you get decades of stagnation.

I’d love for you show me any counter examples in history.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 hours ago

If I mention the Floyd protests are we going to start splitting hairs about what makes a protest vs a riot?

[–] [email protected] 38 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Hey look, the MAGA cult is seeing if they can more directly steal our money to see if anything happens.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

If it's any consolation, they're inviting leopards inside their own homes while doing so.

You would ~~absolutely not~~ be surprised how many Trump supporters rely on some form of welfare like disability or child benefits. As usual, those complaining about the others taking advantage of the system are either projecting, trying to reduce competition in the hopes that they get a bigger slice of the pie, or both.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

They are morons. Plain and simple.

When I was still on facebook, they announced on the school page they were ending the free lunch program started during the COVID pandemic because the Republicans at the state level ended the program.

Those that yelled the loudest? The poor (whose kids got at least 1 good meal a day out of this) who voted for Republicans. Some people don't learn until they get punched in the nuts.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 hours ago

Unless they're no longer voting for Republicans then they didn't learn anything. My own experience tells me that is unlikely.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

I really wish they do. I guarantee you people who can't pay for food or rent because they didn't get their check will exact violence on those responsible.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 hours ago

I guarantee you their violence will be deflected by the rich onto other poor people.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

The fact of the matter is it’s still far, far easier to punch sideways than up.

If your child is screaming in hunger, do you plan a trip to Washington? On what time and money? Or do you grab your gun and visit the neighbor’s house to get him some food?

What’s that middle aged lady in the parking lot of the grocery store going to do if you just push her down and grab her groceries from her cart? Or even approaching grandma and gently taking the grocery bag from her hand and hopping into a vehicle before she even knows what happened.

You think your house window is a barrier? Psychological, yes, it is. Actual? Not at all.

This is where things get violent but not for the rich men in Washington because they’re not accessible.

Frankly, as someone who has studied people for 35yrs, I am bordering on an intense fear that could be likened to terror. People go for what’s easiest, in general. You all are thinking of Luigi, but he’s the exception not the rule. Most people grab what’s easiest and closest and pull from their guts, not careful planning.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

That's the excuse they're waiting for to declare martial law. And this time, they've made sure that the people who wouldn't obey orders to fire on civilians are gone. It'll be a major bloodbath that will make Tiananmen look like peanuts in comparison.

Price of gold will also skyrocket I reckon.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 hours ago

Price of gold will also skyrocket I reckon.

More importantly, the price of Crypto will explode once the dollar tanks. That's what these chucklefucks are going for.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 12 hours ago

More likely they'll blame the gays and start a pogrom.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago

If the old people can't afford their treats there will br hell to pay

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