April 14. 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette:
I’m a retired person. My Social Security is what enables a modest but sustainable life. It is not a government handout. It is money that I and my employers contributed for 50-plus years. And by the way, Social Security also covers veterans and provides aid for your brother who was permanently disabled doing heavy construction.
Both President Trump and Rep. Ben Cline have assured us that Social Security is safe and won’t be touched. But let’s look at what’s been happening: Elon Musk’s DOGE has been racing to downsize Social Security – cutting 7,000 jobs, consolidating programs and closing dozens of offices. Meanwhile, they are reducing online and phone services and implementing measures to require more people to apply in person.
Alarm is growing about the scope and breadth of DOGE cuts, for those who rely on Social Security to meet their basic needs. Martin O’Malley, former Social Security Administration commissioner, recently stated, “Everything they are doing is driving this agency to system collapse.”
So why is DOGE after Social Security? Who profits if the system is cut to the point where it can’t function? That’s an excuse to privatize it.
The changes already made or proposed, with more likely to come, will erode service, impact benefits and ultimately erode consumer confidence to the point where politicians can justify handing the program over to the private sector. Top Wall Street executives are already promoting the lucrative idea of individual accounts.
Despite Trump’s and Rep. Cline’s assurances, actions in the past six weeks have already taken a significant toll on access to benefit information.
Musk has his billions. Let the workers of America retain the program that we ourselves actually paid for.
The private sector exists to make money. Government exists to provide services.
LISATRACY Rockbridge County
