Summary
The White House scrambled to clarify comments from Elon Musk suggesting cuts to Social Security and Medicare, insisting no such plans exist.
Musk, speaking on Fox Business, criticized entitlement spending, sparking viral backlash. Trump’s administration defended Musk and attacked journalist Jake Sherman for misrepresenting his remarks.
Officials cited reports on fraud and waste but claimed benefits would remain intact. Elon Musk has repeatedly criticized Social Security, labeling it a “Ponzi scheme.”
Critics fear Trump could use fraud reduction efforts as a pretext for cuts despite his assurances otherwise.
Critics fear Trump could use fraud reduction efforts as a pretext for cuts despite his assurances otherwise.
That is their entire intent. Whatever they don’t like, just brand it as something you don’t like, make it a problem and then deal with the problem. Regardless of what anyone thinks, you only make yourself look good.
My republican parents are like “no way he’ll cut social security” Man I hate this
Did you ask them what they would do if he did?
And of course Elmo has no idea what a ponzi scheme really is…
This may be good in the end, it will force a revolution attempt at least
not enough organized socialists for that.
if people arent up to date with their political theory and history, always assume its gonna be for the worse.
Them being read up on political theory and history wouldn’t have done jack shit.
them being read up on political theory and history would have at least avoided a trump situation.
it doesnt represent the revolution in and of itself, but its the very basic thing that will point people to the right direction. instead of aimlessly blaming immigrants or stupidly telling people to just vote harder.
I’m afraid there won’t even be an attempt to fight back and that’s incredibly depressing
join your favorite leftist org. they are probably already trying to do stuff with what they have, and the more the merrier.
I’m in England and I already have :)
nice
It can always get much much worse
its gonna get worse before it gets worse. -some dog
I need to keep that Samuel L Jackson clip on hand for when I hear retirees that voted for little d saying they didn’t vote for this.
YES YOU DID!
OK but then pay me back so I can put it into my IRA and retire ten years sooner.
It’s really sad - my in-laws are in their mid-to-late 70s and are currently applying to jobs because they’re convinced that Social Security will go away. I hate to see older folks so scared by this lunacy.
Were they also Trump voters by any chance?
I’m assuming no if they think they’ll actually be impacted.
Yeah, my dad finally retired this year at 70… And now he’s looking for a new job, because he’s concerned his social security is going to vanish overnight.
The rich and right wing will say these groups should have invested better, worked harder, or taken better opportunities…people did all those things and are still struggling. It’s wank, and so unfair.
The thing is, my in-laws have plenty of money in the bank, plus two adult children who are very successful and would help them out if needed, no questions asked. It’s not entirely rational - I think it’s the uncertainty more than anything that has them scared. Which really sucks. :(
insisting no such plans exist.
Like how all those other plans to cut departments didn’t exist?
The White House has lost credibility, expect Social Security and Medicare to be cut.
You’d be better off asking if any concepts of such a plan exists.
To be fair, nothing about how they’ve been shutting things down appears to be planned at all
I mean… they’re going to do it anyway.
Dammit, Daily Beast, these are not “entitlements”. They are programs Americans were forced to pay into with the guarantee that they would receive proportional benefits.
Gotta keep the right wing framing!
yeah and ugh. but tbh we see this wording even from outlets surprisingly far to the left. (of a depressingly right-shifted so-called center, but anyway.)
Using the original meaning of a word and not chasing off on the euphemism treadmill is hardly shifting to the right.
The simple fact of the matter is that the word has become loaded and is now seen as a negative thing.
Yeah, much like the term “liberal”. Decades of trashing the term and now people often look like they are admitting to some kind of crime when they say they are liberal.
Doesn’t that just mean that we’re entitled to, or owed a return, on that money?
Is it just an issue with connotation of that word? Or is it actually not an entitlement?
Exactly. If they cut Social Security, I’m signing a class action lawsuit against the federal government for every penny I’ve put in.
Pretty sure that is the literal definition of a government entitlement, I know the profligates have smeared the term for the last 40 years and all but this is one of their stupider ones.
Entitlement is literally the term for social security and Medicare because those who’ve paid into them their whole lives are 100% entitled to receive payments from those programs.
Musk = POS Nazi wannabe!
Says won’t do it, does it anyway. Do you think the idiots will learn?
Nope!
We Gotta pay for those trillions in tax rebates for billionaires and corporations. How else are they going to buy what’s left of America after they purposely crash the economy. Americans will be tapped out at that point but the working class in Greenland and Canada still has assets so we’ll invade them so the oligarchs can steal their working classes wealth too.
It’s not damage control. Trump just use musk to test the water and push the boundaries. When the red line is crossed enough time, people will be numb about it.
Yep, it’s been the same pattern for a decade now.
Thafuq have you been, “a decade”, pfft. Strap in, kid.
To be fair, it wasn’t Trump doing this same shit before 2016, it was Bush, and before that Reagan and before that…
I wonder who is manipulating whom here…is Trump really in control of Musk? Or is the dog walking the man here?
I just see two dogs.
Yeah, I’m checking the news frequently to see if one dog turns on the other. If musk Turns on trump the way Trump turned on Cohen(Who was his lawyer through the Storm Daniel’s affair) then I’m sure Musk will destroy Trump financially; but maybe in the process Trump will reveal some dirt on Musk?
Trump could just have the ICE deport Musk. As much as Musk has influence if he doesn’t exactly have the same protections as the average American on that front, especially if he really did lie on his paperwork.
Leash is coming out of the Kremlin.
Which is interesting as historically USA hates Russia.
Apparently not anymore.
ding
