A "total system collapse" for Social Security?

Red alert: The New York Times is out with a serious warning from Martin O'Malley, the most recent Social Security commissioner before Donald Trump took over: Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE are laying the groundwork for a total system collapse of Social Security.

Dear MoveOn member, Red alert: The New York Times is out with a serious warning from Martin O'Malley, the most recent Social Security commissioner before Donald Trump took over: Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE are laying the groundwork for a total system collapse of Social Security.1 Social Security is one of the most effective and popular programs in American history.2 It's so popular that it's been referred to as the "third rail" of politics—too risky to be touched by politicians. So it wasn't surprising that on the campaign trail, Donald Trump had pledged not to cut it.3 But now, Trump, Musk, and DOGE are doing everything they can to dismantle the program by starving the Social Security Administration of staff and resources.4 They're finding ways to stop paying out benefits that people have earned over decades of work and are legally entitled to. And they're making wait times for customer service seemingly endless. "Everything they have done so far is breaking the agency's ability to serve the public," warns O'Malley.5 The New York Times sums it up as "the actions necessary to create a total system collapse, whether in skyrocketing wait times for customer service, system interruptions, or a timely payment of benefits."6 This is an emergency situation for those who rely on Social Security. This week, while elected officials are in their home states and districts, MoveOn members are sounding the alarm. We're putting up billboards, flooding lawmakers with phone calls, holding rallies outside their offices, and confronting them at constituent meetings. Will you pitch in $5 a month to help MoveOn's emergency campaign to defend and protect Social Security? Your donation will ensure that we can continue organizing, getting the truth out about the grave harm Trump and Musk are doing, and supporting MoveOn members with the resources they need to make their voices heard in communities all across the country. Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately. No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation. For nearly a century, Social Security has delivered on-time payments to the seniors, disabled Americans, and families who rely on it. Until now. This is a hostile billionaire takeover, and we won't stand for it. It's not just cuts. Musk and Trump want to shred the program entirely—pushing a dangerous agenda that could force Americans to work longer for less, all while handing $4.5 trillion in tax breaks to the ultra-rich.7,8 Billionaires don't need Social Security to retire, but the rest of us do. Musk has called Social Security the biggest "Ponzi scheme" of all time.9 Trump and Musk are falsely claiming there is fraud.10 But, in reality, this is a made-up excuse to not pay out benefits that people are owed and to undermine confidence in the program. Take Ned Johnson, an 82-year-old retiree from Seattle. One day, out of nowhere, the Social Security Administration declared him dead—canceled his Medicare insurance, stopped his benefits, and reversed benefits transfers to his bank account.11 Why? Because Musk's DOGE team sent 10 private "efficiency experts" to dig through Social Security's databases, looking for so-called fraud. But instead of catching dead beneficiaries—who, statistically, are a rounding error—they trapped real people like Johnson in a bureaucratic nightmare: "Johnson called Social Security two or three times a day for two weeks, with each call put on hold and then eventually disconnected. Finally someone answered and gave him an appointment for March 13. Then he got a call delaying that to March 24."12 This is absolutely outrageous, and our elected officials have to act. Now. That's why this week, while lawmakers are in their home districts, MoveOn members are sounding the alarm about Social Security. Will you pitch in $5 a month to help MoveOn put up billboards, flood lawmakers with phone calls, and do more to stop Musk's out-of-control DOGE? Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately. No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation. Nearly 40% of America's seniors rely on Social Security for the majority of their income—and almost half of Americans 55 and older have zero retirement savings.13 The average Social Security check is just $1,688 a month—barely enough to cover rent and groceries, if that.14 Instead of gutting the program, we should be expanding it. That's not just MoveOn's position; a majority of Americans agree.15 We should be increasing benefits, making the rich pay what they owe, and ensuring that every American is able to retire with dignity. MoveOn members have fought against Social Security cuts for more than 25 years. We will continue to fight cuts—and push for policies like the Social Security Expansion Act, which would expand Social Security, while making millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. But first, we need your help to stop Trump and Musk's reckless attacks. Will you pitch in $5 a month to help MoveOn members come together to stop the attacks on Social Security—just like we have before? Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately. No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation. Thanks for all you do. –Nakia, Olga, Kelly, Amy, and the rest of the team Sources: 1. "Social Security Employees Warn of Damage From DOGE," The New York Times, March 18, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/business/social-security-doge-ssa.html 2. "Policy Basics: Top Ten Facts about Social Security," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 31, 2024 https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/top-ten-facts-about-social-security 3. "Trump breaks promise not to cut Social Security," The Pennsylvania Independent, March 4, 2025 https://pennsylvaniaindependent.com/politics/trump-breaks-promise-cut-social-security-administration-funding-closures/ 4. Ibid. 5. "Social Security Employees Warn of Damage From DOGE," The New York Times, March 18, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/business/social-security-doge-ssa.html 6. Ibid. 7. "What Trump and Musk Want With Social Security," The Atlantic, March 14, 2025 https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/03/what-trump-and-musk-want-with-social-security/682056/ 8. "Despite DOGE, Trump's agenda calls for adding trillions of dollars to U.S. debt," NBC News, February 19, 2025 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/doge/doge-trumps-agenda-calls-adding-trillions-dollars-us-debt-rcna191665 9. "Elon Musk calls Social Security a 'Ponzi scheme,' sparking Dem concerns over key benefit," USA Today, March 3, 2025 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/02/elon-musk-joe-rogan-social-security-ponzi-scheme/81060392007/ 10. "Trump, Musk fuel fears of Social Security cuts with 'fraud' talk," The Hill, March 12, 2025 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5189448-trump-musk-social-security-fraud/ 11. "Here's a 'dead' person on Social Security in Seattle, with plenty to say," The Seattle Times, March 15, 2025 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/heres-a-dead-person-on-social-security-in-seattle-with-plenty-to-say/ 12. Ibid. 13. "Social Security Expansion Act Fact Sheet," Senator Bernie Sanders, accessed March 17, 2025 https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Social-Security-Expansion-Act-one-pager-Final.pdf 14. Ibid. 15. "Americans' Views of Social Security," National Institute on Retirement Security, July 2024 https://www.nirsonline.org/reports/socialsecurity2024/ Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your ongoing support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: Donate: $5 monthly Donate: $15 monthly Donate: $50 monthly Donate another amount monthly Or make a one-time gift Contributions to MoveOn Civic Action are not tax-deductible for income tax purposes. MoveOn.org Civic Action - PO Box 96141, Washington, D.C. 20090-6141. ActBlue Civics Inc. is the merchant of record for all transactions made to MoveOn Civic Action using the ActBlue platform. ActBlue Civics Inc. receives and processes these donations before disbursing them to MoveOn Civic Action within 30 days of receipt. This email was sent to Andra Patterson on March 20, 2025. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here unsubscribe. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. 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