Trump official calls Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid ‘wrong’
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.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-social-security-medicaid-cuts-howard-lutnick-b2701817.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.world390
Comments50
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.
What happens is likely to be violence against trans people, immigrants, and minorities who will be scapegoats for breaking the social safety net.
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?
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.
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.
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 :(
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.
If you're unsure what's the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, ask, don't lecture.
Remember the Great Depression? This guy doesnt.
They are about to gut the USPS. The ramifications to the economy will be astronomical.
Small businesses exist because of it. So along, and thanks for the fish, I guess?
I got this cadence inside of me that says "go to your capital"
And whether thats the state or nation I dont care.
If everyone followed that cadence, we could fix this.
Email and similar electronic messaging kind of did a number on the demand for the USPS.
kagis
https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/first-class-mail-since-1926.htm
This says that their peak year was 2000, when 103.5 billion pieces of mail were sent.
In 2024, it was down to 44.3 billion. So 57% of the service's usage went away over that 24-year period.
In that same timeframe, the population also increased, so that decrease is despite the US population rising from 281 million to 340 million, a 21% increase.
But but the Boomers kept telling us Trump would never go after Medicare!
The boomers also said that they need the Affordable Care Act, but that they don't support Obamacare, so...
The Boomers all have lead poisoning and the entire group should be declared mentally unfit for any sort of office, public or private.
A bunch of people who fucked around bout to find out
I just want those morons who thought sitting it out was a good idea, to feel this.
I literally don't know how to respond to the level of cognitive dissonance on display here. Not only have you guaranteed the people of Gaza willl not even have a home to go to, once trump gets on with moving them out, you've essentially handed Ukraine and it's people to the Russians. Not to mention the loss of your healthcare, damage to your healthcare system, erosion of your education, damage to your judiciary, removal of lbgtq+ and racial equality rights, loss of geopolitical soft power, loss of data privacy as Elon runs amok though your public systems, erosion of trust with your allies, rampant pardons on literal insurrectionists, neutering of your governing and legislative bodies, rise of anti intellectualism, curbing of public discourse and media freedoms, and all this in the first 6 weeks.
Well done, sir. I'm sure youre very proud of what you've accomplished.
The idea that Gaza would have been a-ok if Harris won is insane.
A Democrat victory would have meant next to nothing to the Palestinian people. Dems don't care about them either.
It's also a lie that pro-Palestine voters withheld their votes in any significant number as well. That's just the MSM trying to pass the buck onto the left while ignoring the fact that the Dems have nobody to blame for their loss but themselves.
You're buying into propaganda from the Dems's "good guy" billionaires.
How about they take responsibility for their choice? If a child makes a mistake, you teach them the bigger picture, but you always make them take responsibility. If you coddle them, they'll never understand their actions, and you end up creating another trump, acting with impunity and expecting special treatment. Every. Time. Dem or republican, that's not on.
These morons need to understand that the world is a series of interconnected systems, and that their actions affect others. They'd rather burn down their country for the sake of their oversimplified world view and one trigger issue. The people defending them shut down discussion using the same tactics as they did, literally on a script, making me wonder if they are also organized behind the scenes. They endanger others by their decision, so if others need to vent back at them, then boo fucking hoo.
And what did those principled non voters achieve? Nothing and they have made the situation which they where protesting worse. Now Trump well own Gaza notice he never says America he says I well own it.
Then go do something, man.
Sitting around and doing a "noble" nothing is not standing up or doing more. It's doing EVEN LESS than voting. There is an absolutely real possibility that if everybody stays home it doesn't shift D left, it just results in nothing besides Republican control.
In that case though you wouldn't have to worry about voting for palestinian genocide, because it would be over and done with. You could be not voting for climate denial or not voting for something else, posting on Lemmy about how righteous you are, and bottling your own farts to sniff later.
I'm walking, stumping, and repping local elections and voting as far left as I can everywhere else. There is no far far left activity/activism you're touting anywhere to be seen. What value do you add?
right. I'm sure your self-righteousness, apathy and inaction are going to be a great asset when it comes to building a "better future".
Except that the result so far has only been the exact opposite of 'building' and 'progress'.
and that's a reason to stop trying altogether?
edit: a word
there are more ways to take action than to vote.
I'm just as dissolutioned with the voting system as you are, but I'm also aware that sitting around complaining and acting like you know better than everyone else is only obnoxious accomplishes nothing.
either do literally anything at all to contribute, or go find an empty room to whinge into. I'm sure you'll enjoy the echo.
Buddy, look at who are the other major players right now. Russia, China, and the EU. If you think for for a hot second that whatever rises out of this fire is going to be better, have I got news for you.
That is the objective for these types of people. A world where the EU and USA are isolated and China, Russia, Iran, etc. have free reign in 'their' backyards.
Seems to me like kind of a long pivot from
Why not just DO that?
I don't disagree that the shift in the Overton window is alarmingly far gone, that Dems are out of touch, or that the country is failing in real time. I disagree with the supercilious presentation of "political (in)action" by the people who ought to be easiest to motivate to go raise some hell.
Instead of punching all the way right, you're doing a big sad to your adjacent right in a huge lefty echo chamber. By letting perfect be the enemy of less worse we are only left with worse, and you still gotta live in it with us.
this is the kind of shit that didn't ever happen even in the most brazen ripping-copper-from-the-walls years of 90s privatization in eastern block. yall elected your own yeltsin and now you'll deal with consequences
If it's wrong, then I want my money back. If they revoke the promise of returning what is due to me in retirement after years of paying into the system, then fuck them, I want it back. Every cent.
So I'm going to get a refund plus interest for everything I've paid into the system, right?
I'm thinking Libertarians will be celebrating until they find out the answer is no.
This entire endeavor, basically the work they've been doing for the last century, is to undo the entirety of the new deal. We didn't lock them up and execute them after the business plot like we should have. Just a bunch of robber barons trying to take us back to the Gilded Age.
This time we should televise it.
So they will fight the fraud, and all the saved money instead of going to dead people will go to living people, meaning people will get more under these programs?
Right? /s
I guess that’s what happens when you appoint a Bond villain as commerce secretary
Phew! I thought it was the insurrectionist rapist felon grifters fault. Good thing we didn't vote Kamala!
/s for the triggered fuckers
Helping Americans in their time of need is wrong!... We should be trying to find ways to pay more for healthcare and give up our houses to those who can work and give money to Elon.
When I was 20, I also didn’t comprehend that you could have incomplete data so assumed the real world was wrong.
Imagine dealing with data tracking hundreds of millions of people across multiple generations starting from before the time of computers and having to deal with the reality of missing or lost data/documentation. We can’t confirm your birthdate because that hospital burned down 80 years ago? FRAUD. /s
So Trump is anti-Zombie too?
Being anti-Zombie is pretty common sense, so I'm doubtful.