Some photos from today's belated 50501 / #Indivisible / #HandsOff #protest and march in #Memphis #Tennessee! (Last week was postponed due to tornadoes and flooding.)

There was a boisterous crowd of several hundred awesome people, plus a few radical leftist good dogs. Signs spanned all the topics: #Trump, #ElonMusk, #DOGE, #Ukraine, #xAI, #SocialSecurity, the #IRS, #science...

The #SocialSecurity Administration is gutting regional staff and shifting all #public #communications to X

https://www.wired.com/story/social-security-administration-regional-office-elon-musk-x/

#PSA #FYI #SSA #communication #media #PressReleases #twitter #policy #labor #PublicRelations #DOGE #government

As a result of being added to the death database, they would be #blacklisted from a coveted form of identity that allows them to make & spend money.

The initial names are limited to people the #Trump admin claims are convicted criminals & “suspected terrorists,” docs show. But ofcls said the effort could broaden to include others in the country w/o authorization.

Their “financial lives,” Leland Dudek, #SocialSecurity Admin acting commissioner, wrote in an email to staff, would be “terminated.”

The goal is to cut those people off from using crucial financial services like bank accounts & credit cards, along w/their access to government benefits.

The effort hinges on a surprising new tactic: repurposing #SocialSecurity’s “death master file,” which for years has been used to track dead people who should no longer receive benefits, to include the names of living people who the govt believes should be TREATED AS IF THEY ARE DEAD.

#trump #law #immigration #labor #dehumanization

Since taking office, #Trump has moved aggressively to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of #immigrants who were allowed into the country under President #Biden.

Now, the admin is taking drastic steps to pressure some of those immigrants & others who had legal status to “self-deport” by effectively canceling the #SocialSecurity numbers they had lawfully obtained….

#law #immigration #labor
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/us/politics/migrants-deport-social-security-doge.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=2E999096-F869-486C-80A2-740E7C065EBC

‘Hands Off’ rally in Saranac Lake
Hundreds of locals rally to protest federal government
https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/local-news/2025/04/hands-off-rally-in-saranac-lake/

"The protestors want the government’s #HandsOff a lot of things — immigrants, veterans’ #health care, #LGBTQ+ rights, #SocialSecurity, schools, #women, #penguins, the #FirstAmendment, the climate, #Canada, #Greenland and the #Constitution. Signs primarily focused on #DonaldTrump and his billionaire advisor #ElonMusk."

#Resist #Resistance #Protest #Protests #News #NewYork #US #USA

"Tens of thousands of #protesters mustered in cities and towns across the country on Saturday to sound off against the #Trump administration's cuts to the federal #government and its policies.

Carrying homemade posters and chanting "Hands Off," the protesters came out to the more than 1,200 rallies nationwide despite rain in many cities"
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/huge-crowds-gather-hands-off-rallies-nationwide-protest/story?id=120523176

#Resist #Resistance #Protest #Protests #HandsOff #Trump #GOP #Musk #SocialSecurity #GeorgeWashington #Congress #News #US #USA

Some #HandsOff protest signs from Don Moynihan's article about how #SocialSecurity is under threat from Trump, the GOP, Elon Musk and Doge.
https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/as-savings-crater-social-security

#Resist #Resistance #Protest #ProtestSigns #US #USA #Politics #USPol #Trump #Musk #Doge #GOP

"Many Americans are watching their retirement savings melt away because of President Trump’s disastrous trade policies. In normal downturns, they could at least reassure themselves that Social Security would always be there. The program was created during the Great Depression precisely because it was clear that the market would not provide for retirees."

~ Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan

#Musk #Trump #tariffs #SocialSecurity #DOGE
/1

https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/as-savings-crater-social-security

Via Rupar:

#JDVance straight up lies on Fox & Friends, claims 40 percent of people calling the #SocialSecurity hotline are "actually committing fraud."

#Trump will fubar #SocialSecurity? For the last 3 months their Income Report Shitstem REFUSES to Verify my correct info that the required Login.gov acct has Zero problems with. 3 visits to the local orifice and THEY CAN'T FIX IT. They give me affidavits to put in the drop box but only give me ONE copy, AND YOU CANT MAKE COPIES. Today I tried again, and their ID photo taker refuses to function in ANY Browser. Why are they making it hard for me to give them my 💶. #DOGE can make it worse. 🤣 Sure!

According to the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), approximately 40.2 percent of retirees receive all of their income from Social Security.

If Republicans think there’s a homeless problem now, just imagine what it will be like with an additional 26.3 MILLION PEOPLE living on the streets!

#SocialSecurity #RepublicansMustGo #EndTrump #EndMusk #USPol

Is Social Security a Ponzi scheme? Fact-checking Elon Musk

#USA #musk #SocialSecurity

/3

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/politifact/2025/03/24/is-social-security-a-ponzi-scheme-fact-checking-elon-musk/82593939007/

Just shoot #richpigs into the sun🚀. K?

This suggests the way to solve the looming SSA shortfall in the 30s onward would be to eliminate the exemption for the wealthy making income with stock & security, not seen as income for SS reporting puposes. Problem: the rich aren't eligble to collect SS Retirement benefits, making it literally taxation w/o representation, and screws the middle class, with it's mixed incomes.

Could Elon Musk Destroy #SocialSecurity as We Know It?

https://scheerpost.com/2025/03/25/could-elon-musk-actually-destroy-social-security-as-we-know-it/

Trump Admin Threatens to Stop Social Security If DOGE Can’t Have Personal Data

Trump’s interim Social Security chief says he wants to turn off the program if #Musk & #DOGE can’t access #Americans’ most sensitive #data
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-musk-stop-social-security-doge-data-1235300785/

"Dudek’s threat to block #SSA employees from using the agency’s #IT systems — a move that could halt #SocialSecurity payments — came in response to a judge’s temporary restraining order"

#ElonMusk #Coup #Corruption #Trump #GOP #USPol #Tech #News #US #USA

EXCUSE ME??

Via Social Security Works:

BREAKING: #Trump's billionaire Commerce Secretary says that seniors won't care if they don't get their #SocialSecurity checks — and that anyone who does complain is a fraudster.

https://bsky.app/profile/socialsecurityworks.org/post/3lkvt7hjrlk2h

"Real America' Won't Mind If They Miss a #SocialSecurity Check—#Lutnick"
#Howardlutnick
https://www.newsweek.com/howard-lutnick-social-security-real-america-2048911

"Is the #SocialSecurity Administration temporarily shutting down? Acting commissioner says it should, following DOGE-related court order."
#Republicans
#election2026
#2026election
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-the-social-security-administration-temporarily-shutting-down-acting-commissioner-says-it-should-following-doge-related-court-order-d8822dc1?siteid=msnheadlines

Along with the Trump admin​'s impending closure of social security offices across the country​, they’ve announced that they will require in-person identity checks for millions of new ​& existing recipients.

​Think of the barriers to access ​t​his creates for our seniors​. What happens when the​ir checks don’t arrive? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-security-in-person-identity-requirement-angers-retirees-advocates/ #press #SocialSecurity

The Walking Dead returns!

#JoeBiden has announced his intention to return to politics and 🤣help the #DemocraticParty🤣

The "Help"... #SocialSecurity edition below

#Biden wants back in
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/bidens-want-back-in-rcna196956 #USPol

More lies to fearmonger seniors about #socialsecurity. A pittance that SHOULD BE CALLED #SocialInsecurity under any circumstances. PRIVATIZING IT IS NOT ALLOWED BY LAW. @bloomberg @business-bloomberg

Hey, the cowardly #GOP Congress critters are starting to get more scared of their constituents than Trump! Good!

What a shame it took all this for that to happen.

"NY Republican slams Social Security office closure plan: ‘Slap in the face’"

#SocialSecurity #Trump #fascism #musk #doge

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5206478-ny-republican-slams-social-security-office-closure/

"New documents obtained by 404 Media reveal that Clearview AI spent nearly a million dollars in a bid to purchase “690 million arrest records and 390 million arrest photos” from all 50 states from an intelligence firm. The contract further describes the records as including current and former home addresses, dates of birth, arrest photos, social security and cell phone numbers, and email addresses. Clearview attempted to purchase this data from Investigative Consultant, Inc. (ICI) which billed itself as an intelligence company with access to tens of thousands of databases and the ability to create unique data streams for its clients. The contract was signed in mid-2019, at a time when Clearview AI was quietly collecting billions of photos off the internet and was relatively unknown at the time.

Ultimately, the entire deal fell apart after Clearview and ICI clashed about the utility of the data with each company filing breach of contract claims. The dispute ultimately went into arbitration where it is common for disputes to be settled privately. The arbiter ultimately sided with Clearview AI in 2024 and ordered ICI to return the contract money. To date, ICI has not paid Clearview, with the company now seeking a court order to enforce the arbiter’s ruling."

https://www.404media.co/facial-recognition-company-clearview-attempted-to-buy-social-security-numbers-and-mugshots-for-its-database/

#Clearview #Surveillance #Privacy #DataProtection #SocialSecurity #FacialRecognition #Biometrics

These Are the 10 DOGE Operatives Inside the Social Security Administration

The team working at the Social Security Admn appears to be among the largest DOGE units deployed to any #government agency.
https://www.wired.com/story/doge-operatives-access-social-security-administration/

"While it’s been unclear even to well-placed insiders what specifically #DOGE is doing inside the #SocialSecurity Admn, #Musk has repeatedly voiced his desire to “eliminate” large parts of the system"

#ElonMusk #Coup #Corruption #Trump #GOP #Politics #USPol #News #US #USA

Social Security Employees Warn of Damage From #DOGE

Current & former employees, both #Republican & #Democratic, are raising alarms about the damage cost-cutting efforts could do to the agency’s ability to serve the public.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/business/social-security-doge-ssa.html

"Many current & former Social Security officials fear the cuts could create gaping holes in the agency’s #infrastructure, destabilizing the program, which keeps millions of people out of #poverty"

#Musk #Trump #GOP #USPol #SocialSecurity #News #USA

Seeing a buch of #fearmongering regarding Privatizing #SocialSecurity.

It's just so much fearmongering crap by a DESPERATE #DEMOCRATICPARTY

It's: "A Bad Idea Whose Time Will Never Come"

"Unlike private pension funds, Social Security reserves cannot be invested in private securities." 👇
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/privatizing-social-security-a-bad-idea-whose-time-will-never-come/

PS. Privatizing Social Security has been considered before.. Prez George W Bush proposed privatizing it. No one, including the Democrats, said shit about it. #TrumpDerangementSyndrome

DOGE plans to double its staff, target safety net programs
https://www.muskwatch.com/i/159032671/doge-plans-to-double-its-staff-target-safety-net-programs

" #Musk also telegraphed DOGE’s designs on dramatically reducing social #safety net programs...

Earlier this month, he described #SocialSecurity as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” So far, DOGE’s work has served as a form of austerity theater, which — while destructive — has done very little to reduce federal spending."

#ElonMusk #Doge #Trump #GOP #Coup #Corruption #USPol #News #US #USA

Elon Musk's social insecurity

The billionaire's reckless claims seem intended to manufacture outrage to justify an end to what he refers to as an “entitlement program.”
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/elon-musks-social-insecurity

"Ronald Reagan called #SocialSecurity “a secure & stable base so that older #Americans may live in dignity.”

#ElonMusk calls it a “Ponzi scheme.”
...
differences of opinion between #Musk & #Trump, the White House... pledging not to cut Social Security, #Medicare or #Medicaid benefits"

#USPol #News #US

“Are we going to break something?” acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek asked, referring to what DOGE has been doing with Social Security data. “I don’t know."

https://www.propublica.org/article/recording-reveals-leland-dudek-thoughts-trump-doge-social-security?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

#News #DOGE #Musk #ElonMusk #SocialSecurity #USPolitics #Trump

This is what is expected to happen when you put a billionaire with a severe drug addiction problem in charge of monitoring the Federal Government spending of the world's largest economy

"“DOGE Has 10 Staffers at Social Security in Hunt for Dead People,” the headlines read this past week.

I found a dead person on Social Security. Right here in Seattle, on Capitol Hill.

Of course the circumstances of Ned Johnson’s death were completely the opposite of what Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency had claimed was rampant.

“You wake up one day and discover you’re dead,” Johnson told me. “It’s been truly surreal.”

That’s the biggest difference — my deceased guy turns out to be very much alive. Musk is contending that hordes of dead people are listed as alive in the Social Security databases, and are fraudulently still drawing benefits (which the Social Security director disputes).

Johnson is 82 and still kicking. Yet sometime last month, someone or something led Social Security to both tag him as dead and start clawing back his benefits.

Johnson’s strange trip through the netherworld began in February, when a letter from his bank arrived addressed to his wife, Pam."

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/heres-a-dead-person-on-social-security-in-seattle-with-plenty-to-say/

#USA #Trump #DOGE #Musk #SocialSecurity

« #RachelMaddow shares video of Rep #JohnLarson channeling the outrage of his constituents @ the anticipation that Trump's top donor, #ElonMusk, is intending to destroy #SocialSecurity in order to privatize it. #WashingtonPost reported..Wed that Musk was planning cuts to Social Security's telephone customer service, but by the end of the day, those plans had been cancelled. Between the public outcry and the exposure in the #media, the pushback..appears to have worked »

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6mFpn8BJLV4&si=til2N_i6ajZ0jQJk

In affidavit, former Social Security official says DOGE is putting benefits at risk

https://www.muskwatch.com/p/in-affidavit-former-social-security

"detailed how deputies for #ElonMusk forced their way into the agency, formed a clandestine unit, and gained access to its most sensitive #databases...

also warned that careless actions by Musk’s #Doge could lead to interruptions in #SocialSecurity payments."

#Musk #Coup #Corruption #Trump #GOP #USPol #USPolitics #Data #Privacy #News #US #USA

Why Musk Isn’t Reined In

In a word, #Trump can’t rein him in because #Putin doesn’t want him reined in
https://mmansour.substack.com/p/why-musk-isnt-reined-in

"The head of #SocialSecurity has resigned and been replaced by a #Musk acolyte. We will see more of that.

...cabinet secretaries will have to face... if they will be blamed for what goes wrong. The answer is, short of resignation, they will be blamed, along with Trump.

Musk is universally despised."

#ElonMusk #Coup #Corruption #USPol #USPolitics #Russia #News #USA

Musk’s Attack on Social Security Takes Ugly Turn With New Leak Stunner

As Trump officials move to cut Social Security & startling new info emerges about Elon Musk’s involvement, an advocate for social insurance explains how #Trump & #Musk are headed for deep political trouble.
https://newrepublic.com/article/192458/musks-attack-social-security-takes-ugly-turn-new-leak-stunner

"Trump’s admn gears up to cut #SocialSecurity... a top official at the #SSA privately admitted that Musk’s so-called #Doge is in charge of the cutting"

#ElonMusk #Coup #USPol #News #US #USA

Social Security Chief Privately Admits Musk’s DOGE Will Wreck Things

The acting head of the Social Security Administration told his staff that Elon Musk’s DOGE is bound to make mistakes soon.
https://newrepublic.com/post/192412/social-security-chief-warn-doge-mistakes

"He described Musk’s cronies as “outsiders who are unfamiliar with nuances of #SSA programs,” and warned that their aggressive approach could hurt the some 73 million #Americans who receive #SocialSecurity benefits"

#Musk #Doge #Coup #Corruption #Trump #GOP #USPol #News #US #USA

Trump & Musk’s Plan to Destroy Social Security Started Tuesday Night

It starts with cutting staff at the Social Security Admn. That will sow confusion. Then it builds from there.
https://newrepublic.com/article/192404/trump-musk-destroy-social-security-started

" #Republicans and their morbidly rich donors have hated #SocialSecurity ever since it was first created in 1935...

In fact, it has been the most successful anti-poverty program in the #history of #America, one now emulated by virtually every #democracy in the #world."

#Musk #Coup #News #USA

A lot of boos as #Trump praised #ElonMusk & #DOGE.

Trump is lying about something that he & #Musk have said before: that there’s massive “fraud” in #SocialSecurity being paid out to deceased Americans still in the system.

Analysts & watchdog groups have thoroughly DEBUNKED this crap.

The problem is neither new nor a sign of widespread fraud, but a technological issue w/Social Security’s tracking system & does not represent a source of significant spending.

#FactCheck #TrumpLies