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President Donald Trump marked the 90th anniversary of Social Security on Thursday with an Oval Office signing of a proclamation that the safety net was “more resilient than ever before,” thanks to him. He claimed improvements to the program’s customer service. He also misleadingly declared that he had checked off his campaign promise to eliminate taxes on benefits for seniors.
But Social Security is barreling toward insolvency faster than before because of Trump’s tax bill and immigration policies, according to experts. The agency has faced tumult since the U.S. DOGE Service came in with a grand scheme to root out fraud and overhaul the program, causing disruptions and frustrations within the agency.
“I made a sacred pledge to our seniors that I would always protect Social Security, and under this administration we’re keeping that promise and strengthening Social Security for generations to come,” Trump said. However, Republicans have not yet provided a solution to put off Social Security’s impending shortfalls.
The trust fund will be insolvent by 2033, the program’s trustees said in June, if Congress doesn’t act. And after the passage of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, the chief actuary said the law could hasten Social Security’s insolvency date.
In addition, experts have warned that Trump’s efforts to deport undocumented immigrants — who pay into the system but are barred from receiving benefits — will further deplete the program. Penn Wharton’s budget model has projected that if the government deports 10 percent of undocumented immigrants annually over the next 10 years, Social Security will lose $133 billion in funds over that period of time. Most federal public benefits — such as Social Security — are available only to U.S. citizens and certain categories of legal immigrants.
Trump also praised himself for keeping a campaign promise to eliminate taxes on Social Security: “I signed One Big Beautiful Bill and allowed no tax on Social Security for our great seniors,” Trump said. But the law didn’t create an exemption on taxes on Social Security benefits. It added a temporary $6,000 deduction for seniors who earn as much as $75,000 a year, or $12,000 for joint filers earning as much as $150,000.
Trump was joined by Commissioner Frank Bisignano, [who] also touted achievements in customer service, and came into the agency in May after the cost-cutting U.S. DOGE Service implemented changes that led to customers complaining of dropped calls, the website repeatedly crashing and thousands of workers leaving the agency.
One of Bisignano’s early efforts to address the overwhelmed phone line was to move field office workers to answer calls. The agency also said it cut wait times at field offices, a statistic repeated by Trump on Thursday. After the agency rolled out a new system of assigning appointments to people walking into field offices, the time people wait in the lobby of field offices went down because they were no longer getting their issues handled when they showed up.
That is misleading, according to the American Federation of Government Employees: “Now you wait 20 minutes in the lobby to get to the window and then you’re given an appointment and you are waiting then months to get your business finished, from start to finish”.
© 2015 Mutual Fund Observer. All rights reserved.
© 2015 Mutual Fund Observer. All rights reserved. Powered by Vanilla
Comments
For so many of us here, who grew up and worked through a generally high standard of ethics at many levels and in many areas; 'HE' is so destructive. An overwhelmingly sad example of a 'human'.
He is an utterly vapid, hollow shell of a real man.
expect the same 'fix' MAGA wants, and gets, for FEMA and healthcare.
of Service to the American People" purportedly sent by Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano.
This email referenced An Open Letter to the American People.
"In an open letter to the American people, Commissioner Bisignano emphasized
the importance of Social Security, his commitment to strengthening the agency,
and the significant improvements to customer service achieved in his first 100 days in office."
The lies and misleading statements propagated by the Commissioner left a bitter aftertaste.
Here's the letter in PDF format.
https://www.ssa.gov/agency/commissioner/assets/materials/COSS-Open-Letter-90th-Anniversary.pdf
new commissioner Frank Bisignano, the former CEO of payments company Fiserv,
even though the agency has shed thousands of jobs and consolidated some offices
in a cost-cutting push led by the Department of Government Efficiency."
"Trump also said the administration has kicked 'nearly 275,00 illegal aliens off of our Social Security.' Unauthorized workers aren’t eligible for future benefits."
"Although Trump said he fulfilled his campaign promise of 'no tax on Social Security
for our seniors,' the Republicans’ megabill stopped short of that.
Instead, it provides for an additional deduction of $6,000 for middle- and lower-income
taxpayers aged 65 and over from 2025 to 2028."
"Since some of the income taxes paid on Social Security benefits flow into the trust fund,
this temporary tax break will accelerate Social Security’s insolvency,
according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget."
"Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made headlines in July when he likened the new Trump investment accounts
for children as a 'backdoor to privatizing Social Security.'
Those remarks received pushback from advocates.
'Unlike private savings, Social Security is a guaranteed earned benefit that you can’t outlive,'
said Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, at the time.
'The American people have a message for Trump and Bessent:
Keep Wall Street’s hands off our Social Security!'”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/social-security-is-90-years-old-trump-just-weighed-in/ar-AA1KwU2D
Addendum
"We’re gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning.
And you’ll say, please, please. It’s too much winning.
We can’t take it anymore. Mr. President, it’s too much."
-Donald J. Trump
”to control or affect (something, such as a game or election) in a dishonest way
They were accused of fixing games in college.
The election was fixed.
fix a parking ticket [=arrange for someone to not have to pay a fine for parking illegally]”