'Already happening': Outrage as seniors claim Trump is already 'stealing' benefits

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Raw Story

March 16, 2025 5:30PM ET


"DOGE is a disaster of incompetence." That's how one political scientist responded to Saturday reporting about a Washington state man fighting for his Social Security benefits as U.S. President Donald Trump and the head of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), billionaire Elon Musk, attack the federal bureaucracy, including the agency that administers payments to seniors like Leonard "Ned" Johnson.

Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat shared the story of 82-year-old Johnson. In February, his wife received a notification from their bank that the Social Security Administration (SSA) requested a return for benefits paid out after the supposed death of her husband. She figured it was a scam—as Johnson was alive—but the request was real and $5,201 was pulled from their account.

As Westneat detailed, after making multiple calls to SSA, during which Johnson was "put on hold and then eventually disconnected," and securing an appointment that was ultimately rescheduled for next week, "he went to the office on the ninth floor of the Henry Jackson Federal Building downtown," one of several sites across the United States that DOGE wants to shut down.

According to the columnist:

After waiting for four hours, Johnson admits he jumped the line: "I saw an opening and I kind of rushed up and told them I was listed as dead. That seemed to get their attention."

Once in front of a human, Johnson said he was able to quickly prove he was alive, using his passport and his gift of gab. They pledged to fix his predicament, and on Thursday this past week, the bank called to say it had returned the deducted deposits to his account. As of Friday morning he hadn't received February or March's benefits payments.

"When I was in that line, I was thinking that if I was living solely off Social Security, I could be close to dumpster diving about now," he said.

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-already-stealing-senior-benefits/

[Blues Heron]

1. Doubt he is the only one

[LymphocyteLover]

6. Agree and only a taste of what is to come if these monsters aren't stopped

[Walleye]

2. I guess Elon thought we were too comfortable getting our payments on time every month

This is America. We’re supposed to be afraid and insecure.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Yes they want us to be afraid, insecure, distraught.

Part of the fascist playbook.
Makes for a more docile populace.

[aggiesal]

3. Here is the actual story from Seattle Times. ...

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

[samnsara]

4. yep! the nazi youth are roaming the streets....

[Buddyzbuddy]

5. That is so F'd up.

[Wiz Imp]

7. I'm not defending DOGE, but the SSA incorrectly identifying small numbers of people as deceased

has been a regular occurrence for a long time. It's not necessarily an issue being caused by DOGE.

https://www.azfamily.com/2024/12/18/im-not-dead-why-thousands-people-are-erroneously-declared-dead-every-year/

‘I’m not dead!‘: Why thousands of people are erroneously declared dead every year

The Social Security Administration acknowledges that thousands of people are mistakenly added to the ‘death master file’ every year. A spokesperson says about 3.1 million deaths are reported to the SSA annually by states, family members, funeral homes, federal agencies and financial institutions.

The vast majority of the time, death reports are accurate, but about one-third of one percent have to be corrected. Some quick math will tell you that’s about 10,230 death reports that are wrong.

The SSA says if you suspect you’ve been incorrectly listed as dead, go to your local Social Security office. Be sure to have at least one current form of identification with you. SSA says it will correct the error immediately and give you a letter confirming the correction.

[groundloop]

10. HOWEVER, massive layoffs will make it far more difficult to resolve errors

[Wiz Imp]

14. That is true. The SSA was already severely understaffed

cutting more people will just make things worse.

[Joinfortmill]

9. They touched the third rail.

[bronxiteforever]

11. This is the intentional destabilization of the economy

Democratic pols need to start saying directly that the economy could collapse and it would take with it most TSF voters.

[Lonestarblue]

12. Economic collapse is Trump's goal. The billionaire then snatch up all the assets.

Steve Mnuchin made millions during the 2008 Republican Great Recession by having his bank foreclose on properties as quickly as possible, especially those owned by minorities. We are fast becoming an oligarchy, not a democracy.

[bronxiteforever]

13. I agree plus they are trying to kill the dollar as the

reserve currency. Currency manipulation never ends well.

[slightlv]

18. I suggest we already ARE an oligarchy...

AND a kakistocracy! We certainly are not a democracy anymore. Most women haven't felt that way for a few years now. It's just right now, more people from more segments of society are losing what they considered their rights and freedoms.

I say we're not a democracy because the words of the people don't make any difference. You had an election recently? Prove to me that Musk and trump and others didn't "fix" it for him to win. I don't care what was said prior to this last election, and I don't care who said it. I say prove THIS one to me.

Our own party won't listen to its constituents and instead votes to side with the axis of evil. Just 10 people? Where are the hundred plus+ screaming bloody murder to every outlet at all times and in all ways... if it takes a bunch of these politicians to stand on street corners with signs explaining what's going on... because they can't get on TV? Then they should do it! This is an existential crisis. I'm 69... I have what? 20+ years to live, maybe, if I'm really lucky? The idiots that don't do anything about this right now are facing decades more living under what North Koreans call "normal." And the ones in government now are trying to kill me off with the next few years, if not earlier. We've had maybe 4-6 democrats trying to push the narrative, and that's all I've seen. But then, I do live in a stupid red state.

I just don't understand why the Democratic and Independent parties aren't screaming the bloody murder over what is happening to everyone, everywhere, every minute every day! And yet, I still get emails and even written literature begging for money. Money to do what? They have more money than I do by a long shot. And yet I feel like I'm doing more in my little microverse to combat trumpism than they are doing with all that power at their hands.

I'm feeling despondent at the sheer lunacy of it all. I'm feeling lost in frustration at what IS being done by those who do evil, and what ISN'T being done by those who say they're on "our side." And now I have to watch my mouth because I could be declared a victim of TDS, when I think it's the magats who are suffering from TDS. Up is down; black is white; and Life, itself, feels as cheap as it was during the Dark Ages. Only oligarchs have the money and freedom to do all they want, whenever they want, to whomever and whatever they want. We just try to hang on to what little we have in hope of affording a little bit of hamburger for protein. Yeah... I say we're no longer a democracy. Even those who keep track of these things on the worldwide front agree. We were recently taken out of that running. And yet, I haven't seen any headlines about that in any of these great newspapers or on TV. So, we most definitely are living under censorship already. If you're not a white, male, christian of the right type, your history is being actively erased. How long before they actually erase you?!

[IronLionZion]

15. When are people going to push back against this?

DOGE wants people frustrated with government service so they can cut more and privatize and screw as many people as possible. Lots of mistakes, long wait times at call centers, closing in person offices, mass firings, making it much harder to resolve mistakes, and so on.

[republianmushroom]

16. What the hell, he told you what he was going to do and many now complaining

voted for him. Those that voted for him, stop your complaining. Suck it up. You caused this problem.

[North Coast Lawyer]

17. Elder Abuse

Elder abuse has become the ultra-right's standard operating procedure. A terrified elderly population is an easy to control elderly population.

[slightlv]

19. Except for those of us who can't keep our mouths shut...

they have other ways of dealing with us. Seems trump has already thought of one of those ways today!