Here comes a whole new kind of evil
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not interested in a check from DOGE. I want them to stay the hell away from my Social Security. If they want to give money, write me a check from my latest Social Security statement, and we’ll call it even. Musk and DOGE have done nothing with Social Security but create turmoil. At least a federal judge stopped them from accessing our personal information. What use could they possibly have for that? They are busily changing the rules to make it even more difficult to deal with the agency. All I have to say is Elon Musk does not want me to come to Washington.
One of the changes DOGE has made to Social Security deals with overpayments. In the past, if the agency accidentally overpaid a beneficiary, they could repay it monthly with a 10% deduction from their checks. Now, it must be repaid in a lump sum, which means some people won’t be getting checks at all. This is cruel. Many people look to Social Security as their sole source of income, but they’re willing to take that away in favor of getting money back that the government should never have paid in the first place. It’s their mistake; they should have to wait for repayment. This change is effective only for new beneficiaries (like me). I’ll be watching my check like the proverbial hawk to ensure that it includes nothing more than that to which I am entitled.
Another problematic change is the new restrictions on updates to direct deposit information. Beneficiaries will no longer be allowed to make corrections by phone. They must either visit a field office or update it online. Since they’re requiring people to visit field offices, let’s look at what they’ve done with those. DOGE initially sought to close 50 offices, which, according to MSN, served 100,000 visitors per day. Thanks to a recent court ruling, those offices will now remain open. Even with this news, the Washington Post reported that SSA is suffering from long waits, nonstop calls, and web crashes. The site has crashed four times in 10 days just this month. They are in the process of trying to confirm a new Commissioner, Chris Frank Bisignano, who is the CEO of Pfizer. During his confirmation hearing, Bernie Sanders asked: “When you have a system that’s not working now, do you think it’s a great idea to lay off half of the employees?” Bisignano responded: “I think the answer is probably no.” Right answer, though he will likely incur Donald Trump’s wrath, not that it really matters because Trump is sinking like the Titanic.
According to Newsweek, views of Trump in deep red Texas have plunged by 15%. His favorability rating in Texas currently stands at -3, which is down from a 12% favorability rating after the election. The middle class, who should have known better, has also soured on Trump. Folks don’t seem so happy with their choice, and though we all tried to tell them, they insisted on resurrecting Trump. I hope they’re happy.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years