The problem with having no empathy
Musk can keep trying, but he is not going to get very far with Social Security. All he’s doing is making it worse. Social Security recipients receive, on average, approximately $1,700 per month. There are currently approximately 80 million people receiving Social Security, and every one of those 80 million paid into the system from their paychecks. The funny thing is that Musk has been talking about all the “fraud and waste” in the agency since Trump won the election. It’s as if these agencies are burning a hole in his brain, and he can’t stop thinking about it. The Washington Post wrote that DOGE is “struggling” to find that fraud because it doesn’t exist. WaPo was clear that every claim made by Musk is “overblown” or “inaccurate.” If that’s the case, why is Musk lying about it? During his first address to Congress, Trump claimed that DOGE was “identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probably fraud” in the agency. None of this is true. So, what’s at the root of all these lies and misrepresentations?
Musk sees that this agency distributes $1.6 trillion in benefits per year, and he’s looking to slash $2 trillion from the federal budget. The problem for Musk is that this is not federal money. It’s our money. He treats this as some type of joke. He brings out chainsaws and other props to make his point, but his point is clear: he doesn’t care about anyone or anything but himself. This is the man who said empathy is a waste of time. It’s not even possible to understand how a human being lives without empathy-empathy for the sick old man next door, for the dog that got hit by a car that was driving too fast, empathy even for our own children. Musk has disowned his child because she is transgender. Given this, it is possible to understand how Musk can caustically rip benefits away from senior Americans, children with disabilities, and mothers left without the fathers of their children after a death. These are normal things that most of us feel; we can read about others’ journeys and feel their pain. This man cannot. That’s why, in a way, he was the perfect person for Donald Trump, who also has no empathy for others. Neither of them has had Social Security ripped from their paychecks every two weeks without their permission. Indeed, they have never worked for anyone else, and because they have no empathy, it doesn’t matter to them that it’s our money.
This is what supporters of Donald Trump have loosened on this country. We’ve spent years counting our pennies, trying to figure out whether Social Security will be enough, and now, we may never even recoup our money. Our only hope is the judges who continue to block the actions of Trump and Musk. Trump is fighting them, calling them names, and trying to impeach them, and this is the person some of you wanted in office. Congratulations for all the lives you have ruined and those yet to be ruined.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years