This is a DISASTER
“It seems as if the horrendous Trump news doesn’t end-and it doesn’t. We’ve barely endured just over seven weeks of his scourge, and every day brings new awfulness.” Robert Reich gets it. You may remember him as President Obama’s Secretary of Labor, but he’s so much more than that. He helps to keep me grounded during these awful times; he helps to keep me sane. I bring Reich up because I hope he might do the same for you. Ever since Trump assumed office on January 20, it has been one shock after another. The media is inundated with the news because it’s so fast, furious, and bad. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are running roughshod through the federal system.
As a former employee of the federal court system, I know all too well there is plenty of waste in that agency, which leads me to believe there is waste in others. However, I also believe that it takes time to examine every area of an agency to pinpoint where that waste may lie. Just running through these complex systems and firing people left and right without even knowing the systems is not only stupid but it is dangerous. Take the example given by the Seattle Times. The outlet spoke with one of the dead who is receiving social security benefits. Yes, they spoke with him, so he’s obviously not dead.
Even as headlines screamed: “DOGE Has 10 Staffers at Social Security in Hunt for the Dead People,” writer Danny Westneat wrote: “I found a dead person on Social Security. Right here in Seattle, on Capitol Hill.” The “dead” beneficiary is Leonard “Ned” Johnson, who told Westneat: “You wake up one day and discover you’re dead. It’s been truly surreal.” Johnson is 82 years old, but he is still very alive and completely obliterates Musk’s claims that hundreds (if not thousands) of dead people are receiving social security benefits. In fact, Johnson’s problems began just last month. Coincidence? This is why Musk and his IT people should not be roaming around inside of a system they don’t understand. Ned’s plight gets worse.
When he didn’t receive February or March benefits, he contacted his bank, who told him that they had received a notification on February 18 that he had died in November. They didn’t care either, telling him to “take it up with Social Security.” After trying to call two to three times a day for two weeks, he went to the local office, which has been targeted by Musk for closure. Oh, and did I mention that his bank removed over $5,000 that social security claimed he owed back since he died in November? He did get that back, but he is still waiting for his February and March benefit payments.
Ned is lucky. He doesn’t live on social security alone, but many seniors do. Messing with this system was one of the worst things Musk could have done. What does he care? He has money for days. Trump has created a disaster for people collecting social security, and he needs to fix it and stop messing around with things neither he nor Musk understand.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years