From People:
Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., ducked questions about the possibility of House Speaker Mike Johnson making cuts to Social Security by appearing to fake a minute-long phone call outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, June 9.
After he was approached by a reporter for the liberal outlet MeidasTouchand asked about “Mike Johnson’s secret plan to cut Social Security,” Wittman, 67, put his phone to his head and appeared to have a one-sided conversation as the device remained lit up and cycled through apps while he pressed it against his face. During the encounter, the visible phone screen never showed sign that a call was in progress.
“Hey, how you doing? I'm good. I'm good with that. Yeah, I'll be there in just a few minutes,” Wittman said into his phone as soon as the question was asked. …
This doesn’t sound like someone who would vote to cut Social Security benefits. The GOP can talk about the impending “bankruptcy” of Social Security as if they’re eager for cuts in benefits to happen but they’re not or, at least, they know the voters will not countenance this. Democrats need do nothing other than call the Republican bluff. Dems certainly shouldn’t vote for any cuts in benefits. The GOP will fold in the end. Of course, folding will probably mean funding Social Security out of general revenues rather than a tax increase on the wealthy but that’s way better than any cuts in benefits.
11 comments:
The GOP doesn’t want to be blamed for any cuts and therefore will run out the clock and let the 22% across the board cuts happen automatically. Remember that the President has the veto pen until early 2029 and by that time the trust fund will be depleted further. In that manner, the ultimate goal of privatizing Social Security by Republicans will be achieved. Wall Street is salivating for the infusion of new money.
Project 2025 does not propose fully privatizing Social Security, though the Heritage Foundation—the think tank behind the blueprint—has advocated for transitioning to personal accounts.
Trump Accounts" are government-seeded, tax-advantaged investment accounts for children that some Republican lawmakers and administration officials are framing as a stepping stone toward Social Security privatization, rather than an immediate replacement.
We think that these IRAs for independent workers are very important. We are working to finish our guidance on the Trump accounts to get those up and running July 4th. Then we will be all hands-on deck for this. And as you said, we can see that the anxiety level for Americans in terms of retirement, that has never been higher. Social Security is the building blocks for that, and we are working to supplement that,” Bessent responded.
The tactic of this administration is to delay.. delay.. delay since time is on their side. By the way, that GOP representative is still on the phone pretending to be talking to someone.
Nobody is cutting benefits. It is not going to happen. Never was going to happen. The math on this is pretty simple, even for law school grads. 1 in 5 Americans receive a payment from SSA. The hole a 20% cut would make in the national economy would lead to a complete economic collapse. You simply cant take that much money out of the system and have it still stand. We all know its going to be a bump in the cap and a tax increase, just do it and get it over. Be much more worried about the impending collapse of Medicare and Medicaid. Healthcare itself is on life support and losing ground every tic of the clock.
Does anybody believe that the “ I love the inflation” individual can fix Social Security?
Scrap the cap.
Read the tea leaves, folks: Democrats will take the presidency in 2029, so the Social Security shortfall will occur at the end of their watch. Once again, the Dems will be stuck fixing what the Republicans cause or can't fix. But do people remember the Dems. are the ones that fix it or the Dems are the ones that impose a tax increase or benefit cut? Republicans are probably counting on the latter since they can't seem to grow a pair.
Breaking news for Mike Johnson.. the Republicans will no longer control the House of Representatives next year.
In an interview yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid “have to be adjusted and fixed. We have a plan to do that next year.” Johnson has claimed that cuts to these critical programs are necessary to reduce the national debt, even though Donald Trump and Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill” is expected to add nearly $5 trillion to the debt because of its tax cuts for the rich, despite making the largest cut to Medicaid in history.
It’s quite obvious you are not one of the aforementioned law school graduates.
While Social Security is massive, its total annual payouts represent about 4% to 5% of the total U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A 22% cut equals a direct hit of roughly 1% to GDP, which is a severe contraction but structurally survivable for the nation as a whole.
The Federal Reserve would likely step in by lowering interest rates or injecting liquidity into the financial system to counteract the sudden drop in consumer demand.
“[We’ve reduced] the average speed of answer on the 800 number to the lowest level in a decade to under 5 minutes in May 2026—an 89% reduction from an all-time monthly high of 42 minutes in fiscal year 2024,” he wrote in his written testimony.
But those figures are misleading for two reasons. First, the 42-minute average wait time figure dates back to November 2023; by the end of 2024, average 1-800 wait times had fallen to 12 minutes. The second problem is that last summer, Bisignano changed SSA’s methodology for calculating call wait times by omitting the time customers who elected to be called back rather than be put on hold waited for their call back, instead calculating their wait time as “zero.”
Cutting benefits for individuals that paid into Social Security is the ultimate example of elder abuse.
On June 15, 2026, the Social Security Administration will join federal partners and stakeholder groups in commemorating World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD)
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