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President Donald Trump marked the 90th anniversary of Social Security with a defense of the policies of his administration towards the program – and attacks against his democratic rivals.
Trump signed a presidential proclamation in the oval office on Thursday, in which he recognized the “monumental” importance of the social security network program.
“I recommend that I always defend social security”, Proclamation reads.
“To date, social security is rooted in a simple promise: those who have given their career to the construction of our nation will always have the support, stability and relief they deserve.”
But Trump’s second term as president was forced by accusations that he has undermined programs such as social security in the pursuit of other elements of the agenda, including his restructuring of the federal government.
What is social security?
In the United States, Social Security is based on payroll taxes to finance monthly payments to the elderly, the spouses of deceased workers and the disabled. For many beneficiaries, payments are a main source of retirement income.
The program is considered to be very popular: in 2024, the Pew Research Center found that 79% of Americans think that social security should in no case be reduced.
In addition, four out of 10 people interviewed rose with the idea that Social Security should be extended to include more people and more advantages.
But the program faces important obstacles to its long -term feasibility.
Last year, Social Security Administration (SSA) published a report This revealed that the costs of age, invalidity and insurance of survivors have exceeded the income of the programs.
He noted that trustee funds supplying these programs “should be exhausted in 2033” if the measures are not taken to reverse the trend.
When Thursday’s oval office appear, Trump sought to appease these concerns, while dragging the Democratic Party.
“You continue to hear stories that in six years, seven years, social security will have disappeared,” said Trump.
“And it will be if the Democrats get involved because they don’t know what they are doing. But it’s going to be about us.”
He added that social security “was going to be destroyed” under his Democratic predecessor, former President Joe Biden, a frequent target for his attacks.
Trump’s history criticism
But Trump himself has faced criticism to weaken social security since his return to the White House for a second term in January.
Very early on, Trump and his adversary at the time, Elon Musk, established plans to reduce the federal workforce and reduce expenses, in particular by targeting the Social Security Administration (SSA).
In February, the Social Security Administration said He “would reduce the size of his swollen workforce and his organizational structure”, echoing the rhetoric of Trump and Musk.
Projected layoffs and early retirement incentives were designed to reduce Social Security personnel from 57,000 to 50,000, a decrease of 12.3%.
Under Trump, the Ministry of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) also announced its intention to reduce social security services, although it has since been overturned to a public outcry.
In addition, Musk and Trump attacked the reputation of Social Security, with the former advisor by telling the animator of Podcast Joe Rogan, “Social Security is the largest Ponzi scheme of all time”.
The two men even said that Social Security paid advantages to millions of people who have been dead for a long time, although criticisms stressed that these claims do not seem to be true.
The cobol programming system used by the Social Security Administration marks incomplete inscriptions with dates from birth, according to News Wired magazine. These entries, however, generally do not receive any benefits.
The office of the Inspector General supervising the Social Security Administration has repeatedly examined these older entries. He confirmed that these entries are not active.
“We recognize that almost none of the nominotic holders discussed in the report currently receives SSA payments,” said Report from 2023 said.
He also indicated that Social Security Administration should pay between $ 5.5 million and $ 9.7 million to update its programming, although changes would give “limited advantages” in the fight against fraud.
However, Trump doubled the assertion that the dead received services on Thursday.
“We had 12.4 million names where they were over 120,” said Trump. “There were nearly 135,000 people listed who were over 160 years old and, in some cases, obtained payments. So someone gets these payments. “
Questions after `a great nice bill ‘
Critics have also wondered if Trump’s push to reduce taxes will have long -term effects that will erode social security.
In July, Trump’s signature legislation, the so-called Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), cemented its 2017 tax reductions. It also increased the tax deductions of employees who count on advice or social security services.
But groups like the Committee for a responsible federal budget, a bipartite reflection group, believe that the One Big Beautiful Bill law will shorten the calendar for the insolvency of Social Security.
“The law dictates that when the trust funds exhaust their reservations, payments are limited to incoming income”, ” The committee said At the end of July.
“For the social security retirement program, we believe that this means a drop in advantages of 24% at the end of 2032, after the promulgation of the OBBBA.”
However, Trump has repeatedly promised to defend social security from any reduction in services. He reiterated this commitment in the appearance of Thursday.
“The American seniors, every day, we will fight for them. We will make them richer, better, stronger in so many different ways,” said Trump.
“But social security is roughly the one we think, and we love it, and we love what’s going on with it, and it’s going to be good for 90 years and beyond.”
More than 69.9 million Americans received social security benefits in July.
