It's been mildly amusing over the years as GOP politicians and operatives and pundits have tried to belittle Social Security benefits as 'entitlements'. Well, they are entitlements, I paid for them over my work life, and now in retirement, I am entitled to them.
But this past week this got a bit more interesting. Social Security Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano sent out an email to millions of Americans touting Donald Trump's support and protection of Social Security benefits and their importance to retired Americans. He didn't use the word entitlements once...but instead used some very surprisingly factual wording to describe SS benefits. From his email.
"This weekend, America celebrates its 250th birthday. For over 90 of those years, Social Security has provided financial freedom for America's seniors. President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration are not only protecting Social Security, but we are providing meaningful and immediate relief to older Americans who have spent decades contributing to our nation's economy.
Just last year, on July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. This historic legislation included a tax cut that allows Americans 65 and older to keep more of their hard-earned Social Security benefits"
Their hard-earned benefits. Put that in the back of your memory banks and pull it out when needed in the future. Quite frankly I was shocked that this came out of the Trump administration, since they have no desire to fix or save Social Security. But there it was in black and white.
A bit more:
"Under the leadership of President Trump, we are protecting and strengthening Social Security while providing world-class customer service... Put simply, America's seniors are winning!"
Having to deal with Social Security as part of being the executor of my brother's estate, they haven't fixed customer service issues in the least. Call times still suck and getting an appointment takes too much time and those appointments of course are weeks out. Winning??? This don't feel like winning.
Recent news has stated that the SSA trust fund will run out even sooner than expected and benefits may need to be reduced by 22%. There are some simple fixes. But I am not holding my breath to see if Trump or Bisignano takes the lead. That's for another time.
It's just smoke up our butts before the mid-terms.
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