Elon Musk, and most congressional Republicans are taking aim at Social Security. They want to give the rich more massive tax cuts, and they know they need to convince Americans that they have taken action that will reduce the debt. Social Security is one of the largest expenses of the federal government, so they are going to target it for cuts.
The implication is that Social Security takes government money away from other things the government needs to do. BUT THAT IS AN OUTRAGEOUS LIE!
The truth is that Social Security has never added a penny to the national debt because it is not paid for with discretionary funds (from income taxes or other taxes raised by the federal government). It is paid with funds from the Social Security Trust Fund. Every working American pays about 6% of their salary below 176,100 to this fund (which is solely dedicated to funding Social Security payments). They pay this for every year of their working life (usually about 40 to 45 years).
Every cent of every Social Security check ever issued has come from this fund. And since the fund has always had enough money to make the payments required, it has never added to the national debt.
It is true that Social Security is facing a funding problem that will occur about 2035. At that time, there will not be enough funds to pay full checks for Social Security recipients. The fund will only be able to issue checks with about 85% of what they should be. But even then, Social Security would not add to the national debt - it would just have to reduce the amount of each check issued. This could be easily fixed by raising the cap above the current level of $176,100 - to about $250,000 or even eliminating the cap altogether.
Republicans know this, but hope you will believe their lies. They didn't like Social Security when it was created, and have been trying to do away with it ever since. They now hope to use the national debt argument to do that. They hope the public doesn't realize most of the national debt is caused by huge tax cuts for corporations and the rich and super-rich - not Social Security (or help for the poor and disadvantaged).
The truth is that Social Security is one of the most successful programs ever created by the federal government. Without it, nearly 40% of seniors would be living below the poverty line. With it, only about 10% have incomes below the poverty line. It keeps over 16 million seniors out of poverty - and it does so without adding to the national debt.
Don't believe the Republican lies. And don't let them damage the Social Security program.
