Elon Musk says our Social Security system is riddled with fraud and people are submitting fake Social Security numbers to receive benefits.
But in a report last year, the U.S. Inspector General said that while improper payments were found, most were not with criminal intent; they were due to beneficiaries not reporting necessary information, or Social Security failing to update records.
Many of these overpayments, once discovered, were recovered by the agency. So yes, there is government waste, but probably not fraud on the scale Musk says.
The DOGE solution is to require internet identity proofing for benefit claims made over the phone. If a person can’t use the internet, they will be required to visit a field office to provide their ID in person.
That doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? But it is to applicants who have limited access to or experience with the internet, or who have limited transportation.
Social Security administrators estimate this rule change will increase visits to Social Security offices by 14%, offices that already receive 119,128 visits a day nationwide. And now Social Security is cutting staff and closing offices.
This rule will overwhelm the system. Some money might be saved, but it’s likely the savings will come from people just giving up on a deliberately overstressed, failing, underfunded system. Is this what Musk wants?
I agree with Sen. Jacky Rosen: “This isn’t about cutting wasteful spending; this is about putting the needs of billionaires over the needs of seniors who have paid into these benefits their entire lives.”
Anne Macquarie
Carson City