ICYMI: Larson Calls Out Trump-Musk Attacks on Social Security on Connecticut Public’s The Wheelhouse

Frankie Graziano: For Connecticut Public, I’m Frankie Graziano with The Wheelhouse: the show that connects politics to the people. We’ve got your weekly dose of politics in Connecticut and beyond right here. Homelessness rates are reaching record highs in Connecticut and across the country. Meanwhile, housing costs remain unaffordable for many, for owning and renting. During this year’s state legislative session, exclusions are being proposed. But just how many will pass? And just how big of an impact will they have for people who need help now? We’ll get to that in a bit, but first—Congressman John Larson has gone viral. Last week he called out Elon Musk, head of the Trump Administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency, or ‘DOGE,’ over concerns about the future of Social Security during a committee hearing.   

Rep. Larson: And that’s why I do not understand why you would relegate this committee to no longer being of significance and resort to saying, you will do whatever Elon Musk and Donald Trump tell you to do. Where’s the independence of the committee? Where's the legislature? We're an equal branch of government. And you start off with a blather and yet, look at the empty seats here. Where is Elon Musk? 

 Frankie Graziano: that’s the face of somebody who wants accountability and there he is. Here to talk about his challenge to Elon Musk is Congressman John Larson. Congressman Larson, thank you so much for coming on the show today.   

Rep. Larson: Happy to be with you, Frankie.   

Frankie Graziano: We’ve got the Congressman on the show right now. We’d like to get you on the line, now, folks, if you’re listening and have a question just like our friend Denyse Trembley did about Social Security benefits last week, give us a call if you want to talk to the Congressman. It is 888-720-9677. 888-720-9677. Congressman, you want answers, Americans want answers, so it sounds like you’re hoping to get them too. Do you feel like you are?  

Rep. Larson: Well, frankly no. And I think it’s a little more frightening than that. I think that this Administration has to be exposed for what it’s attempting to do. This is nothing short of the privatization of Social Security. The American people, you and I, may have been born at night, but not last night, and when you’re not going to bring someone who is in charge of finding of $2 trillion to cut, who goes on television, and the Larry Kudlow show, and tells everybody about how he is going to privatize Social Security and Medicare, and then the Trump Administration denies it, and says we’re not going to privatize Social Security, that demands answers, and that demands the Ways and Means Committee, the committee of cognizance over Social Security. Bring Mr. Musk and also the Social Security Administration that Trump has temporarily appointed before the committee and ask why are you getting rid of all of these employees and these regional offices, including these Inspectors General? Why is Trump saying he’s not going to touch it, and yet, and frankly, in honesty, Musk says, no, he’s going to privatize it because 70% of the federal budget is made up of Social Security, Medicare, and defense. And that’s where he’s going. And what is their goal? Privatization.    

Frankie Graziano: When you say privatization, could you just spell that out a little bit more in terms of the ramifications that that could have for Americans?  

Rep. Larson: Sure. As you know, Frankie, and I’m sure most of the viewers do as well, Social Security is not an entitlement, number one. It’s something you paid for. It’s an earned benefit. All Americans have to do is look at their pay stub, and it says FICA. That stands for Federal Insurance Contribution. Whose? Yours. Because this is a program that’s paid for and entrusted that their government will return to them a benefit. And in the case of Social Security, not just a pension, but also spousal, widows, dependent children, and disability benefits. In fact, more veterans rely on Social Security disability than they do on the VA. So, it’s the number one anti-poverty program for the elderly and for the children in this country. Long sought after. And previous attempts by Ronald Reagan in ‘82 to privatize, it was stopped. By George Bush in 2005, it was stopped. This time though, they’re being a little more clever. What they’re trying to do is decimate the agency, because whether is done or not, Frankie, in 2034, everyone will see a 20% cut in Social Security because Congress hasn’t taken action to enhance the program since Richard Nixon was President of the United States. That’s how dire the situation is. And what they hope to do is make the case to the public that Social Security isn’t working: people aren’t returning their calls, you’re not able to visit them, you’re not able to see them. And, oh my god, look what’s happening here. You’re going to be losing all of these benefits. Unless, of course, we privatize it. It’s all about them trying to get their hands on, not uncoincidentally, the Social Security Trust Fund, which contains $2.7 trillion in Trust Funds already paid for.   

Frankie Graziano: CT Insider reported last week that Social Security office in Torrington was actually briefly listed for sale by DOGE. I want to talk to you about potential for sale signs that are coming up and whether or not this is happening in other buildings in Connecticut and a little more about that Torrington situation.   

Rep. Larson: Well, it certainly is happening in Connecticut. It’s happening all across the country. And again, for what purpose? Is the purpose here because they’re trying to make Social Security efficient? How do you make Social Security efficient by closing a regional office? Here’s what the public needs to know: we live in the insurance capital of the world. Do you know what administrative costs are, on average, for an insurance company? Between 16-24%. Social Security operates after cuts from the Republicans at an all-time low of under 1%, and they’re decimating that even further. And here’s the bottom line, we don’t have to go back to 1929. You can go back to 2008 when people saw their 401k become a 101k, and they lost money. During that time, Social Security never missed a payment. Never has and never will, as long as Congress does its job. But what they’d like to do is to get their hands on that Trust Fund and privatize it — eliminate the bureaucracies both for Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and therefore claim that they're saving the American people money. Trump's whole focus — he’s a master of distraction, sending out all kinds of junk every single day. But focus on this: what’s he’s after every day is his legacy, his tax cut of 2017, Frank, that actually sunsets this year. And that was a $2 trillion tax cut, and that’s the assignment he’s given to the billionaire Elon Musk, who apparently thinks he knows better than the American people and is above the law and doesn’t have to come before the United States Congress, the media, or the general public. Or, he does go before the media, but only on Fox News or with Larry Kudlow, and they never ask him any questions about how he’s going to do this.