This week marked the 90th anniversary of Social Security, an institution that has, for nine decades, reliably delivered on its promise to the American people. Yet, for the first time in its history, that promise is in jeopardy.
Recent actions by the current administration are undermining the Social Security Administration’s ability to function. The implementation of a new automated system, reportedly developed by Elon Musk’s tech firm and dubbed DOGE, has already led to the displacement of 7,000 SSA workers. As a direct result, Americans are facing ballooning wait times, and up to five hours waiting on the phone; local offices are closing their doors; and millions are at risk of not receiving the benefits they are owed.
This manufactured crisis disproportionately harms Native communities. With Native elders already facing higher poverty rates than the national average and Native populations accessing Social Security at lower rates, these new administrative barriers will only deepen existing inequities. For those with disabilities or living in rural areas and on reservations, the closure of a local office isn’t an inconvenience—it’s a potential loss of a lifeline, especially if transportation is a challenge.
This appears to be a deliberate strategy. Rather than openly proposing cuts to Social Security — a program that 10,000 Americans become eligible for each day— conservatives are making it progressively harder to access. The administration is engineering the system’s failure to justify its dismantlement. As the Treasury Secretary stated last month, the ultimate objective is the “backdoor privatization of Social Security.”
Their plan is clear: break the system, declare it broken, and then hand it over to Wall Street. On its 90th birthday, we must commit to strengthening the Social Security Administration for future generations, not allowing it to be dismantled from within.
Peggy L. Van Sickle
Brighton
