U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders warned late Monday that billionaire Elon Musk’s new call for up to $700 billion in cuts to mandatory federal spending is an alarming step in the direction of Social Security privatization, a longstanding—and deeply unpopular—goal of right-wing politicians and corporate-funded think tanks.

Musk, who is spearheading a large-scale assault on federal agencies and workers, told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow on Monday that “waste and fraud” in “entitlement spending”—a category that includes Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—is “the big one to eliminate,” estimating that up to $700 billion could be cut from such programs.

  • pelespirit
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    21 hours ago

    I don’t normally do warnings like this, but once you lose a program like this, it’s hard to get it back.

    • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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      20 hours ago

      I think there’s a famous quote from some right-winger about how they need to oppose social programs because people like them, and once they see how good they can be it’s really hard to repeal them. Can’t find it right now, or I might have imagined it.

      • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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        20 hours ago

        Relabel the program so even some people relying on it will be against it. Both sides of knowledge are powerful, education and ignorance.

          • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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            19 hours ago

            Yes, or even more broadly, “I don’t want socialized medicine, keep government out of healthcare, and don’t touch my Medicare.”

              • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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                8 hours ago

                It’s an injection to strengthen your aura and balance your chakras.

                Jesus, those are already a thing and the FDA has a warning out about them.

                So they must work! :D