To the editor:

I am writing to let people know that Social Security is now under attack by the same people who falsely claimed the program was paying benefits to millions of dead people. In the name of efficiency, staff cuts are in the works and local offices are being closed.

Since 2010, Social Security budgets and staff have been cut by about 16% while the number of beneficiaries needing service has increased by 22%. Staff at SSA offices are already doing more with less. The local offices being closed are a critical resource for the most complicated cases including claims for disability benefits. Over 120,000 people a day visit SSA offices, so each closure means fewer knowledgeable staff available to serve more people. Studies have shown that when offices have closed in the past, there was a 16% decline in disability recipients in the surrounding communities due to excess demand in the remaining offices.

We hear assurances that Social Security and Medicare benefits will not be touched, but lack of access and fewer trained staff means fewer people will get the help they need to successfully apply. That means real cuts in benefits to the people who need them most. Less service, longer waiting times and delays in processing claims just set the stage for what will be the next proposed efficiency, contracting out services to corporations and privatizing the system. It has been tried in the past, and I have no doubt that is where we are headed again despite the public’s overwhelming support for the program.

So don’t get fooled by the lies, misdirection and sleight of hand. Demand that Congress, the courts and the White House protect Social Security and Medicare.

Rock Singewald
Warren