THE LEVIN LETTER: Hands Off Our Social Security
If you’ve worked hard, paid taxes, and played by the rules, you should be able to count on Social Security when you retire. That’s been the American promise for the last 90 years. Social Security isn’t a luxury—it’s a contract between government and the people.
Today, that contract is under threat—not from some distant crisis, but from deliberate choices being made right now in Washington, D.C. Some are happening out in the open. Others are being pushed quietly. But all of them point to the same strategy: weaken Social Security’s infrastructure until it buckles, then claim the program itself is broken.
Let’s be honest about what’s going on. Across the country, approximately 67 million Americans rely on Social Security benefits. That includes retirees, people with disabilities, children who’ve lost a parent, and surviving spouses. In my district alone, more than 137,000 people count on these earned benefits—nearly 113,000 retirees, over 7,000 individuals with disabilities, and more than 4,600 children. These are people who paid into the system, built this country, and kept their end of the bargain.
But now, at least 7,000 workers are being laid off from the Social Security Administration—an agency that already struggles to answer calls, process claims, and keep field offices open. That means more people waiting hours on hold, websites crashing with no one available to fix them, and closed doors at local offices. For seniors who aren’t comfortable navigating the internet or don’t have reliable access, this isn’t just frustrating; it’s a deal-breaker.
Some people in Washington call these cuts necessary reforms. I don’t buy it. You don’t reform a system by hollowing out the workforce that keeps it running. You don’t help Americans by pushing them into months-long queues for the benefits they’ve earned. This isn’t reform. It’s sabotage.
And it raises a serious question: Who benefits when Social Security is weakened?
We’ve seen this before. The same voices who say we can’t afford to fully fund Social Security are often the loudest advocates for tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit billionaires and the biggest corporations. They’re not trying to fix Social Security. They’re trying to break people’s trust in government so they can shrink it, privatize it, and cash in.
Let’s talk about DOGE—which, I think, really stands for Destruction of Government by Elon.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, recently called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.” That’s not just misleading—it’s reckless. Social Security isn’t a scam. It’s a self-funded, earned-benefit program that has lifted millions of Americans out of poverty. It’s funded by payroll contributions from workers and employers, not Wall Street speculation.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently said on live television that his mother-in-law wouldn’t mind if she didn’t get her Social Security check. That’s easy to say for a billionaire like Lutnick. For the average retiree, the monthly Social Security benefit is the difference between covering basic necessities or going without. When the Commerce Secretary shrugs off Social Security like it’s a luxury, that tells you everything about who this administration is listening to—and who it’s not.
I believe we should be strengthening Social Security, not undermining it. That’s why I’ve cosponsored the Social Security 2100 Act, which would extend the program’s solvency through the end of the century and expand benefits for the first time in decades. It does so without raising taxes on middle-class families and without raising the retirement age. It asks the wealthiest Americans to start paying into the system at the same rate as everyone else.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I’m working to protect Social Security from backdoor cuts. That means making sure the money Congress allocates actually reaches the people it’s meant to serve. It means making sure our field offices are staffed, our systems are functioning, and our contract with the American people remains unbroken.
Social Security isn’t just a line item in the budget. It’s a moral commitment. A promise that if you work hard and contribute, you won’t be left behind when you’re older or facing hardship. It’s one of the greatest achievements in American history, and it reflects who we are as a country.
Let’s remember what’s really at stake. This is a fundamental question of who we’re willing to stand up for—and who we’re willing to leave behind.
U.S. Representative Mike Levin represents the 49th Congressional District, which includes the South Orange County cities of Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. He was reelected in 2024 to serve his fourth term. He resides in San Juan Capistrano with his wife and two children.
By: Rep. Mike Levin
Source: San Clemente Times