We’ve all heard the dire news: Elon Musk is taking a wrecking ball to Social Security, the agency that has not missed a payment in about 90 years and had an overhead rate of less than 1 percent—maximum efficiency. 

Nearly 1.5 million people in our state —about 20 percent— receive Social Security checks or SSI payments for a disability.  Often it’s their primary or sole source of income.  Massachusetts has the highest percentage of older adults in the country who live alone and in poverty, according to the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston.  Missing even one check could prove catastrophic. [Source: WBUR].

Social Security is money that Bay Staters have earned.  We have contributed to this fund throughout our working careers for our retirement.  It’s our money. Disruptions in payments or services are alarming and unacceptable.  We view the taking of our funds for billionaires as theft. 

Disruptions to Social Security payments are happening in Massachusetts!  They need to be documented. 

We ask that MA Attorney General Andrea Campbell set up a page on her website to capture evidence of any disruption in payments or services (backdoor cuts in benefits):

• Disruptions in payments
• Inability to access online services
• Disruptions in telephone services
• Inability to access in-person services at a Social Security office

How might the evidence be used?

AG Campbell would have a number of options with concrete evidence in hand:

• Conduct investigations into lack of access or other service disruptions
• Perform outreach to those whose benefits have been interrupted or stopped
• Reach out to our Congressional delegation with the evidence collected
• File a lawsuit against the Administration.

There is a model

As she said on The Rachel Maddow Show on April 8th, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has created a simple, yet effective web page to capture any issues her constituents experience with Social Security.  In response, Arizonans are reporting disruptions in payments and services. 

Please take a moment to sign this petition right now so that Bay Staters have a place to report issues they are experiencing with the Social Security system. 

Gathering this evidence could help avert disaster for ourselves and our neighbors. 

Thank you. And please forward this petition to your friends.