Former Social Security commissioner flames Musk's 19-year-old DOGE 'nitwits'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Independent

Wednesday 19 February 2025 01:54 GMT


The former commissioner of the Social Security Administration on Tuesday ripped into “co-presidents” Donald Trump and Elon Musk, along with DOGE’s band of “19-year-old nitwits,” and called them the “biggest threat” to the continued existence of the 90-year-old program so critical to millions of Americans.

Martin O’Malley, a former governor of Maryland who ran the agency during the last year of the Biden administration, mocked Musk’s claims that millions of “zombies” from the age of 100 to 159 are collecting Social Security benefits. “He has no idea what he’s talking about,” O’Malley told CNN anchor Boris Sanchez. “There is not like a zombie apocalypse of people, cadavers running around with Social Security checks coming out of their pockets,” O’Malley scoffed.

He acknowledged there is some abuse in the massive system that involves 72.5 million people, but it’s minor. “Sometimes really desperate people will try to hide the fact that grandma died so they get a couple more checks,” O’Malley said. But he insisted it’s more common that people’s benefits are mistakenly cut off. Musk and Trump “keep throwing stuff out on Twitter that they can never back up,” O’Malley added.

“These 19-year-old nitwits from DOGE that are violating the law and plucking people’s ... personal identifying information, they don’t know what they’re looking at,” he added. O’Malley was referring to Musk’s identified cadre of barely-out-of-college (one only a high school grad), young techies with little work experience, and no indication they have any familiarity with accounts and bookkeeping.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-doge-nitwits-b2700551.html

[Deminpenn]

1. Thank you Martin O'Malley

This is exactly correct. Musk and his minions might have data, but they have no idea how to read or interpret it.

Sometimes deceased recipients die and soc sec doesn't have enough time to cancel immediately the monthly payment. But they will reverse the payment or seek reimbursement.

[Martin Eden]

2. The objective is to destroy Social Security

Trump/Musk are accomplishing in a very short time what Republicans have bern wanting to do for generations.

[Ray Bruns]

3. As a nitwit myself, I find being compared to DOGE insulting.

[Javaman]

4. Dogebags. nt

[Magoo48]

5. Well named. I hope it catches on. I will certainly use it.

[birdographer]

6. Yes, because a 20-year old

whose brain is not even fully developed understands the needs of retired people so well. And of course they have developed empathy in their lengthy time on Earth, with their vast well of experiences. They are children, working for children. What could go wrong?

[IronLionZion]

7. Anything they don't like is declared "fraud, waste, and abuse"

19 year old super genius hot shots hired based on merit don't really think about their own social security benefits. They probably don't mind screwing over their own grandparents either. The fact that this audit involves no accountants, proves their impeccable qualifications are meritocracy. They are best nitwits for the job because they will do anything Musk tells them without any question or consideration of consequences. They are high on power and set up financially for life (they hope).

[tonekat]

8. May all who participate in this treason

Pay dearly for it when the tide turns.

[Figarosmom]

9. The funersl homes report

Of death to get the death immediately. The only way to not have it reported yo keep collecting checks is to hide grsndmas body.

[North Coast Lawyer]

12. funeral homes report now

Social Security was created in 1935. Lots of people died between then and now. Many were not reported . Many whose death was reported were only reported to local officials. Over the last 80 years many people died without ever collecting a dime of Social Security but these people still had SSNs. There being no payments to stop and since they will never apply for benefits these peoples' files are basically in limbo. DOGE found a total nothing burger.

[bluestarone]

10. Is HIS testimony included in the AG's report to the judge?

[North Coast Lawyer]

11. The "Zombies" Died Years or Decades Ago

There are dead people with social security numbers in the system. But they're not collecting benefits. They died long ago before they became eligible to collect. These files got shunted away into a digital storage area pending notification/confirmation of death. But since they weren't collecting cleaning up these files was an incredibly low priority.

DOGE basically found the digital equivalent of a box of now irrelevant old files.

There's also an issue of Social Security's old computer programs setting default birthdays when a recipient's actual birthday is unknown. Again DOGE totally misinterpreted a nothing burger.

[SWBTATTReg]

13. And we need to ID these nitwits, so we all are aware of who these people / kids are.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. The initial crew were outed

and there were posts on DU including bluesky posts (IIRC) that had pics.

ProPublica has a list here - https://projects.propublica.org/elon-musk-doge-tracker/#Jennifer-Balajadia

[SWBTATTReg]

15. Excellent!! These idiots are going to regret doing this shit ... they knew what they were doing was wrong. The

information that they were accessing or looking at, and/or heaven forbid, copying. I guarantee you that if I find out that they copied my personal identifiable information, I'm going to sue bigly. There's no place they'll be able to hide, no refuge, I'll find a bevy of lawyers and we will go after them, but I think by then, a whole bunch of people will discover that their information has perhaps been comprised.

[C0RI0LANUS]

16. Hi BRDS: Thanks for the link. Trust you are well.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. I'm hanging in there!

Air has been bone dry here - even with humidifiers going full blast (messing with my asthma) and hoping the snow stays to the south of Philly.

[SWBTATTReg]

18. Jesus...how many people are on this team? I have a favorite saying, which is very appropriate in IT, that too many

cooks spoil the broth. Way too many people, and the way to think about this, is that everyone of these people will have ideas, and 'gotcha' ideas, all running into each other. In other words, a mess.

I don't really think that this is going to get very far. They may do some damage, but like I said, too many cooks...