Trump's and Musk's Spending Cuts Would Slice Into Cities and States
For all the attention paid to the attempt by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to cut spending in Washington, it's out in the rest of the country where millions of Americans are most likely to feel the effects.
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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Donald Trump Administration Aims to Kickstart a New Social Security Garnishment "Sometime This Summer" -- Will Your Benefit Be Cut?
Key Points Social Security income isn't a luxury for most beneficiaries -- it's an absolute necessity to make ends meet. An estimated 452,000 delinquent federal student loan borrowers who are currently receiving a Social Security check can soon expect a portion of their monthly payout to be garnished. However, a majority of borrowers who are in arrears on their payments may have legal options to completely waive or reduce their repayment liability. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › No government program has played a bigger role in financially supporting Americans than Social Security. In 2023, an estimated 22 million people were pulled above the federal poverty line by their Social Security income, 16.3 million of whom were aged 65 and over, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. If this program didn't exist, the poverty rate for retirees would jump nearly fourfold to an estimated 37.3%. Getting as much as possible out of Social Security isn't a luxury for most beneficiaries -- it's nothing short of a necessity. But for some of the nearly 70 million people who receive a monthly benefit from America's leading social program, their payout is facing a sizable cut. Beginning July 24, Social Security garnishment recommenced for more than an estimated 1,000,000 beneficiaries who've been overpaid. The Donald Trump administration ended the Joe Biden-era overpayment recovery rate of 10% and instituted a garnishment rate on Social Security income of 50% until the overpayment has been satisfied. Unfortunately, another Social Security garnishment is expected to be reinstated by "sometime this summer." The all-important question is, "Will your Social Security benefit be affected?" Delinquent federal student loan garnishment is back on the table In March 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the final year of President Trump's first term in the White House, the collection of federal student loan repayments was suspended. For more than five years, this suspension was never lifted, which allowed a sizable percentage of borrowers to fall into some level of delinquency. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), approximately 42.7 million Americans owe the federal government $1.6 trillion in outstanding federal student loans as of April 2025. Roughly 4 million of these borrowers are between 91 days and 180 days late on their monthly payments, and more than 5 million are more than 360 days late on their payments. When Donald Trump took office for his nonconsecutive second term, he made government efficiency a primary focus. This includes collecting on the federal government's outstanding debts, such as delinquent federal student loans. Though we often think of federal student loan borrowers as being in their teens, 20s, and 30s, loans outstanding for seniors have climbed rapidly. The number of borrowers aged 62 and older jumped by 59%, from 1.7 million to 2.7 million between 2017 and 2023, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Among these aged borrowers, the CFPB estimates 452,000 are currently delinquent on their federal student loan(s) and receiving a Social Security benefit. Although the DOE announced a pause in the expected restart of garnishments at a 15% monthly rate for these 452,000 delinquent federal student loan borrowers in early June, this pause is only temporary. Per the DOE: "If you receive monthly federal benefit payments, such as Social Security benefit payments, and Railroad and Office of Personnel Management retirement benefits you may have received a letter from the Department of Treasury that listed a date when offsets to your payments was scheduled to begin. Please be aware that the Department of Education is delaying offsets of these monthly benefits for a couple of months and plans to resume sometime this summer." While the DOE and Trump administration haven't provided any specific timeline (beyond "sometime this summer") as to when this garnishment may be kick-started, a 15% garnishment rate should be expected very soon for the retired workers, survivor beneficiaries, and workers with disabilities who are among the estimated 452,000 seniors currently in default on their federal student loan(s). Delinquent federal student loan borrowers may be able to legally avoid or reduce their garnishment If there's a bit of a silver lining to be found when it comes to federal student loan garnishment, it's that beneficiaries must be left with a minimum Social Security payout of $750 per month. If you're a lifetime low earner and among the estimated 452,000 delinquent borrowers, your garnishment rate could be less than 15%. For instance, if you receive $800 per month from Social Security, the most that could be garnished is $50 each payout (leaving you with the mandated minimum of $750), which is considerably less than a 15% rate. Beyond this minimum payout mandate, which isn't a requirement of all forms of Social Security income garnishment, delinquent federal student loan borrowers receiving Social Security benefits have two perfectly legal options at their disposal to waive or reduce their liability. To begin with, individuals with qualifying disabilities may be able to completely waive their federal student loan repayment obligations via a total and permanent disability (TPD) discharge. In addition to submitting the TPD application, you'll need documentation from a medical professional certifying that you're unable to "engage in substantial gainful activity," per the application. The CFPB notes that while the DOE and Social Security Administration have automated TPD eligibility and the federal student loan cancellation process for beneficiaries who become disabled before reaching their full retirement age, responsibility for the TPD application process falls entirely onto aging beneficiaries if they become disabled after reaching their full retirement age. The other perfectly legal option available to Social Security beneficiaries who are in arrears on their federal student loan(s) is to file for a financial hardship with the DOE. Similar to TPD eligibility, everything boils down to documentation. To qualify for a financial hardship exemption, you'll need to prove to the DOE that your documented income, less the 15% garnishment rate, would be lower than your qualified expenses. Using data from the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, the CFPB estimated that 82% of the 452,000 Social Security recipients currently in default would qualify for a financial hardship exemption. However, statistics show that very few seniors apply for this exemption or know it exists. In other words, this is a missed opportunity for delinquent federal student loan borrowers to potentially reduce what they owe. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. One easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Donald Trump Administration Aims to Kickstart a New Social Security Garnishment "Sometime This Summer" -- Will Your Benefit Be Cut? was originally published by The Motley Fool
USA Today
37 minutes ago
- USA Today
Midterms are more than a year away, but Trump is already challenging them
Trump's DOJ and Republicans are building the machine now to meddle in the 2026 midterm elections 15 months from now. The 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act came and went on Aug. 6 amid a massive mission shift within the U.S. Department of Justice. That agency spent six decades using the Civil Rights Movement law to protect the ability of all Americans to cast ballots in elections. Now, the people President Donald Trump put in charge at the DOJ have shifted that mission entirely to protecting him from election results he dislikes. The DOJ is out of the civil rights business. Now its officials making demands, with not-so-veiled threats, for data from state election administrators while regurgitating Trump's oldest lie about elections – that hoards of noncitizens cast ballots, changing who wins and loses. They're building the machine now to meddle in the 2026 midterm elections 15 months from now. And those machinations are built on two lessons learned from 2020: Attack the election with everything you have before it happens, and stock the Trump administration only with officials who will do exactly what he says on elections, no matter what the law says. Election denial and mistrust are baked into the Trump administration Trump's team of election deniers, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, represent both of these lessons. The first they learned in 2020, when they failed while trying to help Trump overturn a free and fair election. It was all so careless and chaotic back then, a dizzying series of unsubstantiated claims and discombobulated news conferences punctuated by judge after judge tossing out Trump's challenges as meritless. I was reminded recently of a news conference I attended at Philadelphia's airport on the day after the 2020 election. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, then working as Trump's lawyer doing work that eventually got him disbarred, was the ringmaster for the election deniers that day. And Bondi was right by his side. I watched on Nov. 4, 2020, as Bondi started and ended her remarks by insisting twice that Trump had already won Pennsylvania … while everyone knew that the state's election officials were still counting the votes. Trump lost Pennsylvania in 2020 when the race there was called three days later. The Trump team's takeaway from all that: Set up the infrastructure to destabilize the administration of elections at the state level well before Election Day, not just after the polls close. The second lesson was to purge the team of lawyers and officials who will follow the law, even if that means an election result that infuriates Trump. He had top aides who held the line during his first term, acknowledging his loss in 2020. They're all gone now, leaving only Trump's unquestioning sycophants in the second term. And that's exactly who has been bombarding state election administrators with letters for months, demanding copies of the voter rolls for those states, along with records from previous elections when Trump was on the ballot. This is the plodding setup that will eventually lead to Trump and his team making new – and still unsubstantiated – claims that they're trying to protect the 2026 midterm elections from looming fraud. Expect Trump to bully Republicans into interfering with elections Trump has already made clear he'll use any political power he has to influence who wins control of Congress in 2026, even if that means taking actions he has no legal authority to take as president. Wendy Weiser, vice president for democracy at The Brennan Center for Justice, told me that Trump and his team appear to be building a "pretext" on the false claim of rampant election fraud as justification for their potential meddling in the elections. They're systematically removing "the brakes" that protect democracy during the voting process, she said. "They're taking aim at all of the brakes that applied before. And they're starting earlier," Weiser said. "That just shows you he's laser-focused on interfering in elections here by any means necessary. Bend the rules. Throw out the playbook." David Becker, a former Department of Justice lawyer who founded The Center for Election Innovation and Research, has been hosting monthly webinar meetings with hundreds of state election officials since March. Those officials – Republicans and Democrats – have plenty of questions and concerns about the "unprecedented level of federal interference in state election processes," he told me. "They're not sure where all this is leading," Becker said. "They hear the rhetoric coming out of the White House. They hear the continued false statements about past elections and election security in the United States." It's worth noting here, as Weiser told me, that presidents have no role in running or overseeing elections in America, except for enforcing voting laws passed by Congress. And Becker noted that Congress, now controlled by Trump's Republican allies, has not authorized the DOJ intrusions into state election systems. "This is not so much about election policy as it is about a completely radical rebalancing of the balance of power between the White House and the states," Becker said. "And the Constitution has said, with regards to elections in particular, that the balance of power is tilted toward the states." As with so many Trump scams in his second term, Democrats in the minority in Congress will howl but have no real power now to stop him. And Republicans in Congress have surrendered any real authority as a coequal branch of government. They just do what Trump tells them now. So it falls to election officials in the states, appointed or elected, Republican or Democrat, to engage with Trump's DOJ election deniers while insisting that everyone follows the law. These officials have faced an extraordinary increase of repulsive abuse from Trump's supporters that he egged on. That was Trump's objective, then and now, to intimidate them into submission. We can only hope they hold the line, like the Trump officials in his first term who refused to endorse his lies about the election. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
They're in their 80s, still working, and living paycheck to paycheck
After a tedious week of squinting at spreadsheets, Sandy McConnell, 80, makes her way to a restaurant in Nevada for a monthly lunch with former colleagues. "Life is too freaking short," McConnell recalled texting the group chat years ago to kick off the tradition of talking life, family, and the news over a meal. "I'd like to start having lunches." When she returns home, she checks her bank account: it's down to $37. She expects she won't eat at a restaurant again until next month's reunion. McConnell works full-time as a remote accounts receivable specialist, earning about $50,000 annually to supplement $1,784 in monthly Social Security. Between her debt, mortgage, and car insurance payments, her expenses total over $3,000 monthly. She's $70,000 in debt, not including her house, some of which she accrued by helping her oldest son recover from a stroke in 2023. She's found that retirement is not possible. Throughout her career, McConnell, a mother of five, rarely had moments of stability. After a series of divorces, she was financially strapped. She held jobs as a grocery cashier, a nurse's aide, and a credit and collections manager. At one point in the early 2000s, McConnell had 13 family members living with her. She had her own room; her children lived in other bedrooms and in the living room with her grandchildren. It drained her wallet, and she filed for bankruptcy. After years of working and saving what she could, she became a homeowner a decade ago; she estimates her house is worth about $400,000. "I find myself at 80 still needing to work. Part of that is financial, and part of it is because I would be bored," McConnell said. "If you don't have any money to do anything with, what are you going to do? Your house can only get so clean." McConnell is one of nearly 550,000 Americans working past 80 in industries like education, construction, and religious services, a Business Insider analysis of Census Bureau data found. This cohort is one of the fastest-growing demographics in the workforce, and the percentage of people working into their 80s and 90s is expected to grow over the next decade. More than 100 workers in this age demographic have spoken to Business Insider in recent months. Some planned carefully for retirement, before a medical or financial catastrophe tanked their wealth. For others, poor financial choices or low incomes meant they never had much saved. Business Insider's '80 over 80' series draws on interviews with the growing group of Americans working past their 80th birthdays. They discussed their careers, retirement planning, living expenses, healthcare, and life lessons. If you are 80 and older and still work, fill out this form to contribute to the series and read more here: For these older workers, every paycheck counts, and many have limited job prospects. Tracey Gendron, chair of the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology, said economic shifts over the last few decades mean savings don't go as far as they once did. "This idea of turning 65 and no longer working is somewhat outdated because people get to 65 and realize they have more that they want to do, but may not have the savings that they thought to live another 30 years," Gendron said. 'I know I can survive' Most older workers with limited savings who spoke to Business Insider said they could manage daily expenses with their savings and earnings. They've developed budgeting strategies and calendars to track their finances. A handful said they've considered selling their homes. Two said they're on the verge of homelessness. Though many have equity in their homes, they tend to view that cash source as a last resort. According to data from Fannie Mae, just 15% of older homeowners said they would consider funding their retirement in part through their home's equity. Connie Martin, 81, owns her house with about $60,000 in equity and a few thousand dollars in her bank account. She keeps her discretionary costs low and sticks to a meticulous budget. Martin said she's always found work, though her income has been sporadic. She's worked at banks, distribution centers, and commercial printers. When she was a single mother, she occasionally lived paycheck to paycheck. "I've been on my own since I was 15, so I've learned how to be a survivor," Martin said. "Even though I don't have a whole lot of money per se, I know how to manage it." Among those 75 and older, the median income in 2022 was around $49,100, down 2% from 2019, according to the most recent Survey of Consumer Finances. Median net worth among people 75 and older was $335,600 in 2022. An AARP survey found that one in five Americans 50 and older has no retirement savings. A large subset of people working into their 80s say they are financially stable and work just a few hours a week for supplemental income or a sense of purpose. Still, many want to earn more but can't find anything beyond a lower-paying retail or nonprofit position. "Savings can quickly be eaten up within a few years, especially if you have a health emergency," said Robert Espinoza, a distinguished fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance. "Working without the money to survive is going to become more and more common as both the size of the older worker population grows in the years to come and as poverty and economic instability become a reality for many people." During the Great Recession, Martin lost her job and applied for Social Security at 62, which lowered her allocation. When she later landed a job, she temporarily paid a penalty for exceeding the earnings limit for early Social Security payments. She used her 401(k) to pay for her health insurance. After experiencing unemployment 16 years ago, she worked part-time as a phone service representative for a credit union, and recently shifted to full-time to cover a colleague's shift. She earns $17.47 an hour, which helps supplement her $1,186 monthly Social Security. She focuses on the silver linings. She's alert, has good hearing and eyesight, and wakes up each morning feeling empowered to better people's lives through her work. "I don't worry about the future. I know that sounds crazy, but things always seem to fall into place," Martin said. "I can always sell my house and get the equity out of it. I know I can survive." Entrepreneurship out of necessity Many older workers opt to work for themselves. A Business Insider analysis found that among workers 80 and older, 27% are self-employed. Americans 65 and older make up about 10.6% of all self-employed workers. "People are working not only because they have to but because they want to, because it brings them purpose and meaning," said Gendron. "People need to hear the message that elderhood doesn't mean any one thing, but it certainly doesn't mean that you have to stop contributing." Some older workers said they chose entrepreneurship out of necessity rather than choice, however. Nearly a dozen self-employed workers in their 80s and 90s told BI that they started their businesses in part for financial reasons. Some couldn't find a well-paying job that fit their medical needs, while others hoped they would earn more managing their own businesses. A decade ago, Bruce Rubin, 81, had the idea to start a company selling solar-powered refrigeration facilities to reduce food waste. He filed for a patent and has worked with engineers on refining the model. However, he's struggled to secure enough funding to put the model on the market. Rubin said he only has enough saved for a few more months at his residential development. He's considered living with his son to save money. He's also battling cancer for a third time, facing higher medical bills and fatigue. Despite a well-paying career in sourcing and product development, he's made some financial mistakes. A few years ago, he said he got scammed out of $280,000, which he couldn't recover. He also wishes he had more financial backing when starting his business. Rubin lives in a 55+ community and takes advantage of social and networking opportunities. He goes to a tavern each Friday and tries to have plans lined up each week. He often plays basketball and trains for the National Senior Games. "I'm not sure what relaxing means," Rubin said. "What keeps me going is keeping active and busy, and not worrying about the cancer. I tell myself it'll get handled and I'll find the right resources." When family is there to help For older workers with support from family, money anxiety isn't always top of mind. Many of the older Americans in difficult financial situations who spoke to Business Insider said they received financial and caregiving contributions from their children. A few older workers reported that they've been paid to care for family members or other older Americans. After 70 years of work, June Boyd still relies on her biweekly paycheck to afford her daily expenses. She gets about $1,100 monthly in Social Security and $1,100 monthly from her part-time work as a receptionist for a job training program for Ohio residents 55 and older. Many lack computers or the necessary training for specialized industries. Her work was temporarily put on hold last month amid funding cuts. Boyd, 90, was the first African American to work for her county commissioner's office and the first Black female board member of her county's board of elections. She also worked for the affirmative action office in Toledo, Ohio, and sold real estate. "I never had any thought about stopping or retiring when I couldn't afford to do so," Boyd said. "When we get the utility bills, auto insurance, and mortgage, you don't get a discount because you're a senior." She hasn't earned a full public employee's pension because she was three years short of accumulating 30 years of government work. Whenever she had savings that didn't go to a car or her children's tuition, she "blew it" on an unexpected expense, though she had no regrets about her spending, she said. She helps her family during tight periods, including a daughter battling bone cancer, and gives gifts to her 14 great-grandchildren. If she ever needs extra money, she can rely on her family. She lives in a multigenerational household. "I have no doubts about my future, but if I'm unable to work, I know my children will look out for me," Boyd said. Making the most out of work Some older workers with barely any savings have surprisingly few worries. They say they have just enough to get by without sacrificing their quality of life. Karl Andrew Pillemer, a professor of gerontology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, said that many older Americans are drawn to meaningful social engagement, even amid financial hardship. "Being a greeter in a store, which may not seem like the most interesting work, is something very appealing," Pillemer said. "Some people have found Uber driving to be the perfect job because it involves a lot of interaction with people, even if it isn't very long-term, as well as flexibility." Sally Ann McCarter, 85, worked for 43 years in a steel company's sales department, saving enough to buy land for her three-bedroom house. Because she never thought about retirement, though, she had little saved by the time she retired at 73. Within a month or two, she was ready to unretire. Her husband unexpectedly died, and she couldn't live comfortably without a stable income. She secured a job at the front desk for a fulfillment company, where she works four to six hours a day and helps with accounting. Her job pays about $1,450 every two weeks. "I could make it without work, but I would have to be very careful," McCarter said, adding she gets $2,547 monthly in Social Security and $950 monthly in retirement from the steel company. "With the house and job, I'm making out all right financially, but I'm not saying I have much extra left over." McCarter said the extra income allows her to maintain her home and pay her bills on time, but she has barely any savings. "I'm taking each day as it comes. No one knows how long they have," McCarter said. "I don't look too far in the future because you never know. That's just life."
