Federal cuts by the government continue to affect Americans with federal benefit programs of the Social Security Administration (SSA) being next on the chopping block. Tesla Motors CEO and recently appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, made widespread claims that there are millions of dollars in fraud in social security backed by a number of debunked theories.
Faculty, staff and students at Alabama State University questioned the credibility and true intent behind Musk’s claims. Professor of languages and literature, Jacqueline Trimble, Ph.D., explained that his claims are simply a decoy.
“We are in the middle of a heist,” Trimble said. “Elon Musk is distracting us with foolishness so that we do not notice that we are being robbed blind. He is not canceling his billion dollar contracts. He is stranding people and cutting off funding randomly, something that he does not even have the authority to do. Social Security is not an entitlement program; it’s a program that people have paid into for years.”
Musk repeatedly suggested, without evidence, that Social Security payments are flowing to undocumented immigrants and dead people, according to information from The New York Times. He claimed that $500 billion to $700 billion in federal waste needed to be cut with the biggest wasted portion of federal spending coming from entitlements.
However, Musk’s estimate for the level of fraud in entitlements overshoots figures from watchdogs in the Social Security Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Previous statistics claim that there were $71.8 billion in improper payments from the fiscal years of 2015 through 2022, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Zanobia Willis, a graduate student majoring in business management, thinks there needs to be concrete evidence before making any conclusions.
“I’ve seen stuff on TikTok about Elon Musk and that he made some claims about social security fraud, suggesting that it might be a bigger issue than people realize,” she said.
“He’s known for speaking his mind and his statements can be controversial, which gets people talking. I think it’s important to look into the data and see if there’s any truth to what he’s saying, but it’s hard to draw conclusions without more concrete evidence.”
One false theory Musk referred to is the “great replacement” theory, claiming that federal entitlements are “a mechanism by which the Democrats attract and retain illegal immigrants by essentially paying them to come here and then turning them into voters.” Essentially, this theory is echoed with Musk claiming that Democrats are attempting to reshape the racial demographics of the U.S. to assert power.
Student support coordinator Kevin Honer is concerned about the accusations made by Musk. “I just think they’re hiding their hand, that’s how I’ll nicely say it,” Honer said.
Social Security’s new acting commissioner, Lee Dudek, denied Musk’s claims regarding 20 million dead people marked as alive and receiving payments in the Social Security database. Further information from The AP explains that improper payments have been made, but the numbers suggested by Musk are overstated when compared to Social Security data.
A Social Security OIG report from July 2023 states that “almost none of the numberholders discussed in the report currently receive SSA payments.” As of September 2015, the agency automatically stops payments to people who are older than 115 years old.
Jayli Nealy, a freshman with an undecided major, believes that Musk is trying to draw attention to his claims without proper data.
“From what I understand, Musk is implying that there’s a significant problem that needs addressing,” she said. “He’s a high-profile figure, so when he speaks, it tends to draw attention to the issues. I’m curious to see if there are any studies or reports that back up his claims, because it could lead to necessary reforms if there’s substantial fraud happening.”