- cross-posted to:
- wired@ibbit.at
- cross-posted to:
- wired@ibbit.at
WIRED obtained notes from a Social Security Administration management meeting, where employees pressed leadership on plans for the agency.
As the U.S. government shutdown stretches into its second month, agency leaders at the Social Security Administration (SSA) are becoming increasingly worried about how the key government department, which provides benefits to roughly 70 million Americans, will continue to operate.
During the call, managers spoke candidly about staffers who can no longer afford to drive to work and a crisis of confidence in the agency.
“People are coming to me saying they cannot put gas in their car and they cannot afford to come to work anymore, and they’ll need to get other jobs,” said one employee on the call. “Pretty soon they won’t be able to afford to work at the agency.”
“My heart’s breaking because I hear all this stuff across the country,” Sriubas responded. “We had to close an office in California today because we didn’t have enough people to open the doors … Nobody wants to close an office … But I also understand that people have to live their lives and they have limited means to do that when you’re now missing your second full paycheck.”
Because people are scared. If you don’t show up to work and cite “General strike” or “political protest” as your reason, you won’t have a job when you return for 90% of people.
No job means no food and no home. SNAP/EBT are being cut so you can’t rely on the social safety net to survive. Being homeless means you’re free game to get snatched off the street and shipped to El Salvador in an unmarked van.
The average American is in a vise. Many federal workers now don’t have much left to lose because they aren’t being paid anyway, most everyone else is just trying to survive.