Bernie Sanders is Fighting Back
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has decided that you don’t deserve to retire. In a recent appearance, Musk made it clear that he wants to gut Social Security, calling it a Ponzi scheme and suggesting that the U.S. government should eliminate entitlement spending. In other words, the billionaire who will never need a single cent from Social Security is pushing for a system that would leave millions of Americans with nothing.
But Bernie Sanders isn’t having it.
Sanders, a longtime defender of Social Security, sees through Musk’s agenda—and he’s sounding the alarm. “They have already laid off 2,500 employees of the Social Security Administration,” Sanders warned. “I think this is a prelude not only to cutting benefits but to privatizing Social Security itself.”
And he’s right. Musk’s comments aren’t just idle billionaire musings—they’re part of a long-standing right-wing effort to gut Social Security and turn it over to Wall Street. Sanders understands exactly what’s happening here: if you make the system dysfunctional enough, people will lose faith in it. Then, Republicans and their billionaire allies can step in and say, See? This program is broken—we need to privatize it!
It’s a well-worn strategy, and Sanders is one of the few leaders fighting to stop it.
The Rich Don’t Need Social Security—So They Want to Take It From You
Musk’s crusade against Social Security isn’t new. He has repeatedly called it a scam, as if people receiving the benefits they spent their lives paying into is some kind of fraud. Sanders, meanwhile, has spent decades pointing out the obvious: Social Security is not an entitlement—it’s earned.
“99% of the benefits go to people who have paid into them,” Sanders explained. “Why do you lie so much about Social Security? Why do you make it look like it’s a broken, dysfunctional system?”
The answer, of course, is greed.
Musk and his billionaire allies don’t want to pay into a system that helps working people. They don’t want tax dollars going toward retirees, even though those retirees spent their entire lives contributing to the system. Instead, they want that money funneled into Wall Street, where only the rich benefit.
Sanders has seen this play out before. “This is what they do,” he said. “They spread lies, they make people distrust the system, and then they hand it over to billionaires to profit from.”
Privatization is a Disaster—And Bernie Knows It
If Social Security were privatized, as Musk and other billionaires want, we know exactly what would happen. Sanders has spent years warning about the consequences of putting retirement in the hands of Wall Street:
- Market crashes could wipe out people’s savings overnight. (Remember 2008?)
- Fees and corporate profits would eat away at benefits.
- There would be no guarantee of income in retirement.
Instead of a reliable, government-backed program, your retirement would depend on how well your investments perform in the stock market—a system rigged for the rich. Sanders put it bluntly: “They want to take your money and put it in Wall Street’s hands. That’s what this is really about.”
Musk, on the other hand, doesn’t care. He’ll never have to worry about retirement. He won’t have to choose between buying groceries and paying rent. He won’t work an extra decade because the government stole his benefits. But millions of Americans will.
A Fight That Can’t Be Ignored
Bernie Sanders has been fighting for Social Security his entire career. Musk, meanwhile, has spent his life hoarding wealth, exploiting workers, and now—actively trying to take money away from the poorest Americans.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer.
Sanders understands what’s at stake. If we allow billionaires like Musk to dictate policy, Social Security will be weakened, gutted, and eventually handed over to private corporations. This isn’t speculation—it’s the goal.
“The rich have no interest in you having Social Security,” Sanders has said time and again. “They don’t need it. But you do.”
And that’s exactly why they want to take it away.
