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My Point of View by Jennifer Vogt-Erickson

Republicans have railed against so-called “wasteful and inefficient” government for decades, but people get irate when Republicans cut basic services, especially when it impacts people in ways we can easily feel.

As Elon Musk’s DOGE team carelessly hacks through government agencies with President Trump’s blessing, the funding cuts will eventually gash Freeborn County.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) and Veterans Affairs are two areas that DOGE is recklessly slashing.

SSA could lose 7,000-10,000 employees by mid-April, and it plans to reduce its phone system and shutter some of its regional offices. Much worse, numerous signs point to the possibility of checks being delayed.

A delay may seem unimaginable because Social Security checks have been on time for 85 years, a testament to the efficiency and dependability of the federal government.

But Martin O’Malley, head SSA administrator under Biden, warned that benefits could now be delayed within months.

Then Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s Secretary of Commerce, speculated on the podcast “All In,” “Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their checks this month, my mother-in-law — who’s 94 — she wouldn’t call and complain. She’d just think something was messed up and she’d get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining.”

Lutnick is a billionaire, and his mother-in-law isn’t depending on her check to buy groceries. He is also confirming the possibility that Social Security checks could be late.

Third, he is attempting to set a frame that anyone who speaks up about delayed checks is a “fraudster” rather than a person with a legitimate claim to earned benefits.

Most senior citizens depend on Social Security checks to pay part or all of their monthly expenses.

According to SSA.gov, Social Security beneficiaries within the city of Albert Lea received a total of $10.1 million in monthly income in December 2023. If over $10 million were delayed even once, people here would notice immediately. Local businesses would notice, too.

On top of that, Wired magazine reported last week that Musk intends to quickly transfer the Social Security computer systems to an updated coding language with the help of AI. Ramming it through without careful planning risks crashing the system which distributes payments to 73 million individuals every month.

Musk doesn’t care if these checks are late, but we do.

DOGE also wants to cut 80,000 jobs from the VA, nearly 30% of them held by veterans. Cutting that many jobs would only be “efficient” in the sense that it wouldn’t cost as much to run the VA. It’s magical thinking to believe those cuts would make the VA more efficient at delivering services to veterans.

Nearly 80 people rallied by the veterans memorial in front of the Freeborn County courthouse last Thursday to call on our leaders to protect veterans’ benefits. Numerous attendees were veterans, and I counted at least four Vietnam War veterans (including my dad) and one World War II veteran who stood up for themselves and their fellow veterans.

Here’s what Freeborn County Republicans’ Chair Robert Hoffman had to say in the Facebook comments on KAAL’s story: “Neither of these longtime Freeborn County DFL activists that hosted this rally are Vets. Just typical leftist activists with a megaphone and nothing but time to lie.”

Hoffman was referring to Mary Hinnenkamp and Angie Hanson, who stuck to the facts about what is happening to the VA. A number of veterans or their spouses also spoke at the rally.

Lukas Severson, 1st District Republican chairman and a Freeborn County commissioner, deflected on the issue as well. In KTTC’s coverage, he said, “I don’t appreciate [Democrats] using veterans kind of as their vehicle to protest Trump because that’s kind of what it seems more what it’s about is they don’t like Trump and it’s unfortunate.”

Severson, visibly sweating, was setting a frame that veterans who stood up for their earned benefits were merely being “used.”

Former NAVY Seal and Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw took a better posture at a town hall meeting on March 21. He said, “If you’re doing a job that we need you to do, you’re doing it well, yeah, we need to fight for you.”

Most Republicans, though, are petrified to publicly criticize Trump or DOGE. Our Congressman Finstad isn’t standing up for us on either of these issues. He might be on a knee pad behind the scenes, but that’s not enough.

To get Finstad to act, he needs to be more afraid of unamused constituents than Trump’s vindictive malice and Elon Musk’s primary funding threats.

Finstad’s New Ulm office number is 507-577-6151. Please call, every day. You’re not “fraudsters” or being “used.” You are citizens who are standing up for your neighbors and our community.

Jennifer Vogt-Erickson is a member of the Freeborn County DFL Party.