U.S. federal agencies have begun cutting staff and operations to implement President Trump’s calls for the large-scale reduction and elimination of certain government functions. Among other initiatives, Trump has said he will sign an executive order to initiate the complete shutdown of the Department of Education, the Department of Veterans Affairs aims to cut 80,000 employees, and the Social Security Administration has shuttered offices across the country and plans to cut thousands more employees.

In several major cases, judges have ruled that federal employees were fired illegally, and have ordered that they be reinstated.

Watch the video above as Straight Arrow News contributor Jordan Reid examines Trump’s potential overhaul of the Social Security program. Reid argues that proposed cuts could result in delayed payments, longer wait times for services, and an increase in overpayments, further straining the program’s already stretched resources.

The following is an excerpt from the above video:

In the long term, we’re staring down the barrel of a demographic shift. As baby boomers retire, the ratio of workers to beneficiaries is shrinking, putting additional strain on the system. The Social Security trust fund is projected to run out by 2035, potentially resulting in a 24.6% benefit reduction that will affect millions of retirees. 

Instead of fortifying the program to withstand this shift, the administration’s actions are weakening its structural integrity. But here’s the kicker: While claiming to protect Social Security, the administration is simultaneously undermining its funding.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, championed by Trump, reduced revenues by $1.5 trillion, increasing the federal deficit by $1 trillion.

This ballooning deficit is now being used as a pretext to justify cuts to essential programs like Social Security.

It’s time to pay attention, my friends. The bridge we’ve relied on for decades is being eroded under the guise of reform. And if we don’t act, we might find ourselves stranded without a safety net when we need it most.