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Why are Americans protesting against Social Security cuts?
Thanks to you at home as well for joining us this hour. You can't leave either. I'm very happy to have you here. Have you met the new political leadership in this country? The people who may not have the title, may not have the like plate on the office door or whatever, but these are the people who are actually getting it done. We found them in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
And I turned 65 on Sunday and I just made a decision. I woke up this morning and said I got to do something. In Grand Rapids Wednesday afternoon, around two dozen people gathered in front of the Social Security Administration office on Knapp Street and East Beltline. Trying to bring attention to what's going on and also supporting the people that are working in there. We appreciate you. The crowd, mostly retirees and Social Security recipients, they protested against recent moves by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, many of them feeling that access to Social Security benefits and Medicare could be at risk. Well, I am a retiree. I worked for 50 years in all different trades of working, and I paid into my Social Security benefits all those years.
Those protesting tell us they are against the Trump administration's moves to close dozens of SSA field offices across the country, along with eliminating over-the-phone ID verification starting at the end of this month, requiring people to verify their IDs online only or in person. Let's say you're elderly and you have no way of coming physically to an office that's still open, or if you live in a rural area. I mean, it's just ridiculous. They're trying to make it so difficult for people to get their own money back. Those protesting also wanting to show support to federal employees, many saying they have been helped by staff at this very location. And I just want them to know we are here to support them for their jobs.
new political leadership of this country, the people actually getting it done. You saw them there in Grand Rapids, Michigan, yesterday afternoon. We also found them on the side of the road in Reno, Nevada.
About two dozen protesters gathered outside the Social Security office in Reno at noon. They carried signs critical of the Department of Government Efficiency, or held signs which expressed their concern about the future of Social Security. Marilyn Show has depended upon Social Security for her disabled son, and she says she soon wants to start collecting her benefits, benefits she reminds everyone she paid for. It's an insurance, and we've paid into this. We've paid into Social Security. I've worked since I've been 15, and so gutting it and making it, privatizing it, that is not the answer. Many, many seniors live paycheck to paycheck, and our Social Security only comes in once a month. If they don't have that check, That money in their account, that means they don't get to pay their rent. They don't get to buy food and they don't get to pay their utilities. There would be more people out in the street.
Plenty of car horns honked as drivers passed by the protest. But as one woman told me today, better to shine a light than curse the darkness.
the new political leadership of this country. That was the Reno, Nevada division. These are the people who are actually getting it done, and they're everywhere. We also found them in Livonia, Michigan.
A rally in Livonia Tuesday bringing out dozens of seniors concerned about Social Security and Medicare. I'm terrified. My life would change drastically without Social Security. And that's our money. We put that in. Nobody gave us that money. We loaned it to the government. Everything that is happening right now is impacting so many people.
That's the new political leadership of this country showing up in Livonia, Michigan. We also found them in Nashville, Tennessee.
Protesters are pushing back tonight against possible staffing cuts at the Nashville Social Security Office. Thanks for joining us tonight at 10. I'm Lauren Lowry. Dozens of people rallied outside the office today. Our Sharon Dankwa has a look at why they say cuts could directly affect them here in the mid-state.
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