Commerce secretary: No one but 'fraudsters' would complain about missed Social Security check

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Yahoo! News/The Hill

Fri, March 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM EDT


Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised alarm over “fraudsters” receiving Social Security benefits, as Trump allies have ramped up rhetoric about potential waste in the program amid a major restructuring effort at the agency that oversees the program. During an appearance on the “All-In” podcast that was released on Thursday, Lutnick said the government doesn’t “have to take one penny from someone who deserves Social Security, not one penny for someone who deserves Medicaid, Medicare.”

“What we have to do is stop sending money to someone who’s not hurt, who’s on disability for 50 years,” he claimed. “It’s ridiculous, and they have another job.” At one point in the wide-ranging, nearly two-hour conversation, Lutnick also said that if Social Security “didn’t send out their checks this month,” his “mother-in-law, who’s 94, she wouldn’t call and complain.”

“She’d think something got messed up, and she’ll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining,” the billionaire businessman said.

“Anybody who’s been in the payment system and the processes, who knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen, because whoever screams is the one stealing,” he said. “Because my mother-in-law’s not calling, come on, your mother, 80-year-olds, 90-year-olds, they trust the government.”

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/commerce-secretary-no-one-fraudsters-203308435.html

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“She’d think something got messed up, and she’ll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining,” the billionaire businessman said.

“Anybody who’s been in the payment system and the processes, who knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen, because whoever screams is the one stealing,” he said. “Because my mother-in-law’s not calling, come on, your mother, 80-year-olds, 90-year-olds, they trust the government.”

[choie]

1. Fucking bastard.

His mother has a rich bastard of a son who can pay her expenses probably five times over. Most people do not. I HATE these sociopathic fuckers.

[Irish_Dem]

5. This guy is a billionaire. Grandma won't go hungry or live on the street.

[markodochartaigh]

21. I've known (some) rich people and I've known

poor people. From what I've seen the poor people take care of their families and the rich people very often don't.

[Irish_Dem]

40. Good point, he would throw Grandma under the bus in a second.

I agree, the poor are more generous and good hearted.

I worked as a therapist in various settings over the course of a 40 year career.
Early on, I worked in poor areas in rough neighborhoods. Later on I worked in
more affluent areas.

The poor clients were more kind and generous. Sometimes my car would not start,
I was just a new therapist paying off school loans and getting started. The clients
would always rush to help me. And at the holidays they would bring me a small
inexpensive gift, they had taken pains to buy or make. We are not supposed to take gifts,
but inexpensive heartfelt homemade gifts cannot be turned away.

I cannot say the affluent people would do the same.

[Ocelot II]

2. Hey, Nutlick, haven't you got some Nazi nepobaby nuts to lick?

[turbinetree]

6. I was just wondering what would happen if the Commerce Department started getting emails from

70 million seniors or care givers...............just a thought...............

[DENVERPOPS]

25. Emails or phone calls

don't cause problems.....they just delete or ignore them.....

70+ MILLION *LETTERS*, causes a hell of alot bigger mess on their doorsteps.....................(and also helps the USPS)

AND, it wouldn't be just 70 million SSI retirees, but there families, and all Dems at the same time would be at least two times that amount.......

[Cassidy]

27. Postcards are quicker to write than letters

and I like that everyone can read them!

I totally agree that a physical document, or a huge pile of physical documents!, has much more impact than email or phone messages (especially if the phone msg is directly to a recording).

[DENVERPOPS]

31. Yea,

but they have to take the time to open the letters.......

Do you remember back when HWBush pulled some crap during his one term?
Doonesbury, in his strip, had an application that could be submitted to ask for the same thing for them?
Over 400,000 letters with that coupon landed on his doorstep from all over the nation........LOL

Could you imagine.... a hundred million or twice that landing on Trumps Mar-a- Lago address and the same amount landing at the doorstep of every U.S. Senator/House Member......

Do you think maybe THEN, they would begin to get the message???????????????

And think of all the good it would do for the USPS workers jobs and USPS Revenue !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[littlemissmartypants]

36. Psychopaths don't care. ...

They will take that pile of "letters" as a sign that they are successfully hurting people and then promptly have the mail destroyed without a second thought.

Nothing will be opened, read or recorded. But you can bet the wasted postage on their belly laughs and champagne toasts as they watch everything burn.

[DENVERPOPS]

37. You are probably right

and I completely believe, that with this last election, they won't have to worry about losing re-election.....

As Hitler's propaganda expert said: It doesn't matter who controls the voting, it only matters WHO counts the votes....

The biggest single problem the Republicans have with Trump is that he can't keep his mouth shut........
Just like in his rallies, when he said: "Vote for me this one last time, and you will never have to vote again" or the times he said:
"I guarantee you, we are going to win"........And most times, talking as if he had already won..........

[Avalon Sparks]

38. He would pay someone else to deal with removing the pile ofvthem

Eom

[creon]

3. He is hiding his own farud.

Where is he skimming?

[DENVERPOPS]

34. Since the election

He is having a ton of "Dinners" at Mar-a-Lago, each plate costing a small fortune. He has also been accepting untold amounts of donations to the Quasi-PAC he controls, and not under the Republican Party's control.......

With his control of the DOJ, FBI, SEC, FEC, FTC, USSC, etc who is there to spot the corruption????????
Elon's fortune is tied up in Tesla Stock, Trump hopes to out do him, but in cash.......

Besides, who knows the amount of the fortune he has stashed away in foreign accounts from his first term.....
We saw Jared's Two Billion, in addition to all Jared and Ivanka grifted from controlling all the PPE sales during Covid.
You can only imagine that much and more, was daddy's cut.........

[creon]

41. yues

Corruption

[Irish_Dem]

4. Corrupt billionaire is an expert on the needs of regular people and their morality.

[bronxiteforever]

7. Billionaire Lutnick, we have a message for you.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. And more dramatically

And some multiples -

[bronxiteforever]

10. Excellent!

[Buddyzbuddy]

8. You're right about one thing

Last edited Sat Mar 22, 2025, 02:32 AM - Edit history (1)

Nobody and I mean nobody complains and whines louder than fraudster billionaires that might have to pay bills or 2% of their wealth to the gov't for taxes for the health and well being of Americans.
WHO IS THE REAL CRIMINAL IMIGRANT?

[Karasu]

11. There. Is. No. Fucking. Fraud.

And despite their whole Goebbels "repeat it enough times until it becomes true" strategy, they fucking know as much.

It's very telling this is the only excuse they fucking have, and it's no more of a real issue here than it is with voting. It's a fucking lie, and they don't have the receipts to back it up.

[pat_k]

32. Investigations done previously on "fake" social security numbers (dead people)

... did find "fraud" on the part of undocumented people PAYING IN and NEVER COLLECTING.

The only fraud happening in numbers that might be considered at all concerning has been propping up the SS trust fund.

[madaboutharry]

12. Howard Lutnick is worth between 2 and 4 billion dollars.

In addition to being a billionaire, he is also a sociopath.

There is something wrong with him. His brother, also with Cantor Fitzgerald, died on 9/11. The only reason Howard Lutnick wasn’t also killed on 9/11 was because he decided to take his son to school that day.
Usually experiences like that cause a person to reevaluate what is important in life.
My father missed a flight by minutes that crashed and everyone was killed. It really had a profound impact on him.
It seems Lutnick never had any decent values to begin with. Only a very shitty person would mock people who need social security to pay their bills.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. One of my cousins worked in one of those towers back then

and the only reason why she is here today was because she took off that day.

Cantor Fitzgerald lost almost 700 people that day. It was beyond heart-breaking.

[Blues Heron]

14. It's such a Marie Antoinette thing to say

This guys picture is next to the word putz in the dictionary

[IcyPeas]

15. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining,"

Ummmm yes, the nudnick* is correct. 100 percent.

Hey Nudnick, you should meet this guy Donald Trump

* "Nudnick" (or nudnik) is a Yiddish word, meaning someone who is annoying, bothersome, or a pest.

[rickyhall]

16. We know where to get the money.

[Wingus Dingus]

17. Sounds like they're going to shut off benefits to large segments of population, and only those

who have the means, connections, and persistent family to make a big stink will have them restored. Isolated and disenfranchised poor, disabled and elderly will go months without money.

[AmericaUnderSiege]

18. This is your money.

"His" money he got from his dad, stolen from poor people in the '50s. Or paid to him from Russia from humiliating your country.

[Bluethroughu]

19. Nobody but fraudsters wouldn't complain about theft of their

Retirement income!

[AloeVera]

33. Logical thinking is not this guy's strongsuit. Nt

[AmericaUnderSiege]

20. Never heard of this guy.

I need to see his birth certificate and SSC to agree that he has a right to be in this country.

[Nululu]

22. Eugenecists rising up

Many more millions will die during this admistration.

[oasis]

23. Dumbshit thinks someone will fall for that

weak assed attempt at gaslighting.

[RussBLib]

24. how out of touch can you get?

Of the 73 million Americans who receive a Social Security check, about 25% of those (almost 20 million people) rely upon it as their sole means of support and income. Those 20 million people WILL NOTICE a missing check, you spoiled asshole. In fact, everyone relies on it in one way or another, and we paid into the fund our whole working lives. Trump is surrounded by billionaires, and I'll bet every one of them is out of touch.

[Bayard]

29. People who are on disability for 50 years are committing fraud?

Both of my sisters were on disability most of their adult lives. They were both Type 1 diabetics from a young age, with many complications, amputations, and blindness.

trump picked this guy for his cabinet because he admires his same qualities of evil and heartlessness.

[orangecrush]

26. Corrective therapy needs applied.

[liberal N proud]

28. These idiots don't even know how Americans live

[dobleremolque]

30. If you complain when the judge rules against you,

that means you were criming.

(Just applying your own logic, Lutnick.)

[JHB]

35. "A fraudster always makes the loudest noise" he said VERY LOUDLY

[tulipsandroses]

39. What was that thing that the tv talking heads and legacy media leaned into after the election? Oh I remember now

Elitist democrats.
So when do we get the deep dives about elitist wealthy republicans?
I saw another article somewhere about another trump crony crypto bro - Telling people to sell their kidney if they have to keep their crypto, even though they are losing money.
But go on media, tell us how Dems are elitist and can't relate to "the common man."

[FakeNoose]

42. I'm guessing there are more fraudulent billionaires than social security pensioners in this country

Behind every great accumulation of wealth is hiding either a crime or a collection of lies. If you don't see it, you're not looking hard enough. On the other hand, non-wealthy senior citizens are always on the straight and narrow. We don't even cheat on our church bingo games.