Where’s the ‘waste, fraud and abuse?’
To the Editor:
The Franklin Social Security office has been closed. It was the only such office west of Asheville. It handled programs such as Social Security, Retirement, SSI, Medicaid and Disability Benefits.
Given the population of Macon County, my guess is those programs cover at least half of our citizens. Now any in-person appointment must include a trip to Asheville and a full day lost. Was this office an example of waste, fraud or abuse?
Macon County is surrounded by the Nantahala National Forest. There are at least 34 facilities maintained by the National Park Service a day's drive from Franklin. More than 4,000 workers have been arbitrarily cut from the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Park Service. It is a good bet that many of those attractions — like the Appalachian Trail — will be negatively affected. Local business that service hikers, restaurants, hotels, B&Bs and local shops will feel the loss. Obviously this was a clear case of waste, fraud and abuse.
Musk and his DOGE have an ambitious goal of cutting $1 trillion in federal spending. The total amount we spend on payroll for federal workers is about $336 billion, so it is clear that if you fired every federal worker for waste, fraud and abuse, it would be just a drop in the federal budget.
The largest expenses of the U.S. government are in just four categories: Social Security. Medicare, Medicaid and national defense . The Republican House has decided to cut Medicaid by $880 billion in order to achieve their goal of cutting the federal budget. That would potentially affect 79 million U.S. citizens, mostly the poor, the disabled and children, basically anyone who cannot afford health insurance.
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It is estimated that there are at least 5,000 citizens in Macon County on Medicaid. Any loss of their benefits would have to be made up by state, county or local funds. It's a good bet that our taxes would go up to cover those costs.
That same budget proposal to cut Medicaid, which recently passed the U.S. House, clearly shows the reason for the cuts to the federal budget is to pass a huge tax cut for the wealthy, just like the last tax cut passed by the Republicans. It is estimated that proposed tax cut could add $3.4 trillion to the national debt.
So let me get this straight: Republicans are OK with a large tax cut for the wealthy that would increase the national debt, cut government services we rely on, cut benefits to the least among us, and cost us more in taxes. Why not?
Louis Vitale
Franklin
