The looming government shutdown has some Americans worried about what would happen to their Social Security payments if the end-of-the-month deadline passes with no resolutionto the gridlock in Washington and parts of the federal government start to grind to a halt.
It appears increasingly likely that Congress will fail to pass the 12 appropriations bills that fund various federal government agencies by the Sept. 30 deadline.
Failure to pass the bills would mean many government operations are halted and hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed — including those at the Social Security Administration (SSA), which administers the Social Security system.
But while some Social Security operations might be affected by a shutdown, legal experts say Social Security recipients need not worry about one thing — their money.
“As a Metairie disability lawyer, every time a government shutdown is in the news, I get calls asking ‘Is Social Security affected by a government shutdown?’” Louisiana-based attorney Loyd J. Burgeois said in a note on his website.
Mr. Burgeois said that staffing would be limited at SSA offices as many employees would be furloughed.
Some operations might be affected by a government shutdown — such as halts to processing of new Social Security claims, as happened during the 2013 shutdown.
“During the Clinton-era shutdown, new Social Security claims were not being processed because the agency furloughed 61,415 employees,” Mr. Burgeois said. “As the shutdown wore on, the agency adjusted its plan and recalled workers to start processing new claims.”
However, while some SSA operations would be impacted, Mr. Burgeois said Social Security checks will continue to be sent out.
“Social Security benefits are considered mandatory spending and are paid from the program’s trust fund, and therefore, the agency has the funds to continue paying benefits,” he said.
A law passed by Congress in 1996 provides special protections for Social Security benefits and such benefits are considered mandatory spending — and aren’t affected by a government shutdown.
During the last two shutdowns, the SSA continued mailing checks throughout the shutdown.
“When the government shut down in 1995 and again in 2013, all social security payments continued to be sent out in time. This included social security disability,” the team at Gray, Sowle, Iacco, Richards, a Michigan-based law office, wrote in a blog post.
They expect that, “just like the previous government shutdowns that social security disability payments will continue.”
The team at Gray, Sowle, Iacco, Richards said that they also expect that hearing officers would most likely continue to hold Social Security disability and SSI hearings in the event of a shutdown.
While new hearings were not scheduled during the 2013 shutdown, the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) still held previously scheduled hearings, but staffing was limited.
Another federal agency that many Americans may be less enthused about continuing its operations in the event of a government shutdown is the IRS, which will likely keep running.
Americans Worry Social Security Will Run Dry
With the issue of Social Security benefits on the minds of retirees ahead of the looming government shutdown, a recent survey showed that the vast majority of Americans aged 50 and over are worried that Social Security will completely run out of money within their lifetime.
Ten years ago, 66 percent of U.S. adults above the age of 50 worried that Social Security would run dry within their lifetime, according to the Nationwide Retirement Institute, which has been polling Americans annually about their perceptions of and concerns about the Social Security system.
Today, that figure is significantly higher, with a whopping 75 percent saying they’re concerned that Social Security will run out of funds within their lifetime, according to the latest 2023 edition of the survey (pdf).
The increased worry about the state of the Social Security fund is eclipsed by the growth in the share of adults aged 50 and above who say they have no source of retirement income aside from Social Security.
Just over one in five (21 percent) said all they have to count on for retirement is Social Security, up sharply from 13 percent in 2014.
Ten years ago, 48 percent of Americans had a pension in addition to Social Security. In 2023, that number has dwindled to just 31 percent.
Social Security Fund In Danger
Social Security is facing future challenges due to various factors such as inflation and lower-than-expected tax revenue.
A recent projection by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) estimates that the Social Security trust fund, which consists of two smaller funds — the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund and the Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund will be insolvent in 2033.
“Upon insolvency, the law mandates that the OASI trust fund can only spend in amounts equal to incoming trust fund revenue, which means that all 70 million retirees, dependents, and survivors — regardless of age, income, or need — will see their benefits cut by 23 percent,” the analysis states.
This means that, in 2033, annual benefits for the average newly retired dual-income couple would be cut by over $17,000.
“For a typical dual-income couple retiring in 2033, we estimate this would represent an immediate $17,400 cut in current dollar annual benefits and an immediate $13,100 cut for a typical single-income couple,” the analysis states.
The CRFB analysis also says that any 2024 presidential candidate who promises not to touch Social Security is “implicitly endorsing a 23 percent across-the-board benefit cut” for some 70 million retirees when the fund runs out of money within 10 years.
CIA Building Own ChatGPT-style AI Bot In Shadow Of China’s Advances
The US Central Intelligence Agency’s Open-Source Enterprise division will soon roll out with a ChatGPT-like large language model (LLM), which is to serve as a tool for federal and intelligence agencies to more easily and quickly access intel and information.
Director of the CIA’s Open-Source Enterprise division, Randy Nixon, explained that source information can be sifted and returned to individual intel analysts faster than ever before. “We’ve gone from newspapers and radio, to newspapers and television, to newspapers and cable television, to basic internet, to big data, and it just keeps going,” Nixon told Bloomberg.
“We have to find the needles in the needle field,” he added. In addition to literally hundreds of thousands or millions of classified files, analysts often rely on gathering open-source information for their assessments as well. For example this could include culling public social media apps like Facebook or X.
“Then you can take it to the next level and start chatting and asking questions of the machines to give you answers, also sourced,” Nixon continued. “Our collection can just continue to grow and grow with no limitations other than how much things cost.”
He explained further that the AI platform will be available and used by Washington’s 18 different intelligence branches, including federal law enforcement, such as the FBI. It’s also expected that the US military will have access, though it remains that security protocols and preventing leaks will be a big question, given the vast amounts of classified materials which will be at the tool’s disposal.
There’s also the question of privacy, especially following the Edward Snowden revelations of a decade ago showing that the NSA had in prior years regularly swept up the data of innocent American citizens, violating their Fourth Amendment protections.
According to a prior Bloomberg report which questioned the NSA over the impact on privacy:
“The intelligence community needs to find a way to take benefit of these large models without violating privacy,” Gilbert Herrera, director of research at the National Security Agency, said in an interview. “If we want to realize the full power of artificial intelligence for other applications, then we’re probably going to have to rely on a partnership with industry.”
“It all has to be done in a manner that respects civil liberties and privacy,” Herrera claimed in that prior interview. “It’s a tough problem,” she added, further admitting that “The issue of the intelligence community’s use of publicly trained information is an issue we’re going to have to grapple with because otherwise there would be capabilities of AI that we would not be able to use.”
But we highly doubt the US government’s top intelligence officials will be overly concerned with “limiting” AI’s power due to the Bill of Rights and concerns over individual privacy.
Another interesting aspect to the CIA working on its own version of ChatGPT is the question of competition with China’s significant advances in AI. The new Bloomberg report highlights the mounting pressure US intelligence faces in the wake of more advanced Chinese capabilities. Beijing is looking to become the global leader in the AI field by 2030, and is already considered by many to be a world leader in the technology:
In an ominous glimpse into the nation’s use of the programs, in 2021China developed a ‘prosecutor’ that could identify and press charges with a reported 97 percent accuracy.
In contrast, America’s law enforcement sphere has also come under fire for struggling to utilize the power of AI in investigations, but Nixon said the new program will aid in condensing the unprecedented levels of information floating through the web.
But it remains that in the West there is a much more robust legal concept of individual rights, free expression, and autonomy — compared to communist China. On this front, concerning a CIA-built AI chatbot, what could possibly go wrong?
After all, the American public doesn’t want to find itself living in a society modeled on “Minority Report” merely for the sake of ‘keeping up’ technologically with rival superpowers (however, in some ways we are already there).
Shrimp have become the latest addition to a growing list of food sources targeted by mRNA gene therapy technology.An Israeli company seeking to bring mRNA vaccines to shrimp farming has raised $8.25 million from a group of venture capitalists to promote and improve animal health in marine species through its orally administered RNA-particle platform.
ViAqua, a biotechnology company, created an RNA-based vaccine product that uses ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) to manipulate gene expression in shrimp. RNAi is a biological process where RNA molecules are used to inhibit gene expression or translation by neutralizing targeted mRNA molecules.
The vaccine comes in the form of a coated feed supplement designed to enhance resistance to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) — a viral infection that causes an annual loss of about $3 billion and a 15 percent reductionin global shrimp production. ViAqua suggests RNA molecules can inhibit the expression of genes that cause disease with every meal containing its coated product.
According to a 2022proof-of-concept study, the nanovaccine was roughly 80 percent effective in a lethal WSSV challenge model and exhibited excellent in vivo safety profiles. Yet the risks of altering gene expression in shrimp and the effects of consuming vaccinated shrimp are unknown.
“Oral delivery is the holy grail of aquaculture health development due to both the impossibility of vaccinating individual shrimp and its ability to substantially bring down the operational costs of disease management while improving outcomes,” said Shai Ufaz, CEO of ViAqua in a press release. “We are excited to bring this technology to market to address the need for affordable disease solutions in aquaculture.”
ViAqua plans to begin production in India in 2024 and believes its technology has numerous applications in aquaculture and beyond, according to their press release.
mRNA Vaccines Are Already Used in Pigs
The aquaculture industry is not the only market being targeted with mRNA vaccines. Genvax Technologies, a startup creating mRNA vaccines for animals, in 2022 secured $6.5 million in funding to develop a self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) platform that allows for rapid development of a herd or flock-specific vaccine matched 100 percent to the circulating variant at the root of a disease outbreak.
Genvax’s technology involves inserting a specific transgene or “gene of interest” matched to the variant strain into the platform.The saRNA then generates an antibody response without requiring the whole pathogen to be matched to the circulating strain.
In April 2022, Genvax was awarded a $145,000 grant by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research to develop an saRNA vaccine for African swine flu (ASF) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ASF is a highly contagious virus with a 100 percent swine mortality rate but has never occurred in the United States.
According to a 2022 paper published in eClinicalMedicine, saRNA technology uses lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to encapsulate saRNA. When injected as a vaccine, the LNP encapsulation facilitates “endosomal uptake and release into the cytoplasm of target cells in vivo.” This novel technology has “significant and previously untested potential” to be used in drugs and vaccines.
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Genvax isn’t the first company to harness mRNA technology in pigs. Merck, in 2018, introduced SEQUIVITY, a “revolutionary swine vaccine platform” that uses RNA particle technology to create “customized prescription vaccines against strains of influenza A virus in swine, porcine circovirus (PCV), rotavirus and beyond.”
SEQUIVITY uses electronic gene sequencing to generate RNA particles that, when injected into an animal, provide instructions to immune cells to translate the sequence into proteins that act as antigens, similar to how the COVID-19 vaccine causes the body to generate spike proteins. The idea is that the animal’s immune system, when challenged with the actual live pathogen, will recognize the antigen and elicit an immune response.
According to Merck, their RNA participle technology allows for the development of a “safe and flexible” custom swine flu vaccine in only eight to 12 weeks compared to traditional vaccines that take years to develop.
Although it is claimed vaccines utilizing RNA technology are safe and effective, studies appear to be scarce with little to no research to determine what effects consuming pork from vaccinated pigs may have on the human body.
mRNA Vaccines in Cattle Raise Concerns Among Producers
According to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, mRNA vaccines are currently not licensed for use in U.S. beef cattle. The vaccines are being developed to treat and prevent diseases in cattle, whose meat could make its way to the dinner table.
Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), a national, non-profit organization with more than 5,000 members dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry, has raised concerns over using mRNA vaccines in cattle.
In April 2023, R-CALF USA met with medical doctors and a molecular biologist regarding the status of mRNA injections in the global protein supply chain. Veterinarian Max Thornsberry reported that some researchers have found that mRNA and its coded virus could pass to humans who have consumed dairy or meat products from an mRNA-injected animal.
Mr. Thornsberry raised concerns about the full impact and unknown long-term effects of consuming meat from animals injected with mRNA vaccines and called for more extensive research. Although the United States has not yet approved an mRNA vaccine for use in cattle, the country is increasing imports of beef from other countries that either vaccinate cattle with mRNA vaccines or plan to.
“This points to the urgent need for MCOOL (mandatory country of origin labeling),” Mr. Thonsberry said. “Consumers deserve the right to choose whether to consume beef from a country where mRNA injections are being given to cattle, and the only way they can have that choice is if Congress passes MCOOL for beef.”
R-CALF USA plans to develop a policy direction for the organization at an upcoming meeting, but “strongly reinforces the need for mandatory country of origin labeling” of beef immediately so that American consumers will know if the beef they are buying comes from a country that is using the controversial mRNA technology in their cattle.
In an op-ed posted on its website, R-CALF USACEO Bill Bullard said the organization has been attacked for its position and accused by pharmaceutical-backed publications of “fearmongering and misinformation.”
“Iowa State University researchers submitted a multi-year research project to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to test a cattle mRNA vaccine system for bovine respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection,” Mr. Bullard said.
“According to the submission, researchers planned to test the mRNA on cattle during the second year of the project with a completion date of 2026. It would be naïve not to assume that such a research project signals an effort to obtain approval for mRNA injections in U.S. cattle,” he added.
Mr. Bullard encouraged others not to “simply trust the pharmaceutical companies and the government” and says his organization “intends to learn the truth by continuing to disclose differing scientific findings, seeking more research into the long-term effects of mRNA injections for cattle, and demanding more transparency from pharmaceutical companies and the government.”
Meanwhile, the organization has stated it believes people have a right to know whether the meat they consume has come from animals injected with mRNA technology.
Several states have already drafted or proposed legislation seeking to require the labeling of products derived from animals administered mRNA vaccines, including Tennessee, Idaho, Arizona, Texas, and Missouri.
I know you all thought it was me just messing up the website, Nope this has been happening for years to people’s houses if they are not Israeli and even some that are! The people of the world just keep letting them do it. See for yourself, most folk here don’t even care to comment! My mother use to say “The world is going to hell in a handbag!”
Well Mom, you anit seen nothing yet!
Normally I would just pull the video. But, people need to see that Youtube is part of the major media when it come to anything that matters, However, and also links follow, it not gone…
Israeli House Demolition Policy Against Palestinians Explained
The video that YouTube blocked was way to much truth for youtube’s
I know you all thought it was me just messing up the website, Nope this has been happening for years to people’s houses if they are not Israeli and even some that are! The people of the world just keep letting them do it. See for yourself, most folk here don’t even care to comment! My mother use to say “The world is going to hell in a handbag!”
