General Discussion

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.”


In a lot of cases you might not get complaints because a delay of month means the recipient would be dead of starvation unless he/she had a support network in place. Things that would happen:

1. In states with poor renter protections it could lead to eviction (potentially eviction from the nursing home).
2. Life sustaining medicines couldn't be purchased (yes Medicare doesn't pay everything).
3. Overdraft fees for bounced checks which could be into the hundreds of dollars (four checks could be $200).
4. Credit ratings could be damaged over missed payments.
5. If you are on the edge of foreclosure, a missed check could send you over the edge even if the funds later show up.
6. No fuel or ability to get car maintenance/repair done so chance of losing a job (yes many SS recipients also work) or not get to doctor's appointments.

Also a fraudster would have more incentive to keep quiet at the risk of being caught (I am calling for my mother whose corpse I have been storing for ten years). Also SS is an entitlement program in which most Americans have sent a noticeable amount of their income to over the years (note how the truly wealthy don't do much to support the program).