Detroit Talk City | Reforming teens; social security cuts

You can also jump into the Zoom room. Our meeting ID number is 892-4909-0290. And on social media, just hashtag us at Detroit Talk City. We'll be right back. Cortez Thompson here of the People's Action. Good to see you. Thank you for coming in. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate this. Just a little background on you first. You are the People's Action. What is that? Well, the People's Action is a community violence intervention group. And we're based on the northwest side of Detroit. All right. And you've been doing it for a couple years now? Oh, yeah, yeah. I've been doing it for about a year and a half now. All right. And you work with the mayor's office, with the police, right? Well, CVI groups, CVI groups like New Era Detroit, the People's Action, LIP, Live in Peace with Pastor Moe, we're funded through the City of Detroit's Shot Stopper Program. Yeah. What's CVI stand for? CVI stands for Community Violence Intervention. Yeah. And you like doing that. I love doing it. I love doing it. Now you this. So we were talking about there's a teen takeover. There was a notice on social media that the Christmas tree lighting down at Campus Martius. It was supposed to be November the 20th. But there was something going on that said there was going to be a teen takeover. Yeah. You guys got involved. Yeah, yeah. What happened? Yeah, so what happened was it was this post that was made out on social media that went viral about the teen takeover, the teen takeover thing happening during the same time as the tree lighting, the annual tree lighting celebration. Yep, so we got involved and we reached out to the individuals. Who got you involved? Well, so that's what we do, right? So our job is to intervene and interact with those- You just did it on your own? Yeah. Yep, so we follow, well, social media is always a digital footprint. So we follow the posts, we follow the digital footprint of social media that's always left, and we engage with those individuals. What was your object? To stop it? Well, no, the object is to simply engage with the individuals, right, to relationship build with the individuals and see exactly what they're doing. If they have great intentions and not to do like no team takeover or anything like that to cause any type of harm or bring any type of negativity, then that's fine. In this case, you met the individual that was coordinating it? Yeah, well, in this case, tomorrow, he's actually doing an intake with our organization so that we can mentor him. Was he going to do some bad things? Well, I can't say if he was going to do any bad things or not, right, but- Why do you have to mentor him? Well, anyone who is mobilizing or organizing out here and can be perceived as being something that's negative or doing something bad, right, we just want to shower them with love and make sure that we guide them and make sure they're making the best decisions in life. That's what a mentor does. How old is he? He's a young guy. He's a juvenile. 14, 15 years old? Yeah. Now, do the police know you're doing this? Of course. But how did you track this guy down? Well, just like I said, through social media and things of that nature, actually reaching directly out and everything like that. It wasn't hard. It went viral. So, you know, thousands and thousands of times of being shared on social media and things of that nature. When you approach someone, though, like a teen takeover, and you're a smart guy, you've been on the streets for a while, you've been in and out of... Prison, you've written about it. It's not. You've been 13 years in prison. Okay, you just got out how long ago? I actually got out at the beginning of the last year. Okay, so you know about this. You're a smart guy. When you approach someone, can you tell if their intentions are good or bad? When I approach them initially, no, but I mean, obviously, right, when you initially approach somebody, if they're kind of defensive, right, you kind of, you know, gauge and judge, you know, if they're holding something back, right, that's kind of, you know, mischievous or anything like that. But initially, I, you know, I give everybody the benefit of the doubt. Would you tell me, walk me through how you do that? I'm just here. I'm the one. You followed me. What do you say? I don't know who you are. What do you say to me? Hey, Charlie, how you doing? Hey, what's going on, man? I like your shoes, man. Thank you. What's your name? John. Okay, what you out here doing? You out here having fun? Yeah. Okay, yeah. I got to go. I got to go eat. I'm hungry. Oh, what you going to go eat? I want to get something to eat, too. Well, go. It's over there. Is it? Hey, can I buy you a burger? Yeah, you can. Yeah, so. Then you got them. Yeah, I got them. Everybody needs something. That's how you do it. Yeah, find out what they need. Find out what they need. Do they always need something? Everybody needs something. Do you need something? Yeah. Right. We all can use something, right? Yeah. An extra dollar, right? That's how you do it, though. Yeah. And there's nothing. How do you know how to do all that? I mean, well, I grew up here in the city of Detroit, right? So I grew up with a need. I grew up needing a mentor. I grew up needing guidance and direction, right? So it's kind of in me already, being in my past experiences, right? Me being a credible messenger, right? I know things, right? So I've experienced things. So I take my past experiences and what happened to me, and I kind of look at the youth and see what's going on today. And I'll be like, you know what? I see back when I was 14, 15, looking for guidance or looking for attention. This is what I needed at that moment. Why can't the cops or can the police do what you just did? No. No. They can't do it? No. Why not? Because the police walk up to you, they're wearing a badge, they're wearing a uniform. Right then and there, I shut down. Right then and there, if you're a youth and you have already a bad perception of police in your mind, or maybe not a bad perception, right, but not a welcoming perception, right, You know, I come up, I'm looking like you. I got on Jordans, you know, I got tattoos and some Cartier glasses. So, you know, I look inviting to you, right? And then I'm coming up to you. I'm not saying anything negative, but something positive. But if I am going to do something, you can kind of tell pretty quickly if it's going to be bad. How do you approach it to say, don't do it? Yeah, so, you know, I just. By the way, we're eating the burger now, right? We're eating the burger. Okay. Okay. What's your name again? Yep. What's your name? Cortez. Cortez. Call me Tez. Nothing for me. Tez. All right, Tez. Call me. I'm not giving you my real name. I'm not giving you my real name. Okay, whatever. If your name wasn't me. How do you know? But you sensed it. How'd you find me anyway? Okay, man. Looked like you needed a friend. Yeah. Looked like you needed a friend, man, and you was hungry, and I be hungry sometimes too, so I figured we'd share a burger together. So what you came down here to do? Just to hang out with my friends. Just to hang out with your friends? Oh, can I meet them? Well, they'll be here in a little while. Okay, bad. Yeah, I'll meet your friends. Listen, we can meet your friends. We can hang out. Man, I'd love to meet your homeboys, right? Hey, listen, I got a center right over here on the west side where we got video games. We got everything like that. Man, you can come hang out at our place. I don't play video games. I don't. Well, what do you like doing? Well, I'm not going to tell you what I like doing. At 19 years old, what were you doing? I was doing a little bit of everything. Bad stuff though, right? Yeah, I was doing a little bit of everything. If someone like you came up to you at 19, you were in a gang, right? That's true. Selling drugs, right? Yeah. And making money, right? Yeah. How much did you make in the best year you ever had in a gang? Over 100,000, I don't know, over 100,000 a month, I guess, yeah. And you were under 19, you went to prison at 19. Yeah, I went to prison at 19. So when you made $100,000, how old were you? 17? You made 100 grand? Yeah. Yeah. Why am I gonna change that lifestyle? Because I ended up in prison for 13 years, right? I was shot multiple times, right? I lost family members, right? So the money that I made don't add up to what was lost and I'm still trying to get back. But you didn't know that at 19, 20, 21. No, I didn't. So now I'm glad that I can be the individual to tell that to a 19 or 20 or 14 or 15 year old. Is that how young? Young, are there... Stupid. There are gangs now. Yeah. Right? Definitely. And they're young? Oh, yeah. Do you sense that there's these teen takeovers? Is it gang? Pretty much gang? No, I don't believe so. No, I don't believe so. I believe there's some young individuals that's out here looking for something to do, right? Looking for or cry for the attention, right? And I feel like it's the community's responsibility to provide that, right? There's nothing wrong with Organizing and mobilizing, right? And we see talent in those individuals that can't do that. But we as elders need to guide them and make sure they're doing it in the best fashion and make sure that it's not detrimental or harmful for those that's in the community that want to come out and celebrate. Was prison? Good for you. It was great for me. It was great for me in the sense I was able to change my mind and I had a thought process that I have now. So yeah. How many, because you did two, you did state first and then federal? Yep, I did state time, I did eight years in state prison and then I did five years in federal prison. The eight years, it didn't change a whole lot. Well, I thought that I could be a little slick, right? You know how they say, well, I won't sell hard drugs, I'll sell a little weed, right? You know, weed is legal in the state of Michigan, right? But with that thinking, which allowed me to get wrapped up in the largest conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy in Detroit history. 40 people, RICO charged, one of the leaders. Yep. Cortez Thompson, don't go away, okay? This is the part of the show we want to hear from you. Should teens from Takeover, should they be reformed? Can they be reformed or should they be locked up? We'll take a quick break. Detroit Talk City, back in a moment. So you want to zoom on Fox 2? We want you to zoom on Fox 2, but we want to make you look and sound really, really good. So four easy steps. First of all, take the phone and turn it on its side. We want you to fill up the entire screen. Then you've got to look around and you've got to find the light. Remember, we want the light in front of you, not behind you. That's good. And then on. The Zoom mic. We want all of Detroit to hear you. And finally, turn down the television like I'm going to do right now. We want to hear you, not the TV. All right, let's review these easy steps. First, flip it, light it, unmute it, and turn down the TV. And then you are ready to Zoom, Fox 2. Remember, you can be a part of Fox 2's Detroit Talk City and the sports office. Just zoom in. Live. Detroit Talk City, I'm your host, Charlie Langton. Should teens from teen takeovers be reformed? Can they be reformed, or should they be locked up to learn a lesson? It goes by Tez Thompson. He's a member of the People's Action Association. Was in prison, gang member, now he's out reformed and he's helping the police really trying to set these teens on the right path. Let's go to the phones right now. Michelle from Detroit, Michael, I'm sorry, Michael from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Michael. Hey, how you doing, Charlie? Good. Yes, I feel like he's doing a good job, though, with the takeover. I feel like there's a lot of kids out here that need help and guidance. And I feel like he's doing the same thing, man. Oops, sorry about that. But he's doing the same. I salute to him, man. Keep up the good job. For real. Thank you, Michael. Are there a lot of teens that are in a takeover world out there in Detroit? They are. There are a lot of teens. But I think a lot of times they just want to be involved with something, right? So that's why a lot of times what our program, what we do is we try to get them involved in different programs. Will from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Will. Hey, how you doing, brother? Good. Yeah. My question is, how can I get involved, I'm a returning citizen, how can I get involved with trying to help? I've been out in the streets one particular time, and I'm in the process of trying to give back to the community. How can I get involved? Great question. Yeah, definitely. Well, you can reach out to us directly. You can email us at info at the people's action dot com. All right, and you'll take in people to help, to do what you're doing. Yeah, we're looking for volunteers all the time, right? So it's a big need, right, and capacity is always an issue, right? But yeah, definitely, we're welcoming all volunteers. So yeah, like I said, you can email us, right? Or you can look us online on thepeoplesaction.com. Are you on call 24 hours? I am, right? So this job, right, is ongoing, right? We're always in need, right, youth and people out there that's committing crimes and stuff like that. Or just people that need mentoring, right, is always a need. Derek from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Derek. Hey, Charlie. How you doing? Good. This is for your guest, Tess. Hey, Tess, when I was coming up, there was a saying that everything starts at home, which is something that I believe is true to this very day. So with that being said, do you guys have a separate division or a separate arm within your organization that plans to work with the parents? In order to try to fix what's going on with our teens. Yeah, so Derek, that's a great question. Yeah, so we approach CVI with a holistic point of view, right? So our clinical case managers, we have clinical case managers who work with the parents, right? To make sure that they have the certain resources, right? Make sure that they're able to pay their bills and everything like that, make sure they need anything like that. So yes, to answer your question, we do work with the parents. When you mentioned that just a moment ago about the intake that you're going to do with the teen that started the potential teen takeover for the Christmas tree lighting. Does the teen go to your, you have an office, you have a building? Yeah, so we have a building on northwest side of Detroit. And actually not only does the teen come, but the parent come as well. And not only do we do an intake on an assessment on the teen, but we also do it on the parent as well. We can assess their needs, see what we can help them to be able to get, and we go from there. Michelle from Rochester, you're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Michelle. Hi, Charlie. Hi, Mr. Thompson. I just want to let you know is our youth need programs like this, and it looks like it's working. Slow but sure, I'm sure, one at a time, but changes are definitely needed, and this is a wonderful approach, and I thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Michelle. Thank you so much. How are you? No one's paid. Are they mostly all volunteers? So, well, we're employed with TPA, right, but we do have volunteers, too. Yeah. Where's your budget? Is it coming from the city? It's coming, yes. It's coming from the city. All right, Lisa from Melvindale. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Lisa. Hello. I was just wondering, all these kids that wanna do the team takeovers and things like that, why don't they just get a job? So they're not on the street. Yeah, actually, Lisa, that's a great question, right? And that's one thing that we try to focus on, right? We try to focus on finding whatever needs the children have, right? Be it education and academics, be it a job, right? Or some type of after school program. We try to get them involved, right? And we take care of their time, right? Keep their time involved doing something positive so that they won't be even wanting to be involved in a teen takeover. Is the threat of prison the one thing that... Gets people to stop doing bad stuff. I mean, for me, it didn't help me, right? So just a threat isn't always going to deter somebody from doing something. But walking with somebody and being an example, because a lot of times, some people do have a lack of parental guidance, right? Not everybody, right? But some people do have a lack of an example to kind of model behind. So I think mentoring people and walking with them throughout their growth and development, And I believe that's more effective. Tracy from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Tracy. Hi, how are you? Good. Do you have a question? Go ahead, Charlie. Go ahead, Tracy. I was calling because some of the teams could be changed and some of them can't. Like, some of them will listen, some of them can't. And it takes, like, I commend what he's doing, and he's doing an excellent job. But my thing is... What are we going to do once they leave the program? Like, where are they mindset after they leave the program? Like, yeah, we can go play video games. And some of the kids play video games all day to where the video games get their mind distracted, and it leads to other things. So I want to know, like... Oh, well, if they're thinking of going to snatch a purse, or if they're thinking of going to rob somebody, or if they're thinking of going to break into somebody's home, we've got to have something structured. And it takes a village. We don't need these parents saying, oh, well, don't touch my kids, don't yell at my kids. We need a village, somebody that's going to march with our kids and our younger youth and our young adults. We need this mentoring 24-7. How are they getting in school? What is a parent, it starts from home before we can go in there and say, we're going to help these kids. Tracy, I think you should call the People's Action. You're great. You're fantastic. You're absolutely right, Tracy, and that's why what we do here at the People's Action, right, not only do we put them through our mentorship program, which lasts a few hours a day, a few days a week, but we also mentor them outside of the program, right? So we have a staff, and they work with our young people, and we mentor them. We check in on them at home, right? We do house visits, right? in at their schools and we also mentor inside of schools. So we're seeing them in the morning, we're seeing them in the afternoon, we're checking up on them at night. So yeah, but I agree with you, it takes a village. All right, hold that thought, we are not done. The Zoom room is open as well. Should teens from Teen Takeovers be locked up? Should they learn a lesson? We'll take a quick break, Detroit Talk City back in just a moment. Welcome back to Detroit Talk City. I'm your host, Charlie Light. Tonight, should teens from takeovers be reformed? Can they be reformed or locked up? My guest today, Cortez Thompson, is with the People's Action. Call him Tez. Let's get right to the phones. Everybody wants to talk to you, okay? Okay. And Twitter. Antoinette from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Antoinette. Hello. How you doing? Good. Hello. Yep. You're, you're on that. What's your question or comment? My question is, I don't think locking them up is going to help. I think that where there's no vision, the people perish. You have to give the youth something to look forward to. In the city of Detroit, everything looks torn down, abandoned, um, vacant and everything. These, how can you expect for these kids to turn their life around, their mindset around if they have nothing to look So forward. Is prison, though, good for some people? No, I absolutely agree with Ms. Antoinette. I don't think locking people up is the answer, right? For some people, it helps, but for a lot of people, it don't. Eileen from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Eileen. Eileen, you there? Yes, I'm here. Can you hear me? Sure. Hello, Eileen. Yeah. Hi, wonderful. Yes, I agree. Getting the kids involved, getting them to do things to help one another instead of putting them in jail and locking them up, that doesn't make sense. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Eileen. Let me see if I get one more call. We have a couple, just a little bit a minute. Cassandra from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Cassandra. Hi, how are you? Good. I have a comment. Now, the takeover is nothing new. My son is 31. He did this when he was 15. So sometimes parents are not aware where the children are at when they say they're going over a friend house. As far as the program, I think you have to meet the youth where they're at because most programs, you're going to get the good kids. All right, I think we're running a little closer time. Yeah, you agree with that, right? I absolutely agree with that. And that's why we target actually the ones who have the highest propensity to commit violence, and we mentor those people. You got about 10 seconds. What do you want the people to know about you, your group, what you do? I just want the people to know that we're out here and that we're out here working diligently to reduce violence over here in the city of Detroit. Support your local CVI groups. Support the mayor who's actually supporting the CVI groups. Thank you for what you do. All right, coming up this next half hour, will there be Social Security benefits for the next generation? We'll talk about that next on Detroit Talk City. On Fox. Welcome back, Detroit Talk City. I'm your host, Charlie Lang. Tonight, still to come this half hour, welfare rights warrior Maureen Taylor. She is back, and she's saying, hands off our checks, as she sounds the alarm on the brutal cuts threatening Social Security. She'll talk about other things as well. Here's our poll question one more time. Do you believe that there will be Social Security benefits in the next decade? Just scan that QR code. It's right down there at the bottom of the screen, and we will show you the results later on in the show. This show is all about hearing from you, the viewer. We're having a conversation, and we do want to know what you think. You can text us or call us. Better yet, 313-765-8844. Or you can go to the Zoom room as well. Our meeting ID number is 892-4909-0290. And on social media, hashtag us at Detroit. Talk City. All right. Maureen Taylor. Always good to see you. Good to be seen and not viewed. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Thank you very much. There's a whole lot of things we can talk about here. You must be very happy at the election, though, right? We beat everybody that needed to be beat. Those that we didn't know that needed to be beat, we beat them, too. Yes. You think Democrats whooped everybody? Well, Democrats won. I'm assuming I know how you voted. But do you think Social Security is in danger? You know, this is about priorities. Why on earth would anybody suggest that Social Security benefits should be cut? I'll say to you, and I was thinking how I was going to address this. Every now and then, I like to quote the masters, okay? And here's science commander Spock, is having a discussion with James T. Kirk. And the question comes up, what are we going to do? And Spock says, Colonel or Captain Kirk, you have to always remember that the needs of the many must always outweigh the needs of the few or the one. That's what we're supposed to be doing, taking care of each other. Social Security started in 1935. People earned it. When they're 65, 70, 75 years of age, they need money. Who on earth? ...would suggest, why don't we cut Social Security? Who says that draconian mess? I'm worried. All right. I know that's what you always say. That sounds good. But Social Security is kind of pay-as-you-go. Yes, it is. People pay into the system. That's right. And then the people that retire take the money out. That's the way it works. That's the way it works. The only way it works is if it's equal, paying in, taking it out. Or there's more people paying in and taking it out. But the reality is, less people are working today, and there's more people taking it out. And so what we need to do, because we're living longer, we need to protect elders. We need to protect the vulnerable. We need to protect the disabled. Hold on. I already looked up a couple of things, because I knew you were going to ask that question. The needs of the many must always outweigh the needs of the few. I don't want to hear a conversation about how we're going to cut. Benefits for persons that have worked all their lives. But who's saying cutting? The issue really, I think this is a bipartisan effort. Might be. People want to pay for the people that have put in and that they're taking the benefits out. And not pay for the others. And the issue is how do we do it? How do we do it? You're going to have to work with Republicans on this one. I have no problem working with anyone that says, in America, we have social studies. In America, we have civics classes. In America, we teach little children that as they grow up, you work very hard for your community and you take care of your grandmother, somebody else's grandmother, your aunt, someone else's aunt, your grandmother, your aunt. That's what we do in this country, and there's an aroma of viciousness that says Social Security might have to be cut. Cut your mama's Social Security. Leave my mother's and the rest of the mother's alone. Cut yours. What's your solution then? Just to pay more money, retire later, lift caps on wages? You have to lift caps, but what you have to do is you have to invite the smart people. Bono talked about that. Get the people that know how to fix the system in the room together. You're the monitor, and tell them you're going to stay in this basement until you fix this, and you can't come out. There's a way to manage this. It's the richest country in the world. What are we talking about? We have to hurt elders? No, but I'm trying to get... It's ridiculous. Who is saying hurting elders, though? That's what that means for Social Security. If you cut or reduce the benefits for Social Security, you're talking about elders, disabled people. Who talks about that? I'm trying to figure out who's saying hurt. What I'm seeing is how do we fix it? Because the reality is there's not enough money going into the system. But it seems to be enough money. Money going into other systems, okay, seems to be all that kind of stuff. I took a look at, here you have an aircraft carrier that was, what do you call it, commissioned in 2019, called the Gerald Ford, and it was worth $14.2 billion. Now, you don't have a blackboard around here, and if you did, I'd get some chalk and show you. One aircraft carrier, one, $14.2 billion. $14.2 billion. Make one extra one. And how much further could that go? There's a way to do this. We don't have to justify this kind of comment by saying these people need to live on less while these people over here... Okay. And can manage their situations with more money. All of it is my money. All of it is my money. And I'm going to spend your money to write. All right. We do want to hear from you. Do you believe that there will be social security benefits in the next decade? Detroit Talk City back after this. Welcome back to Detroit Talk City. I'm your host, Charlie Langton. Do you believe that there will be social security benefits in the next? Decade. Weigh in on that and let us know what you think. Maureen Taylor, she is the champion of so many causes, welfare benefits, all kinds of rights. You're doing Medicare for all? Medicare, Medicaid, yeah, health benefits, health care benefits. Why should that be a problem in America? Let's go to the phones right now. Mary from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Mary. Hey, Ms. Mary. Hello. I was calling about the Social Security. Yes, ma'am. And the comments that are being made. Yes, ma'am. I am. Too many people are not paying into Social Security, and common sense would tell us that if you don't pay into something, then on the other end, it is not going to be there. And most of us senior citizens, because I'm 80, We're not going to be around, and the majority of us are the ones who paid into the system. But the younger people coming up are not paying into the system. Ms. Mary, we have to fix that. The security is not going to be around. Ms. Mary, we have to fix that, and we can. We have to get a new theory. We have to get a new formula where at age 80, Ms. Mary, you're going to live to 95, and I want to make certain that I take care of you for the next 15 years. How do we do that? I'm committed to that. So we have to make some changes to make certain that Social Security is going to last for you and for everybody else. But when you say that we need to make changes, that's good to say that. But nobody is saying what is it that is going to be done so that there will be Social Security for the younger people. We have to make a change. I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that. But nobody is saying exactly what it is that will be done. Ms. Mary is talking about specifics. She wants details. I'm with you, Ms. Mary. I'm with you. And we can fix this. We can. There are proposals to get more money into the system, but Mary's right. I mean, it's not, I don't think that they're not younger, people are not paying, they're not as many. You need more people. That's the whole idea, is you have to have the same input as the output. Now, there are ways. There's a cap on wages. You pay your social 6.2% on wages. That's right. But we have AI now. So AI means there's going to be fewer people working. So that formula cannot work. We need a different formula now. So do you up the tax on wages? There's a cap at about 180. You could cap it and make no cap. All those are options. My only point is, and I'm along with Ms. Mary, there is a way to fix this. So let's not throw the towel and the baby out and the water. We can fix this. We're Americans. We ought to be able to fix everything. But at Mary at 80 years old, I think she's going to be okay, though. I don't think she's going to be okay. Anybody in Congress wants to have Mary not have benefits. It's a lot of people in Congress that don't want Mary and Mary Jean and Mary Ellen and everybody else not to have things. I want Mary to be comfortable and not afraid of how she gonna pay her rent, her utilities, buy some food, and that's what she deserves at age 80. She shouldn't have to worry about it. Anything else? Last time you were on the program, I said, you said SNAP benefits, there should be instead of $6, there should be $60 a day. $60 a day. If we gave Mary $60 a day, she may not need it all. But Mary will not have to worry about being hungry. Isn't that what we should guarantee? That's right. You feed people until they're not hungry anymore. That's right. And Medicare for all. Is that a good thing? Medicare for all, absolutely. This is the United States of America. What's the problem? I just lost the sign of the beef carver. I'm outraged because I can't go to my favorite restaurant because terrorists and everything else came and they couldn't keep it open. What the hell are we doing in America? Fallout. All right, Maureen Taylor is weighing in. We want you to weigh in. Coming up, more of your texts, more of your calls to Detroit Talk City. Back after this. Detroit Talk City, I'm your host, Charlie Langton. Do you believe that there will be, well, actually, Social Security. Let's just do that. Social Security benefits in the next decade. We're talking to Maureen Taylor. All right, let's go straight to the phones. A lot of people want to talk to you, Maureen. Alonza from Detroit. Alanisa. Alanisa, I'm sorry. Alanisa from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Alanisa. Hi, good afternoon. Hello, Ms. Alanisa. Hi, good afternoon. So I just wanted to allow my input for a second. I have been born and raised in Detroit. I am 30 years of age. I have been working since I was about 16 years of age. Now, I do understand the importance of Social Security benefits. Social Security, in my opinion, is definitely, it's not a handout. It's a promise, you know. And I want to speak about the possibility of cutting it, you know, the benefit, because the issue deserves the attention, you know, just not for... Myself, as a 30-year-old, are seniors, but for every American that has worked, the middle-class hard workers. You know, Social Security, it represents years of hard work and dedication and contributions from people who have worked throughout their lives with the expectation that they will have some type of financial security when they retire. That's right. All right. For millions of seniors, people with disabilities. Americans that are, you know, living on fixed income, Social Security is what helps keep a roof over their head. As well as food on their tables, you know, access to medication. That's right. You know, just everyday essential necessities. You know, these are not luxuries. These are basic human needs. So I believe that our elected leaders should be looking for solutions that strengthen Social Security. Solutions. That's right. All right. Alan Asha, thank you for the comment there. I want to get to some more calls there. But you agree with that. Do we have to sit down, get into the room and figure it out? It's not that we can't figure these things out. We used to have vaccines to take care of measles. Now we got a guy in charge who's not a doctor. We've got people with measles all over the place. We had that, and now we have to go back. We can fix Social Security. We can. Paul from Oxford. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Paul. Hey, can you hear me? We sure can. Hey, Paul. Hi. Okay. It's real easy to fix it. When Social Security started out for people making, say, a mediocre income, okay, like $20,000 or $30,000 a year, and it kept going up. To fix the problem, all you got to do is make people pay until a million dollars. Because if you take 20% of it, come back now. The people at the bottom are going to have the worst effect of it, okay? But the people making a million dollars, that Social Security, it's jump-changing them. It don't even count. And if they pay you a million dollars, all the problems will be eliminated. See, Paul is already working on solutions. See, Paul, I'm with you. We can't meet up at the beef car, but maybe we'll meet up someplace else. Paul is working it out. But essentially, Paul said the rich will pay for the poor. Do you believe that? Yes, every day of my life. The needs of the many always have to outweigh the needs of the few, yes. But the rich pay more in. They don't take that much out. They still need to pay even more in. More in. They don't need two yachts. How do you convince rich legislators, rich people in Congress? You have to convince them. Make it a law like you do everything else. Let's take a text question right now. Here's one. It's a rule. All right. There will be Social Security, but I believe it'll be a major cut. The cut, however, should apply to those who have not paid into the system. And let's make the people who have not paid into the system get more, earn more, collect more, so they can suffer more. Who the hell are we? What kind of people are we that would even make that kind of recommendation? We need to be able to guarantee minimum standards. You need to be able to eat. You need to have health care. You need to have a roof over your head and get Paul to come to your house and work out the details of how we're going to fix Social Security. You can open the door to let them all in. Jobs would go a long way, though, wouldn't it? Isn't that? No, we're past jobs now. Charlie, we got AI. AI is kicking jobs out. We're not going to have that anymore. You have to get better jobs, though. A lot of people are going to get better jobs, but a whole lot of people on this end are never going to work again. So what, they don't get anything? Do you believe the thought that you should pay people for not working because of AI? I think that people need to have a minimum standard. Your question directly, should people be able to get paid when they don't have a job? Yes. Yes. I'm not Catholic anymore. I knew a whole lot of people that had 10 and 12 kids, they were Catholic. And the argument was, well, why should we give them more money? They're Catholic. We should honor the life. ...of everybody. So yes, people should get paid whether they work or not. What are we talking about? Starving them? Let them stand out on the corner with a sign that says we'll work for food? I'm not sure. We're not that. I'm not sure everybody's thinking the same thing there, Maureen. But let's go to the text. Just as long as you and I agree. Well, we agree on some things, but maybe not this one. But here's one. Maureen is right. We watched our parents struggle as they got older. See? See? Everything was out of reach. The greatest generation died mostly poor. Now it's happening to us. The greatest generation. These are people of World War II where the average age of the soldier was 28 years of age. And they agreed, they volunteered to be sent all over the world. In an effort to try to help Americans, and they come back all together, they come back in parts, they come back in pieces, and now we've got veterans outside, standing on the corners, Charlie, with a sign that says we'll work for food. Stop it. Stop it. The needs of the many must always outweigh the needs of the few. Always. Kanisha from Detroit. You're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Kanisha. Hello, Ms. Kanisha. Hi, how are you? How are you guys? How are you? Good. Okay, so my question is, why don't they do how they did the crackdown with finding out people who are deceased about family members or friends or whoever, getting food stamps constantly for people who are not here anymore? Why don't they do that with Social Security? Because I feel like that's a lot of money that can be put back from people. And it's stealing. So why won't they do a crackdown like that? Ms. Kanisha is talking about looking into something that could be possible. And I have no disagreement with that. We don't have very many people that are stealing food stamps. But I'm making a bigger issue out of this. We should not, in the United States of America, be involved in trying to limit or reduce... Food stamps, health care, Social Security, especially Ms. Kanisha talked about Social Security. We're talking about people that worked into these systems for 30, 40, 50 years. And I know children that were born with different kind of physical and emotional challenges, and they get Social Security. So that means for the next 60 years, they need assistance. What are we trying to do? Feed them less? That's Social Security disability, too. Disability. What are we doing here? Not supposed to happen. All right, Bill from Chesterfield, you're on Detroit Talk City. Hello, Bill. Hey, Bill. Yes, how are you? Good. I have a comment. It absolutely makes me sick to my stomach, the mere thought of cutting Social Security. I'm with Bill. Look at the trillions, the trillions of dollars spent on military. She mentioned the aircraft carrier earlier, on equipment that's not needed. Yep. Trillions of dollars for other countries, the veterans, disabled veterans, and the elderly are absolutely the last on the totem pole. My father was a disabled veteran, Bill, and so I feel the same way. The last battleship created in America, the USS, I think it was the Missouri, 1944, commissioned at that time. And the last battleship developed in England. I've forgotten the name of that one, 1946. We don't make those anymore because the aircraft carriers now cost Bill, Bill, I appreciate the call. Bernice from Detroit Talk City. Hello, Bernice. I don't believe I finally got the seat. Maureen, girl, I haven't seen you in about 10 years. You are still active, talking, and fighting like you used to when we were out here on the street. And look at the hair. You see how wicked the hair is? The hair is wicked, ain't it? She hasn't changed at all, huh? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I got my white hair and you got, girl. All right, now. I'm going to be 94. I'm older than you baby. That's all right I still love you it's all good. You're talking a good game you have always been a fighter just like I have and I'm telling you it's good to see you again and God has really blessed both of us you know that. Be good call us down at welfare rights it's good to be seen and not viewed okay. Bless God. Thank you, Tony. Thank you, Bernice. Appreciate that. We've got about a minute or so left. Let's say that the Congress calls you in and they want your advice on how to fix Social Security. Give me one or two things that you think would be doable. My first piece of information would be to let's take a look at what the cost of living is. What does it take to pay for food, health care, housing, whatever else that people need? And we start from that analysis. Then the next thing is let's figure out how much money that individual, that family has in terms of what their Social Security benefits are. If it's not enough, we have to improve that. So you're saying up the Social Security benefit as well? It has to, yeah, because we can't pay people not enough to live. All right, so this is about money. But it's not really about money. It's about priorities. We should not be even thinking about mistreating seniors, veterans, disabled. It's an outrage, and people are going to, a lot of them are going to burn and die in hell for this kind of conversation. All right, Maureen Taylor. Me and you will be all right. We'll be all right. We're going to do it again. Maureen Taylor, thank you so much. Always appreciate you. Stay with us. Our question of the day, our poll. But first, real prize. What's going on at 5? Hey there, Charlie. Great conversation over there. Thank you so much. Ferndale schools were placed on lockdown earlier today after students at the high school brought fake guns to class. Fox 2's Scott Wolchek has the latest on what happened. The news at 5 is minutes away. Welcome back to Detroit Talk City. Now it is time for the results of our question of the day, our poll, which was, do you believe that there will be social security benefits in the next decade? Here's what you are saying. Yes, 69%.