[Hidden-tech] Rewriting SSA code in months - possible?

Thu Apr 3 21:04:08 UTC 2025

Good point, although probably not what you had in mind.

Left out of that 1 minute video is the context, which is that Musk was 
discussing his claim that 40% of all phone calls to SSA are fraudulent.

The NY Times had an excellent article Tuesday on where he came up with 
that figure, which was a report that 40% of direct deposit fraud 
involved phone calls. Total direct deposit fraud amounts to $100 million 
a year, so we're talking about $40 million in fraud from phone calls. 
That's not nothing, but given that SS pays $1.5 trillion a year in 
benefits, we're talking about less than .003% of benefits lost to phone 
fraud. That's not even a rounding error, as Musk surely knows.

Thanks, but I'll get my news from reliable sources, not YouTube clips.

Jan Werner
______________

On 4/1/2025 11:24 PM, Rob Laporte via Hidden-discuss wrote:

> 
> Regarding SS payments, it's /really/ worth knowing what Musk said in 
> this one minute video: https://youtube.com/clip/ 
> Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX?si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R <https:// 
> youtube.com/clip/Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX? 
> si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R>. Will that happen? I don't know, but I sure as heck 
> expect a half-decent news source to report that statement to me, because 
> then I can follow-up on it later.
> 
> *Here's the punch line:* harmony among citizens depends on news channels 
> that are balanced and not mere editorial fed to fan our feelings and 
> clock click revenue. I'm still seeking one such news source, if anyone 
> has suggestions. I've heard an India news source is good, but I forget 
> which. Though using a "truth machine" takes much less time than 
> verifying each news story I read, it still takes a lot more time than 
> good ol' news that obeys no party, cites the relevant sources, and does 
> not omit crucial parts of the story.
> 
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> *Rob Laporte*
> CEO  |  R&D Manager
> *DISC - Making Websites Make Money*
> Rob at 2disc.com <mailto:Rob at 2disc.com>, 413-584-6500
> www.2disc.com <https://www.2disc.com>
> 
> *NOTE:* Emails can be blocked by spam filters throughout the web. If you 
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> 
> 
> 
> ---- On Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:55:20 -0400 *Michael Muller via Hidden- 
> discuss <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>* wrote ---
> 
>     Considering the recent backtracking and re-hiring of some of the
>     more important fired personnel at critical federal agencies, the
>     slap-dash eager beavers running around DOGE without a leash feel
>     like drunk moshers in china shop. Any conversion by these people
>     will be a fiasco, because they intrinsically don't care.
> 
>     Log in to the SSA portal and download your payments and benefits
>     report before it's offline.
> 
>     Mik
> 
>     Mik Muller, president
>     Montague WebWorks
>     20 River Street, Greenfield, MA
>     413-320-5336
>     http://MontagueWebWorks.com <http://MontagueWebWorks.com>
>     Powered by ROCKETFUSION
> 
>     On 3/29/2025 1:12 AM, AI Zuckerman via Hidden-discuss wrote:
> 
>         https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-
>         rewrite-ssa- <https://developers.slashdot.org/
>         story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months?
>         utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed>
>         codebase-in-months?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
>         <https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-
>         rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months?
>         utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed>
> 
>         Hi Hidden Techies,
>         Here's one for coders on the list. A friend sent me a link to
>         this article in Wired. Apparently, DOGE techies are claiming
>         they can rewrite the SSA code in months. Wire reports that the
>         SSA codebase has over 60 million lines of COBOL <https://
>         oig.ssa.gov/congressional-testimony/2016-07-14-newsroom-
>         congressional-testimony-july14-ssa-modernization/> and handles
>         record keeping for all American workers and payments for all
>         Social Security recipients.
>         The aim is to migrate all  SSA systems off COBOL ... and onto a
>         more modern replacement like Java within a scheduled tight
>         timeframe of a few months," notes Wired.
>         Some questions:
>         Is it possible to handle this mammoth job in a month?
>         What happens if the techies in DOGE make mistakes?
>         Would SSA have a backup system of the COBOL code?
> 
>         Let all of us oldsters who depend on our SSA benefits keep them
>         safe. If any people can do this, I know either you can or know
>         someone who can. Please post your thoughts to the list.
>         If you want to chat with me about this situation then call me at
>         413-362-4392.
>         thanks!
> 
>         Amy Zuckerman
>         HIDDEN TECH mother emeritus
> 
>         I
> 
> 
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