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

Fri Apr 4 16:03:48 UTC 2025

What stuck out to me is that he said SSA recipients would get *more* 
(his emphasis) money in their checks, not less. He then repeated that 
statement.

I'm not sure how that works. Aren't those checks cut in a set amount? 
Why would they go up because he saved 0.003%?

Mik

Mik Muller, president
Montague WebWorks
20 River Street, Greenfield, MA
413-320-5336
http://MontagueWebWorks.com
Powered by ROCKETFUSION

On 4/3/2025 5:04 PM, Jan Werner wrote:
> 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 don’t get a reply within an expected span of time, please call.
>>
>>
>>
>> ---- 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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