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<p><font face="Calibri">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.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">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%?<br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">Mik<br>
</font></p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">Mik Muller, president
Montague WebWorks
20 River Street, Greenfield, MA
413-320-5336
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://MontagueWebWorks.com">http://MontagueWebWorks.com</a>
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 4/3/2025 5:04 PM, Jan Werner wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:4d8b7c49-b027-4c22-b2b7-5751dba405d5@jwdp.com">Good
point, although probably not what you had in mind.
<br>
<br>
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.
<br>
<br>
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.
<br>
<br>
Thanks, but I'll get my news from reliable sources, not YouTube
clips.
<br>
<br>
Jan Werner
<br>
______________
<br>
<br>
On 4/1/2025 11:24 PM, Rob Laporte via Hidden-discuss wrote:
<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<br>
Regarding SS payments, it's /really/ worth knowing what Musk
said in this one minute video: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtube.com/clip/">https://youtube.com/clip/</a>
Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX?si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX?si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R"><https://
youtube.com/clip/Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX?
si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R></a>. 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.
<br>
<br>
*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.
<br>
<br>
<br>
Best Regards,
<br>
<br>
*Rob Laporte*
<br>
CEO | R&D Manager
<br>
*DISC - Making Websites Make Money*
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Rob@2disc.com">Rob@2disc.com</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:Rob@2disc.com"><mailto:Rob@2disc.com></a>, 413-584-6500
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.2disc.com">www.2disc.com</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="https://www.2disc.com"><https://www.2disc.com></a>
<br>
<br>
*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.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
---- On Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:55:20 -0400 *Michael Muller via
Hidden- discuss <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net"><hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net></a>*
wrote ---
<br>
<br>
Considering the recent backtracking and re-hiring of some of
the
<br>
more important fired personnel at critical federal agencies,
the
<br>
slap-dash eager beavers running around DOGE without a leash
feel
<br>
like drunk moshers in china shop. Any conversion by these
people
<br>
will be a fiasco, because they intrinsically don't care.
<br>
<br>
Log in to the SSA portal and download your payments and
benefits
<br>
report before it's offline.
<br>
<br>
Mik
<br>
<br>
Mik Muller, president
<br>
Montague WebWorks
<br>
20 River Street, Greenfield, MA
<br>
413-320-5336
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://MontagueWebWorks.com">http://MontagueWebWorks.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://MontagueWebWorks.com"><http://MontagueWebWorks.com></a>
<br>
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<br>
<br>
On 3/29/2025 1:12 AM, AI Zuckerman via Hidden-discuss wrote:
<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to">https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to</a>-
<br>
rewrite-ssa- <<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://developers.slashdot.org/">https://developers.slashdot.org/</a>
<br>
story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months?
<br>
utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed>
<br>
codebase-in-months?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
<br>
<<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to">https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to</a>-
<br>
rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months?
<br>
utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed>
<br>
<br>
Hi Hidden Techies,
<br>
Here's one for coders on the list. A friend sent me a
link to
<br>
this article in Wired. Apparently, DOGE techies are
claiming
<br>
they can rewrite the SSA code in months. Wire reports
that the
<br>
SSA codebase has over 60 million lines of COBOL
<https://
<br>
oig.ssa.gov/congressional-testimony/2016-07-14-newsroom-
<br>
congressional-testimony-july14-ssa-modernization/> and
handles
<br>
record keeping for all American workers and payments for
all
<br>
Social Security recipients.
<br>
The aim is to migrate all SSA systems off COBOL ... and
onto a
<br>
more modern replacement like Java within a scheduled
tight
<br>
timeframe of a few months," notes Wired.
<br>
Some questions:
<br>
Is it possible to handle this mammoth job in a month?
<br>
What happens if the techies in DOGE make mistakes?
<br>
Would SSA have a backup system of the COBOL code?
<br>
<br>
Let all of us oldsters who depend on our SSA benefits
keep them
<br>
safe. If any people can do this, I know either you can
or know
<br>
someone who can. Please post your thoughts to the list.
<br>
If you want to chat with me about this situation then
call me at
<br>
413-362-4392.
<br>
thanks!
<br>
<br>
Amy Zuckerman
<br>
HIDDEN TECH mother emeritus
<br>
<br>
I
<br>
<br>
<br>
_______________________________________________
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</blockquote>
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</blockquote>
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