The top official at the Social Security Administration stepped down this weekend as DOGE sought access to the sensitive data of millions of Americans.
- Michelle King, the acting commissioner, refused to provide DOGEbags with access to an internal data repository where the agency’s systems contain financial data, employment information and addresses for anyone with a Social Security number.
“S.S.A. has comprehensive medical records of people who have applied for disability benefits,” said Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, a group that promotes the expansion of Social Security. “It has our bank information, our earnings records, the names and ages of our children, and much more.”
Musk is claiming — without any evidence — that initial examinations of the Social Security Administration found that people listed in its systems as being 150 years old were receiving benefits.
Musk and Team tRump quickly got to work spreading misinformation that was quickly debunked.
According to PolitiFact, the explanation for 150-year-olds receiving checks could relate to arcane coding practices, experts said.
There could be other reasons why the database appears inaccurate, including conflicting information on age or date of birth, while some immigrants don’t know their date of birth.
Social Security does sometimes send out payments improperly.
With the sheer scope of the agency’s payments — over $1 trillion a year — even a tiny fraction of mistakes adds up quickly.
According to a July 2024 agency inspector general report, SSA sent almost $71.8 billion in improper payments between fiscal years 2015 and 2022 — which includes tRump’s first term. The IG called improper payments a longstanding challenge.
With improper payments accounting for 0.84% of the total payments, improving to 0% error may not be the best answer. The cost for perfection may not be the best return on investment.
- A dollar spent on fixing the improper payment problem could pay for itself with $10 in saved funds, said Jeffrey R. Brown, a professor of finance at the University of Illinois. For a private-sector company, those savings would be easy to see in the bottom line. Not so for Social Security.
- If the agency does get that dollar and ends up saving $10 in payments, those proceeds would remain in the Social Security Trust Fund, which doesn’t help Congress’ own fiscal balance sheet, nor the agency’s own administrative budget.
Lawdy, even Murdoch fish wrap NYPost debunked the claims. Oof.
