*siiiiiigh* Well, now, they’re just screwing up everything everywhere. Aren’t they? The last thing people on SSI need is for the system to become UN-available when they need it. I’m not even sure they’re going to get their checks with this bullcookies going on. (See? I can actually say something without cursing … for now)
I really need to learn how to insert pictures into my pieces. But, moving along, from Raw Story: Retirees and other beneficiaries of funds distributed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) are having major problems accessing their online accounts since staffers from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have assumed control of the agency. According to a report from the Washington Post, access to accounts has been unavailable for hours extending into days after new software was installed, with a message popping up reading “Online Service Not Available” and ending there. As the Post’s Lisa Rein, Hannah Natanson, and Elizabeth Dwoskin are reporting, “Even when the site is back online, many customers have not been able to sign in to their accounts — or have logged in only to find information missing. For others, access to the system has been slow, requiring repeated tries to get in.”
What. The. Heck. The *last* people in the world, who really need their SSI, and they are having trouble accessing the site and their information? I call that a crisis! It seems to link to a DOGE program imposing an extended fraud check. Okay, *I* am not a tech, I just have some basic knowledge about computers. The first thing I would have done after writing it was to run *tests* on the program to see what the effect was going to be! Really, people, you’re all “so smart”, but you didn’t run any tests? That’s not just ridiculous, it’s criminal! Roll back that damn program and work on it some more! You don’t know about debugging? This is all basic stuff to do *before* you put the damn thing into action!
*Ahem* Also from Raw Story: According to one employee who wished to remain anonymous, “It’s just been a lot of craziness, a lot of foolishness. Until they get rid of Doge and the person in office right now, and the Republicans actually get a backbone and stand up for something for once in their lives, things are just going to be complete chaos. That’s really the best word to describe SSA right now, just complete, utter chaos.” They added, “They couldn’t understand the coding, so everything they said SSA was doing illegally, they weren’t. Common sense is something they lack. They don’t know what they’re doing.” This is exactly what I was just ranting about in the preceding paragraph. With the loss of Social Security personnel, including the techs that know the system inside and out, SS is on a death spiral and I am damn well worried. Millions of Americans (including myself, of course) depend on Social Security or SSI, or…you get the picture, I’m sure.
According to Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and health-care policy at non-profit Arc, “Social Security’s response has been, ‘Oops.’ “It’s woefully insufficient when we’re talking about a government agency that’s holding someone’s lifeline in their hands.” Oops? OOPS!??!!! What kind of a response is THAT? One senior staffer told the Post, “We’re just spiking like crazy. It’s people who are terrified that DOGE is messing with our systems. It’s the sheer massive volume of freaked-out people.” And well they should be! Now I have actual proof of why I was so worried about DOGE getting their fingers into SS systems.
I wish DOGE could get punted out the door. They only know a little about it, so they don’t work within the system that’s there. They already seem to be really good at breaking things. We don’t need that. *Millions* of Americans don’t need that. We have enough problems to handle with Traitor Tot and his STUPID tariffs. We need our lifeline.
*****And now, please read a very special request from our awesome boss******
Zoomers, we feel guilty asking for cash, but if you can spare a small amount, it will keep us trekking through cyberspace. Many hands make light work, many small contributions add up to enough. And most of all, we thank you for coming here to read. Ursula
1. Spend years saying government is broken and only you can fix it.
2. Get into power by lying about what you’ll do.
3. Break all the stuff government does so that it doesn’t work now.
4. Say, ‘See, we said government was broken’.
5. Privatize what is left so that government now works like the US ‘health system’ i.e. it now ‘works’ even worse but a small number of people can charge huge amounts of money.
6.Profit, enormously.
7. Laugh at all the peons whose money you’ve stolen, and tell them through your privately owned media empires, ‘there is no other way’, otherwise it’s ‘socialism’.
A week ago Tuesday: Adult disabled daughter gets letter regarding her SSD. They are cutting $121 from her $889 a month. No clue why but the letter said they told us “before.” Is it a one time deal? No clue. Daughter got a rep on the phone Wed morning (shock!) Person said they couldn’t access their system nor my daughters account. Hadn’t been able to for a bit of time. Daughter could NOT make an appt to go in until May when the account will be deducted. Daughter could appeal online – she did. We are in California.
Is this the start of the destruction of SS, SSD? Maybe it’s just a one time deal because the effing deposit they do can sometimes put my daughters account just over the high end for maybe 24-48 hours. THAT’S ALL! Flags go off immediately. Are hubby and I going to be penalized because we collect SS and a public employee retirement? We still work (in our 70’s) to support disabled daughter because $889 doesn’t do shite.
This happening and f*cking Musk gets a $5.2 BILLION contract with the Pentagon??????
This is what happens when you give free rein to a bunch of frat rats, probably from well-to-do families ( because normal people can’t afforc to work.for nothing when D.C. is ridiculously expensive to live) and who don’t understand how Social.Security works and are too stupidly arrogant to ask experienced employees about it because as obnoxious brats they are sure they know everything.
Have they never heard of Beta Testing? Why didn’t they clone the system, insert their code, then try to run it? Find the issues and correct them? My knowledge of programming is limited to Basic, but even I know that just a typo can fuck everything.
Social.Security is more than half our income. Without it, we’re screwed. Mortgage or food and meds for him, a type 2 diabetic? Those are the choices.
Who’s in charge of this operation?
Uh, The General.
General who?
General Fuckup!
I have often wondered if software releases are thoroughly tested before going live; the answer appears to be no.
Muskrat and his band of wundekind are doing a heck of a job, aren’t they? And it’s all under the watchful eye of The Chosen One. Of course, if he’s asked about any of this, he’ll channel Sgt. Schultz and say, “I know nothing!” Hard to argue that. Or maybe he’d respond with, “She’s ugly, so there’s no way I’d have sex with her… Whaddya mean that’s my wife?”
The answer doesn’t have to be related to the question with this one.