There Is No S.S. Fraud

To the Editor:

Several writers have weighed in on the competence and compassion of Elon Musk’s efforts to make the US government efficient. That discussion includes his competence to revise Social Security, to make it great again. A question typically asked of consultants is: Are you competent to advise changes, that in this case would make Social Security more effective? SS’s original purpose was to provide income for persons economically harmed by the Great Depression. SS worked so well and was liked nearly universally as a savings program for retirement and/or disability that it became a fixture of our government. A recent FCR writer assured us that “Social Security is not going away.” The writer was elated that “Musk and his staff, God bless them, are finding out who is illegally receiving social security payments.” One must presume that Musk is particularly gifted in this role, and Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek is committed to prosecuting fraud and “Reinforcing program integrity measures so that only noncitizens who meet all eligibility requirements can receive benefits.” These are not new, but renewed commitments of Social Security directors.

An online search reveals experts who put the payment to supposed 150-year-olds problem to rest. Musk claimed that Social Security records reveal that 20 million dead people are used illegally and fraudulently to steal $100 billion a year. President Trump embraced Musk’s findings.

Digging deeper into the matter, let’s begin by reminding ourselves that Congress passed legislature in 2015 which implemented a policy that no one can collect benefits for a person after he reaches the age of 115. That functionally eliminates part of Musk’s angst. That bill presumes that even if no one notifies SS of a person’s death, payments can only last so long.

Now for more alt facts, not from Fake News. The Social Security database includes the names and numbers of all persons living and dead who have paid into the system and potentially qualify for payments. The Center for Retirement Research of Boston College reported that “The Musk team asked the machine to scan the database and identify all those who did not have a date of death associated with their record, and that query netted the numbers Musk shared.” Do I correctly recall an old computer adage: Garbage in/garbage out? Further, “the population of those aged 65+ is 59 million, and the number of checks going out to retired workers, their spouses and their widow/ widowers is 56 million.” An internal audit found that only 13 checks were going to people aged 112+. The Center reports that private insurance companies have a less laudable track record.

If Musk were a consultant to any company management I know, he would be fired, and his results would not be touted as truth. As the 4/11 writer said, SS is safe and sound. If anyone does not get their check (and I find many people monitoring theirs), the mistake cannot be blamed on elder fraud.

Bob Heath La Grange