Apr 9, 2007

What Will Andrew Biggs Role Be?

Social Security has updated its website to show Andrew Biggs as Deputy Commissioner. Curiously, the organizational chart still shows him to be "Deputy Commissioner, Policy," which is a different job. Is it possible that Biggs will not be involved in the day to day operations of the Social Security Administration, as one might expect of THE Deputy Commissioner, that functionally he will continue to operate as the "Deputy Commissioner, Policy"?

There has been no sign that Biggs has ever had any interest in the day to day operations of the Social Security Administration. Why would you want to be responsible for keeping the trains running on time if your goal was to blow up the locomotives and tear up the tracks? The Policy office does research, which is closer to the kind of work Biggs has done in the past, although recently he has been more of a polemicist than a researcher.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Slow down. He's the Deputy Commissioner of SSA. Clearly, even on the chart you reference. He's also the Acting Deputy Commissioner for Policy, which is what he was up until he was recess appointed to the higher job. The Deputy Commissioner job will be whatever Mike Astrue wants it to be. Speculation is pointless at this juncture.