What's Going On In California?

     The governor of California has ordered the entire population of the state to remain in their homes. However, Social Security's office closings website only shows two offices in California closed. So, what's going on? There's many field offices, of course, but also a large payment center in California. I imagine there are one or more teleservice centers in California. Are they open? How much of their work can be get done by telework? How can Social Security compensate for work that doesn't get done.

     California may be the first state to issue a shelter in place order but it probably won't be the last. That may be coming in New York soon, like maybe today. Even if governors don't issue shelter in place orders, they're probably coming locally in places like New Orleans. 

     Social Security has to figure how what it's going to do and cope with the fact that a lot isn't going to get done for now. Social Security needs to plan on a huge amount of overtime as soon as practical and to ask the White House for this to be included in a future special appropriations bill.

     If this doesn't sound real to you, consider that in Spain four people an hour are dying from Covid-19. Did 9/11 seem like a crisis to you? It was nothing compared to Covid-19.

     Update: Within minutes after I posted this, the governor of New York issued a stay at home order. New York also has many Social Security field offices, a payment center (which is a mess in the best of times) and may have some teleservice centers. I don't know which states are on the clock now -- Washington, New Jersey, Connecticut, Louisiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan?