From Fortune:
For all the talk about Social Security being in crisis, what hasn’t been stressed enough is the leadership crisis. From December of 2023 to until the current leader’s Senate confirmation of May 6, a parade of four commissioners and acting commissioners cycled through the position. These chiefs departed fast in part because they got frequent hammerings in Congress over the agency’s poor phone and face-to-face service to beneficiaries.
Enter Frank Bisignano. The Jamie Dimon protegee had a storied career in banking, and was appointed to lead SSA last spring (he has since added the job of IRS CEO to his resume, which you can read about here.)
But the changes he has quickly enacted at SSA—drawing heavily on his time in the private sector—are real, and they’re impressing even the Administration’s fiercest critics. …
No matter what your political party, few could argue that an agency in need of efficiency finally has a leader at the top who is moving the needle.
I wonder how much Frankenstein or his friends paid to publish those lies. Everyone who works for SSA knows how much damage has been done in the past year. All American’s PII has been compromised. Can’t do much worse …
ReplyDeleteFortune is vying to be the State Media Award recipient along with FoxNews. It will be a photo finish. 🐎 🐎
ReplyDeleteThis is a perfect example of a “puff piece” that should be taught at all elite journalism schools.
ReplyDeleteThe changes are not helping getting the work done or helping the public SSA serves! The work isn’t getting done because all that seems to matter now is that phones are answered, doesn’t matter the quality of the responses or the backlog of claims and post entitlement work not being done.
ReplyDeleteLove the em dashes. Good to know Fortune is using AI to write fiction.
ReplyDeleteThe article unsurprisingly has little in the way of way of substance. Just trumpets the OIG rubber stamp that technically phones are being answered— and some very Trump like verbiage that “many” “”some” etc are impressed -yet no one is named. Reeks of an attempt to drum up positive vibes.
ReplyDeleteIs Fortune a satire news outlet?
ReplyDeleteImpressing who? Impressing a bunch of idiots?
ReplyDeleteMost of the calls we are receiving are inquiries about why their claim or paperwork hasn't been processed. Well, those things aren't getting done because the people who normally do it are answering phones,” said one SSA field office employee in an office where some employees have been answering the 1-800 number since the summer.
ReplyDeleteSeveral employees at processing centers said they received only three hours of training before being placed onto phone answering duties that same day. That is despite the agency telling its union that workers in other parts of the agency would receive eight hours of training. Employees said even that level of training would be insufficient due the complexity of issues that can arise on a call, even the simpler matters.
“It's literally been learning as we go,” the reassigned employee said. “We are still lost.”
A story on my local radio station asked people in a conservative part of my area how they thought Trump's first year had gone. It's not a long piece, but what stood out for me was the person who said "It’s difficult for friends to sign up for Social Security. Nobody answers the phones." https://wtop.com/virginia/2026/02/fauquier-co-backed-trump-again-how-do-voters-feel-the-president-is-doing/
ReplyDeleteWho wrote this? Frank? "Bisignano also PUSHED HARD to ensure that the field offices remained open during the 43 day government shutdown". SSA services are deemed essential, the FOs were never in threat for closing. Also, when did SSA become *only* an 800# service.
ReplyDeleteThis is wrong - it’s a fugazi. There is no organization check the public facing page. Its blank. They do not communicate about structure what components have been merged, moved, dissolved. OAG is being run by corporate purchaser, who never heard of 508 compliance.
ReplyDeleteThis article is gaslighting to the T!!!!!!
We are still in a leadership crisis. I don’t think successful business leaders hide their business decisions from employees. He had managers voluntell people that they were being reassigned without any explanation. The training they received wasn’t enough to be effective. This is just him moving the chess pieces around without any real plan.
ReplyDelete