Frank Bisignano has been confirmed as Commissioner of Social Security,
May 6, 2025
Dudek Op Ed
Social Security’s Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek has penned (or more likely someone penned for him) an Op Ed in the right wing NY Post. Warning: You may find it infuriating.
I think we can now say that the Social Security Administration is thoroughly politicized.
Profile In Courage
Ms. magazine has a nice piece out titled “Profiles in Courage: Michelle King Refused to Hand Over Your Data to DOGE. Then She Lost Her Job.” It’s worth a read.
May 5, 2025
What Do You Expect From Frank Bisignano?
Frank Bisignano is likely to be confirmed as Social Security Commissioner tomorrow. What do you expect from him?
More than anything else I’m expecting harshness towards the public and Social Security employees. We may see novel interpretations of the Social Security Act to end benefits for whole categories of people. We may see basic refusal to provide categories of service to the public. We may see targeted firings of employees on the theory that doing so will somehow increase the productivity of those not fired — the “pour encourager les autres” theory. I’m almost certain there will be a lot of thrashing about attempting to look audacious. Those are my very general guesses. What are yours?
May 4, 2025
Big Social Security Fraud Scheme — In Brazil
From the BBC:
Brazil's Social Security Minister, Carlos Lupi, has resigned nine days after police unveiled a major corruption scandal which defrauded pensioners of $1.1bn (£829m).
Federal police allege that over the past decade, the National Social Security Institute (INSS) made unauthorised deductions from payments made to millions of pensioners.
The money was allegedly paid to several associations and unions, which then shared the earnings with corrupt government officials.
Lupi has always denied any wrongdoing and said he ordered an investigation as soon as he heard about the allegations. …
May 3, 2025
DOGE Requests SCOTUS Intervention
From The Hill:
The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to let the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access millions of Americans’ personal data stored by the Social Security Administration (SSA) while it appeals an order that iced the advisory group out.
The emergency application asks the justices to lift a Maryland federal judge’s injunction blocking DOGE from poking around the SSA’s systems that contain personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers, medical and mental health records, bank data, and earnings history. …
Flat Appropriation Proposed
If I am reading the budget documents correctly, the White House is calling for an appropriation for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins October 1st of this year, that is the same as for the current fiscal year. That is, in effect, a cut in funding when inflation is considered and inflation may be quite significant because of the Trump tariffs.
May 2, 2025
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)