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Do you understand the issue? What value would you have entered into the birth date field in this situation? In the absence of a null value and proper null proc
by dkjaudyeqooe 2y ago
Do you understand the issue? What value would you have entered into the birth date field in this situation?
In the absence of a null value and proper null processing, zero seems to be the right value. It's clearly exceptional and intuitive to anyone who encounters it in the data, and it would allow the rest of the system to work correctly.
Social security eligibility doesn't have a maximum age but it does have a minimum. If a person claims Social Security without proof of age then their eligibility is dealt with administratively.
So the headline is right, this is 100% a political issue, since any fair minded person with relevant experience wouldn't jump to claiming fraud in this situation but rather they'd assume a data issue.
- wakawaka28 2y agoMost people don't expect modern government records to be so chaotic. If so many incomplete and even erroneous entries are allowed (they are, as the social security numbers are in fact reused or else entered wrong) then there will be some significant fraud to be uncovered. That fraud might be harder to find than simply looking for people who are too old. But it's there, no doubt, and more fraud happens every single day. If you look into this stuff you'll find dead people getting payments, and children paying social security taxes as their data is stolen.
- muddi900 2y agoIt reveals the lack of technical expertise at play for the most powerful bureaucrats in the world.