WEBVTT - Selects: Social Security Numbers: Less Boring Than You'd Think

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, everybody, it's Charles W. Chuck Bryant here. Why don't

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<v Speaker 1>you jump back into the wayback machine with me and

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<v Speaker 1>we'll go back to April nineteen, twenty twelve for this

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday Selects episode Social Security Numbers colon less boring than

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<v Speaker 1>You'd think, And I gotta tell you it is less

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<v Speaker 1>boring than you'd think. This is a really good episode,

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<v Speaker 1>So check it out. If you didn't think you wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to know about social Security numbers, think again, pal.

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome to Stuff you should know, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey,

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<v Speaker 2>and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W.

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck Bryant aka two eight six five four seven five

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<v Speaker 1>two three.

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<v Speaker 2>Dude, you can't come out your social Security number. I

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<v Speaker 2>just made that up. I thought about that. I thought

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<v Speaker 2>about what if I like ended up when we were

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<v Speaker 2>describing like what the different numbers were. Yeah, I was like, well,

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<v Speaker 2>my have to be this one. If you listen to

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<v Speaker 2>the whole podcast, you could put together a social security number.

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<v Speaker 2>And I was like, don't do that, Josh, don't.

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<v Speaker 1>We should probably beep out what I said anyway, because

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<v Speaker 1>that might be someone else's social Security number.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I don't.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want to be responsible for that.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, we'll go back and beat that out. That's really

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<v Speaker 2>some CoA right there. Why how do you know that

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<v Speaker 2>that person would be there? Like, yes, you should notice

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<v Speaker 2>called me out serial number? Why I want a contest.

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<v Speaker 1>I can pay for my own hotel in Atlanta to

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<v Speaker 1>go see the guys.

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<v Speaker 2>But just me, so Jerry like that? Yeah? So chuck, josh.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh do you know much about social security?

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<v Speaker 1>A bit?

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<v Speaker 2>You're about to chuck?

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<v Speaker 1>Yes.

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<v Speaker 2>The Social Security Act of nineteen thirty five, Yes, created

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<v Speaker 2>by our old timey forebears, basically created a scheme, and

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<v Speaker 2>not scheme in the way of like a carbon trading

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<v Speaker 2>scheme or something like that. I know you don't like

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<v Speaker 2>that word, but it's a legitimate word. It doesn't necessarily

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<v Speaker 2>mean something nefarious. Right, But under this scheme, social security

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<v Speaker 2>is given to retiring workers, yes, in the month, in

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<v Speaker 2>the form of a monthly payment, where basically it says, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>good job, you did a good job working. Go take

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<v Speaker 2>care of yourself. We don't want you to die on

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<v Speaker 2>the street. Sure, this should hopefully sustain you in your

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<v Speaker 2>retirement years. Right. This is before the advent of four

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<v Speaker 2>oh one k's and the like.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, this just thirty five bucks a month.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, Well, the whole basis of it is that the

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<v Speaker 2>workers of today pay into the Social Security fund and

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<v Speaker 2>it is immediately taken and distributed dispersed to workers who

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<v Speaker 2>have retired today. Yeah, so the workers of today are

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<v Speaker 2>taking care of the workers of yesterday. That's the whole

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<v Speaker 2>point too. It So this has led some people to

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<v Speaker 2>claim that the Social Security program is nothing more than

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<v Speaker 2>a Ponzi scheme where you're taking the money of these

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<v Speaker 2>people to pay off other people, or socialism even Oh,

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<v Speaker 2>it's totally different. It is socialism.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but people cry socialism a lot these days, and

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<v Speaker 1>they don't think about things like social security in all

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<v Speaker 1>the different ways we do have socialism that people are like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>that's fine.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, sure, yeah, Well but you can make a case

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<v Speaker 2>that it is a Ponzi scheme. Sure, but Stephen Goss,

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<v Speaker 2>chief Actuary for the Social Security Administration, would take issue

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<v Speaker 2>with that.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure he would.

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<v Speaker 2>He would say it's not a Ponzi scheme because a

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<v Speaker 2>Ponzi scheme is not sustainable.

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<v Speaker 1>Some might argue that social security is not sustainable, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is, as we say here in the South. That's

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<v Speaker 1>a whole nother show.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh okay, well I won't talk about it anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, what do you have some numbers on its sustainability? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>we can chat about it.

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<v Speaker 2>Here's the thing. So if you just if you had

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<v Speaker 2>zero population growth, this thing would work forever, right, and

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<v Speaker 2>it would work completely efficiently with no changes whatsoever. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 2>we don't have zero population growth, and we actually had

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<v Speaker 2>a spike in population that we know of as the

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<v Speaker 2>baby boom, right, which means that very shortly and starting now,

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<v Speaker 2>I think more, there will be way more retired workers

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<v Speaker 2>than there are workers, which means that the workers of

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<v Speaker 2>today are going to have far greater burden placed on

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<v Speaker 2>them taking care of these retired workers than any other

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<v Speaker 2>workers ever.

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<v Speaker 1>Have or will.

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<v Speaker 2>But Stephen Goss, chief factuary for the Social Security Administration,

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<v Speaker 2>says this will eventually work itself out. The government's taken

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<v Speaker 2>steps to address this, and what is done is raise

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<v Speaker 2>the amount of money that people throw into this. And

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<v Speaker 2>they're taking the extra money, and the government is buying

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<v Speaker 2>treasury bonds, investing in itself. Now here's the weird thing.

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<v Speaker 2>When they come mature, these bonds, the government pays these

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<v Speaker 2>things off with other tax money. So the government is

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<v Speaker 2>going to pay the Social Security fun back with other

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<v Speaker 2>tax money.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, this will drive people crazy, conservatives, libertarians, liberals, right

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<v Speaker 2>leaning liberals, right fiscally conservative liberals especially, But Stephen Goss

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<v Speaker 2>assures us it's just a little bump. We're probably not

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<v Speaker 2>going to have another population spike for a while, and

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<v Speaker 2>Social Security will go right back to normal. It just

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<v Speaker 2>sticks for us right now.

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<v Speaker 1>Right. The other thing that I'd never really thought about

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<v Speaker 1>is it could not have been a sustainable program even

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<v Speaker 1>to begin with, because you start Social Security and when

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<v Speaker 1>was it, nineteen thirty five? Yeah, people started getting paid out,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a year later, two years later, and so

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<v Speaker 1>they weren't paying in that long. So immediately you've got

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<v Speaker 1>a problem on your hands because people are starting to

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<v Speaker 1>get payouts that didn't pay in for twenty years.

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<v Speaker 2>Well saying, yes, that is the case, but they were

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<v Speaker 2>smaller at first.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but it still creates a bit of a wrinkle.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that would wrinkle in time for the future.

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<v Speaker 2>I think so. But it was a hump that had

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<v Speaker 2>to be gotten over, and it was gotten over, like

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<v Speaker 2>basically the first people just got screwed.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well, well, but they didn't pay in that much

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<v Speaker 1>either though, So.

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<v Speaker 2>No, and that's true. So they were rightly screwed. Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>so let's talk about the history of all this chuck.

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<v Speaker 2>And by the way, I guess the takeaway from the

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<v Speaker 2>intro social Security is considered a.

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<v Speaker 1>What a punt sis scheme.

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<v Speaker 2>I think people were just in there, like say, I know, all.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, well you already you already blew the big secret

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<v Speaker 1>there the Act of nineteen thirty five. It was coined.

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<v Speaker 1>The name social Security was coined by Abraham Epstein, who

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<v Speaker 1>led the American Association for Social Security. Yeah, and they

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<v Speaker 1>began paying out in thirty seven, like you said, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>just for workers, right, and it was.

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<v Speaker 2>The biggest wage journer of a household basically the dad,

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<v Speaker 2>right got the money as the retiree. Yeah, and it

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<v Speaker 2>was a lump something, right.

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<v Speaker 1>They didn't pay it in monthly buckets back then.

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<v Speaker 2>Tell him what the first guy who got social Security

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<v Speaker 2>got his lump sum.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, his lump sum was was it seventeen cents?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, in January nineteen thirty seven. He was the first

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<v Speaker 2>guy to get Social Security benefits. And I lickd it up.

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<v Speaker 2>That's two dollars and fifty five cents in twenty ten money.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh wow.

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<v Speaker 2>So even back then he was just like, hey, federal government,

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<v Speaker 2>I got some in my pocket for you.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Josh just made an obscene gesture. We should just

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<v Speaker 1>say that. In nineteen thirty nine, just two years later,

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<v Speaker 1>they added survivors benefits and benefits to spouses and children.

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<v Speaker 1>Flash forward to fifty six, they added disability benefits. Medicare

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<v Speaker 1>was signed into law. Yeah, and in sixty one, the uh,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sorry. In sixty one sixty two, the Civil Service

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<v Speaker 1>Commission and the IRS adopted the Social Security number as

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<v Speaker 1>your official federal ID number and taxpayer ID number, right respectively.

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<v Speaker 2>Which is a kind of a thing because the first

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<v Speaker 2>Social Security cards specifically said on them not to be

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<v Speaker 2>used as identification. Yeah, but they never made a follow

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<v Speaker 2>up law to enforce it, and so everybody's like, no,

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<v Speaker 2>it's perfect for identification.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I'll always remember it because of this card in

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<v Speaker 1>my wallet.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll use the mark of the beast as identification.

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<v Speaker 1>The first numbers, because this is not just about Social

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<v Speaker 1>Security but more about the numbers, which is more interesting

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<v Speaker 1>than I thought. Slightly, Yeah, it was. They were distributed

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<v Speaker 1>through the post office because they didn't have field offices yet.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, forty five thousand post offices took the initial

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<v Speaker 1>task to type up. These cards are called typing centers.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. So basically this is what I This is the

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<v Speaker 2>part I entitled bureaucracy. Ho right, Yeah. The Social Security

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<v Speaker 2>Administration contacted all employers in the United States and said, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>this is a form SS four and on it you

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<v Speaker 2>just list the number of employees you have working for

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<v Speaker 2>you mail it back to us. And so all the

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<v Speaker 2>employers filled out I have fifteen employees and then mailed

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<v Speaker 2>the SS four back to the Social Security Administration. Social

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<v Speaker 2>Security Administration opened up the SS fours and they said, okay,

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<v Speaker 2>this employer has fifteen employees, so we're going to mail

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<v Speaker 2>him fifteen SS five forms, which are basically signing up

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<v Speaker 2>for your Social Security number.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, So they mailed the fifteen back, probably in one package,

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<v Speaker 2>to the employer, and the employer distributed them among his employees.

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<v Speaker 2>The employees filled out the SS five forms and they

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<v Speaker 2>sent them back to the Social Security Administration. Social Security

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<v Speaker 2>Administration said, oh, okay, now we have these and we're

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<v Speaker 2>going to assign social Security numbers, right right. They said, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>go to your post office the post Office gave them

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<v Speaker 2>the social Security numbers. The Post Office then sent that

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<v Speaker 2>duplicate form to the Social Security Administration, who created the

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<v Speaker 2>master file of all of these documents put together, which

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<v Speaker 2>was your social Security.

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<v Speaker 1>Number file, and that was sent to Maryland.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, and then in Maryland is where it all came together.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right. Yeah, well what came together there? The numbers,

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<v Speaker 1>the numbering, the whole thing, your whole file. Okay, the

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<v Speaker 1>block file, that's right. So let's talk about the first

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<v Speaker 1>numbers since we're there.

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<v Speaker 2>Who has it? And is it zero zero one zero

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<v Speaker 2>one zero zero zero one? Is it the first number?

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<v Speaker 1>No? Well, we should first say that no one knows

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<v Speaker 1>for sure who got the very first card in the

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<v Speaker 1>very first number, because they reckon about several hundred thousand

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<v Speaker 1>people applied in that first November of nineteen thirty six.

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<v Speaker 2>So he didn't do the math, but they're some I'm

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<v Speaker 2>sure you could figure out statistically, and I'd be interested

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<v Speaker 2>to hear how to do this. But if one hundred

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<v Speaker 2>thousand people all got their card that day, yeah, and

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<v Speaker 2>the post offices were open from like eight to five,

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<v Speaker 2>sure how many people were handed their Social Security number

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<v Speaker 2>card simultaneously? That day, right, how many first people were there?

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<v Speaker 2>There's got to be some awesome math equation to figure

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<v Speaker 2>that out.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, somebody should do that for us since then, so

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<v Speaker 1>they don't know officially who it was, but their first

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<v Speaker 1>official record they do know. It was a guy named

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<v Speaker 1>John David Sweeney Junior. And he had the social Security

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<v Speaker 1>number five to five nine one, and by oh, I

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<v Speaker 1>mean zero of course or ought.

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<v Speaker 2>And he got his because the head of the Social

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<v Speaker 2>Security Administration took it off the top of a stack, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>and said this is the first one. That's right, So

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<v Speaker 2>there you go.

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<v Speaker 1>But they did offer that to oh no, they sorry.

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<v Speaker 2>The zero zero one number, the lowest number right on record.

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<v Speaker 1>Right before we get to there, though, John David Sweeney

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<v Speaker 1>ironically died before he could collect his Social Security payments.

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<v Speaker 2>John David Sweeney's the one with the first social Security number,

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<v Speaker 2>So that is very ironic.

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<v Speaker 1>It is.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the fact of the podcast if you ask me.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, yeah, because retirement age was sixty five and

0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:38.160
<v Speaker 1>he died at sixty one. Yeah, Today they handle it differently.

0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:41.040
<v Speaker 1>It's a little confusing, but actually it's not that confusing.

0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.640
<v Speaker 1>You just have to be good at math. Benefits are

0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:46.520
<v Speaker 1>reduced by five nights of one percent for every month

0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:49.640
<v Speaker 1>you retire before the age of sixty five. Slacker yeah

0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:52.200
<v Speaker 1>or rich person.

0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:53.520
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, good for you.

0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:58.600
<v Speaker 1>So so back to the number one one or whatever.

0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:03.720
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, the all time low number holder who always will

0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:06.360
<v Speaker 2>be until we start recycling numbers if we ever need to.

0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:10.920
<v Speaker 2>We won't. We may, we may. Her name is Grace

0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:15.480
<v Speaker 2>d Owen. She is of Concord, New Hampshire, or Conquered Okay,

0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.440
<v Speaker 2>and uh yeah, because we always get male from people.

0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.000
<v Speaker 2>It's like, oh, you pronounced it Nevada, it's Nevada. Or

0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:27.319
<v Speaker 2>if we say Nevada, they say, hey, you pronounced Nevada incorrectly,

0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:28.199
<v Speaker 2>it's Nevada.

0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.360
<v Speaker 1>No, it is Nevada. But I tell everyone that writes

0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:35.480
<v Speaker 1>in from Nevada only people from Nevada say Nevada. Everyone

0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:35.920
<v Speaker 1>else has.

0:13:35.880 --> 0:14:03.760
<v Speaker 2>Nevada, especially people in Missouri. So chuck. Grace Diowen of Concord,

0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:08.000
<v Speaker 2>New Hampshire got the lowest number zero zero one zero

0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:11.280
<v Speaker 2>one zero zero zero one with her security numbers. It

0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:15.000
<v Speaker 2>was and she got that not because she was first

0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:17.720
<v Speaker 2>in line. As we've said, different guy got that low

0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.960
<v Speaker 2>number or a different guy got the first number, and

0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:26.280
<v Speaker 2>it wasn't low. She got it because of where she lived. Originally,

0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:29.600
<v Speaker 2>the number scheming was based on, well, the first two

0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.200
<v Speaker 2>numbers were based on the state you lived.

0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:35.880
<v Speaker 1>In, right, and starting northeast, moving westward.

0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:43.120
<v Speaker 2>Right, and so you had less than fifty possible primary numbers,

0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:45.760
<v Speaker 2>the first two, first three numbers.

0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:48.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well not even They didn't even have fifty at

0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:48.600
<v Speaker 1>the time, did they.

0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:50.480
<v Speaker 2>No, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, so this is a

0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:53.120
<v Speaker 2>total waste of digits. They figured out very quickly, so

0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:57.400
<v Speaker 2>they started assigning them to zip codes instead. Right, And

0:14:57.440 --> 0:14:59.520
<v Speaker 2>we should talk about these numbers. Do you want to hear

0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:00.479
<v Speaker 2>Are we there?

0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:02.800
<v Speaker 1>Well, we are almost there, but you didn't mention that

0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:05.520
<v Speaker 1>Grace Owen got that number. That actually offered it as

0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:11.000
<v Speaker 1>an honor to John G. Winnet, the Social Security Board chairman,

0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:15.560
<v Speaker 1>and John Campbell, the Federal Bureau of Old Age Benefits

0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:20.240
<v Speaker 1>rep for the Boston They offered them both the number

0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:27.240
<v Speaker 1>one one one, and they both said, no, no thanks.

0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.600
<v Speaker 2>We are true bureaucrats and that would be against the

0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:30.960
<v Speaker 2>bureaucracy's rules.

0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:35.080
<v Speaker 1>That's right. And seventeen cents to Ernest Ackerman, the first

0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:35.880
<v Speaker 1>guy to get a payment.

0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:40.000
<v Speaker 2>Yes, but item a Fuller made out like a bandit.

0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:41.960
<v Speaker 1>This is exactly the problem.

0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:44.720
<v Speaker 2>This is not the problem. Missus Fuller did good things

0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:49.360
<v Speaker 2>with her money. She bought herself an edsel. Yeah, she

0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:57.280
<v Speaker 2>uh invested in uh webvan. She did great things. She

0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:02.600
<v Speaker 2>did so item A. Fuller retired in November nineteen thirty nine,

0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.640
<v Speaker 2>and she was the first person to start collecting monthly benefits.

0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:11.119
<v Speaker 2>So by the time she by the time Social Security payments,

0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.120
<v Speaker 2>or by the time you had to start paying him,

0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:17.640
<v Speaker 2>because another fact is that you can't opt out. And

0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:21.040
<v Speaker 2>the time she retired, she contributed a total of twenty

0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:24.080
<v Speaker 2>four dollars and seventy five cents. Yes, because of the

0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.760
<v Speaker 2>Social Security scheme. By the time she died at age

0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:31.200
<v Speaker 2>one hundred and nineteen seventy five, she collected a total

0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.280
<v Speaker 2>of twenty two thousand, eight hundred and eighty eight dollars

0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:35.280
<v Speaker 2>and ninety two cents.

0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:36.280
<v Speaker 1>She not sustainable.

0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.520
<v Speaker 2>She made out. She wore like a bandanna around her

0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:41.600
<v Speaker 2>face like the rest of her life. She did.

0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, she was a Social Security bandit.

0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:44.920
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:49.280
<v Speaker 1>Okay, back to the numbers. Is that enough history?

0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:53.880
<v Speaker 2>I think so? Ok So, the first three numbers they're

0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.480
<v Speaker 2>called what the area numbers, yes, And like you said,

0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:01.240
<v Speaker 2>they were originally from northeast to west. So like if

0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:04.720
<v Speaker 2>you were if you lived in New Hampshire, you your

0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:06.720
<v Speaker 2>first three numbers were going to be zero zero one.

0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:10.000
<v Speaker 2>Then they figured out that, well, that's stupid, Like we're

0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:12.560
<v Speaker 2>going to have fifty states top, so there's a whole

0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:15.679
<v Speaker 2>number that we're not using. Eventually we're gonna need it

0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:19.399
<v Speaker 2>because Social Security numbers aren't recycled, they're retired after the

0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:23.440
<v Speaker 2>person dies, right, that is true. So then they started

0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:25.679
<v Speaker 2>assigning them to zip code, so that started using up

0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:27.040
<v Speaker 2>a lot more numbers, right.

0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:30.360
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, zip code on the mailing address on the application form,

0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:34.600
<v Speaker 1>which didn't necessarily indicate your residence. It's just wherever the

0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:36.480
<v Speaker 1>mailing address was where you applied.

0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:40.840
<v Speaker 2>Right, exactly when you were living, right, And it doesn't, Yeah,

0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:43.440
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't. Mailing in residence is not the same address

0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:46.000
<v Speaker 2>most times, it is, sure, but even still, like the

0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.800
<v Speaker 2>place where I was born is not where I live now.

0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:51.399
<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, so right, So I mean you have a

0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:55.440
<v Speaker 2>lot of weird numbers for.

0:17:55.480 --> 0:18:01.400
<v Speaker 1>The beginning, correct in the early seventies, since seventy two

0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.600
<v Speaker 1>is when they started the zip code. So I believe

0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:08.320
<v Speaker 1>that I actually in one of the last years since

0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:10.679
<v Speaker 1>I was born in seventy one, last people to get

0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:14.919
<v Speaker 1>the one based on the state. Cool, So I'm old timing.

0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:16.840
<v Speaker 2>Seriously, that is something.

0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:17.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:22.399
<v Speaker 2>The next two numbers are group numbers, so you have

0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:24.760
<v Speaker 2>your area number, and then the area number is broken

0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:27.480
<v Speaker 2>into groups zero one through ninety nine.

0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:29.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and this makes sense.

0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:33.200
<v Speaker 2>So the two numbers in the middle are the you

0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:37.840
<v Speaker 2>are that group of that zip code or that state,

0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:39.040
<v Speaker 2>depending on how old you are.

0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:41.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it was just a means to break it up

0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:44.600
<v Speaker 1>and make it simpler for accounting and filing and all

0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:45.040
<v Speaker 1>that stuff.

0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:48.879
<v Speaker 2>Right, because instead of just one group sure from an

0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:52.640
<v Speaker 2>area or what nine hundred and ninety nine possible areas, Yeah,

0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:55.879
<v Speaker 2>you now have ninety nine groups of nine hundred and

0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:59.639
<v Speaker 2>ninety nine possible areas, ninety nine groups each, which allows

0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:02.679
<v Speaker 2>for a lot more because the eight ball that the

0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:06.960
<v Speaker 2>Social Security number is always behind is basically running out

0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:07.520
<v Speaker 2>of numbers.

0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:11.000
<v Speaker 1>I don't think it'll happen. It will well eventually, but

0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:13.040
<v Speaker 1>there's what they say, a billion combinations.

0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.400
<v Speaker 2>There's a billion combinations. But consider this, there's been more

0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:21.280
<v Speaker 2>than four hundred million numbers issued since nineteen thirty five. Yeah,

0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:26.600
<v Speaker 2>so what sixty five seventy seven years, right, I have

0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:29.119
<v Speaker 2>a feeling that does take into account the baby boom

0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:31.240
<v Speaker 2>that ate up a lot of numbers, But I mean

0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:33.840
<v Speaker 2>I have a feeling that we could we could reach

0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:36.760
<v Speaker 2>that and what another one hundred, one hundred years, the

0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:39.680
<v Speaker 2>US will be around I'm sure longer than then, hopefully.

0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:43.119
<v Speaker 1>Hey you never know, Yeah, China is rising. Well it'll

0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:45.640
<v Speaker 1>be at the very least not in our lifetime.

0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:48.439
<v Speaker 2>Oh no, so who cares. I would have agreed with you.

0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:49.320
<v Speaker 2>You qualified it like that.

0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:53.440
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Well, what they'll probably do is, and I'm guessing here,

0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:57.040
<v Speaker 1>but they'll probably start reassigning numbers from dead people.

0:19:56.840 --> 0:19:59.679
<v Speaker 2>Which will be weird. I use social Security number.

0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:02.200
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I imagine they'd go back. I mean, it would

0:20:02.240 --> 0:20:04.199
<v Speaker 1>make sense to me that they would start from the

0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:08.080
<v Speaker 1>beginning again almost. Yeah, so like you're using someone's number

0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:12.400
<v Speaker 1>from nineteen thirty five in the year it's twenty one fourteen. Yeah,

0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:14.800
<v Speaker 1>you got a stinky old mothball number.

0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:18.480
<v Speaker 2>It's like a wicker wicker wheelchair or something like that,

0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:23.040
<v Speaker 2>or like leather leg braks. Is something weird, like from

0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:23.840
<v Speaker 2>the thirties?

0:20:25.119 --> 0:20:26.200
<v Speaker 1>What are you talking about?

0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:28.400
<v Speaker 2>You know exactly what I'm talking about Okay.

0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:33.400
<v Speaker 1>The last four digits are the serial numbers, and they

0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:37.720
<v Speaker 1>number consecutively from triple O one through nine nine nine nine.

0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:41.239
<v Speaker 2>So that's just saying, well, we're going to extend the

0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:45.240
<v Speaker 2>number the possible numbers we can come up with exactly

0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:48.600
<v Speaker 2>even more as a billion. And you know what, you

0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:50.800
<v Speaker 2>don't even necessarily have to recycle even if you add

0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:54.200
<v Speaker 2>like an extra attempt digit. How much would that change everything?

0:20:56.880 --> 0:20:58.919
<v Speaker 1>I mean, they'd have to rewrite all their programming and

0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:01.119
<v Speaker 1>all their accountings.

0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:03.000
<v Speaker 2>But then we wouldn't have to recycle numbers.

0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:06.720
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, good point. Okay, Luckily they have people much smarter

0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:08.560
<v Speaker 1>than that's deciding how to handle that.

0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:11.520
<v Speaker 2>I don't know, we're pretty sharp, all.

0:21:11.480 --> 0:21:14.200
<v Speaker 1>Right, Josh, common questions, these are actually pretty good.

0:21:14.920 --> 0:21:18.439
<v Speaker 2>Okay, Chuck, here's a question for you. Does everyone have

0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:19.920
<v Speaker 2>to have a Social Security number?

0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:24.040
<v Speaker 1>If you're over eighteen, then yes, you do. And if

0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:28.040
<v Speaker 1>you receive an income and you're over eighteen, okay, if

0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:33.119
<v Speaker 1>you're interested in starting up a bank account, being a

0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:37.880
<v Speaker 1>deduction on your parents' income taxes, all sorts of things

0:21:37.960 --> 0:21:43.040
<v Speaker 1>like that, metal getting medical coverage, taking advantage of government services,

0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:43.960
<v Speaker 1>then you're going to need that.

0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:46.439
<v Speaker 2>So there's a lot of people who dispute that that

0:21:46.840 --> 0:21:51.720
<v Speaker 2>you have to have that right. Practically speaking, you do,

0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:54.640
<v Speaker 2>like any bank can be like I'm not doing business

0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:57.399
<v Speaker 2>with you, and then you say, oh, okay, well I

0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:00.600
<v Speaker 2>can't force you to buy law, but I'll try your competitor,

0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:03.040
<v Speaker 2>and you go on down the line and maybe you

0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:05.359
<v Speaker 2>find a bank. From what I understand, there's banks that

0:22:05.400 --> 0:22:09.280
<v Speaker 2>are set up in the Midwest for people who don't

0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:12.480
<v Speaker 2>have Social Security numbers, who have said I'm not going

0:22:12.520 --> 0:22:14.200
<v Speaker 2>to have one. I don't trust the government, I don't

0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:16.320
<v Speaker 2>want to have a serial number, and I'm not going

0:22:16.400 --> 0:22:18.120
<v Speaker 2>to have this now.

0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:19.119
<v Speaker 1>But they're still paying in.

0:22:21.040 --> 0:22:23.520
<v Speaker 2>Uh yeah, yeah, I think they're still paying in, but

0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:25.440
<v Speaker 2>they don't have a Social Security number, so.

0:22:25.440 --> 0:22:27.080
<v Speaker 1>That means they're not going to get benefits at the end.

0:22:27.119 --> 0:22:29.280
<v Speaker 2>I don't think they think they're going to get benefits anyway.

0:22:29.600 --> 0:22:32.680
<v Speaker 2>I could get that, but yeah, they don't have a

0:22:32.720 --> 0:22:34.760
<v Speaker 2>Social Security number. I think there are there are people

0:22:34.760 --> 0:22:37.439
<v Speaker 2>who don't pay Social Security as well. It's like a

0:22:37.480 --> 0:22:40.920
<v Speaker 2>whole Yeah, there's like a whole topic along the fringe

0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:42.920
<v Speaker 2>of whether or not you need to have one, whether

0:22:43.000 --> 0:22:44.959
<v Speaker 2>or not you actually do have to pay in the

0:22:44.960 --> 0:22:49.000
<v Speaker 2>constitutionality of it, all that stuff, but for all practical purposes,

0:22:49.359 --> 0:22:52.040
<v Speaker 2>your life is exponentially easier if you have a Social

0:22:52.040 --> 0:22:52.840
<v Speaker 2>Security number.

0:22:52.920 --> 0:22:54.520
<v Speaker 1>Right, And you also said you have to pay because

0:22:54.520 --> 0:22:57.119
<v Speaker 1>you can't tell the government, you know what, I'm setting

0:22:57.200 --> 0:22:59.800
<v Speaker 1>up for my own retirement, and I want to take

0:23:00.080 --> 0:23:01.919
<v Speaker 1>all the available money that I make to do that

0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:05.800
<v Speaker 1>because my retirement plan is much better than whatever U

0:23:05.880 --> 0:23:06.800
<v Speaker 1>yokals are working on.

0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:09.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because I mean, if you you have to pay

0:23:09.040 --> 0:23:11.760
<v Speaker 2>you in fifteen point three percent. I don't know if

0:23:11.800 --> 0:23:14.680
<v Speaker 2>that's current. I haven't looked, but as of the writing

0:23:14.720 --> 0:23:19.760
<v Speaker 2>of this article, it was fifteen point three percent, seven

0:23:19.800 --> 0:23:22.640
<v Speaker 2>points sixty five percent paid by you out of your

0:23:22.680 --> 0:23:26.120
<v Speaker 2>gross pay and seven point sixty five paid by your employer.

0:23:26.960 --> 0:23:30.560
<v Speaker 1>It is staggering how much we pay in taxes in

0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:31.160
<v Speaker 1>this country.

0:23:31.240 --> 0:23:33.800
<v Speaker 2>So if you took fifteen point three percent of your

0:23:33.800 --> 0:23:36.280
<v Speaker 2>gross pay and put it into a four oh one

0:23:36.359 --> 0:23:39.320
<v Speaker 2>k over the same course of years, you would have

0:23:40.040 --> 0:23:45.880
<v Speaker 2>so much more money. Yeah, barring another stock market catastrophe

0:23:45.880 --> 0:23:47.359
<v Speaker 2>before you could get your money out of your four

0:23:47.400 --> 0:23:50.760
<v Speaker 2>oh one k, right, you would have way more than

0:23:50.800 --> 0:23:55.000
<v Speaker 2>you have from the Social Security administration as benefits.

0:23:55.440 --> 0:23:56.960
<v Speaker 1>You know, what I meant to look up is if

0:23:57.280 --> 0:24:00.800
<v Speaker 1>the government uses this money for other things in the meantime,

0:24:02.080 --> 0:24:04.359
<v Speaker 1>or is it strictly like here, it's in this little

0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:06.479
<v Speaker 1>pool and all we're doing is paying people out with it.

0:24:06.520 --> 0:24:10.439
<v Speaker 2>Well, supposedly, before the baby boom problem arose, it was

0:24:11.280 --> 0:24:14.360
<v Speaker 2>going in and right back out. Okay, And I'm sure

0:24:14.359 --> 0:24:19.040
<v Speaker 2>any surplus was invested in treasury bonds. Now all of

0:24:19.040 --> 0:24:22.680
<v Speaker 2>the surpluses invested in treasury bonds, which is just such

0:24:22.680 --> 0:24:25.880
<v Speaker 2>a shell game. It's so crazy, and no one has

0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:28.040
<v Speaker 2>any idea if this is gonna work. I swear to God,

0:24:28.080 --> 0:24:29.000
<v Speaker 2>I'm not paranoid.

0:24:29.080 --> 0:24:29.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:24:29.240 --> 0:24:31.840
<v Speaker 2>I don't live in the Midwest. I'm not a fringe dweller.

0:24:32.359 --> 0:24:35.040
<v Speaker 2>This is not something I like keep up with a lot.

0:24:35.800 --> 0:24:39.000
<v Speaker 2>I don't read WorldNet daily. There's nothing like that in

0:24:39.000 --> 0:24:41.119
<v Speaker 2>my life. Yeah, but I'm telling you this is like

0:24:41.520 --> 0:24:47.200
<v Speaker 2>there there's no guarantee that this social Security I guess

0:24:47.240 --> 0:24:51.520
<v Speaker 2>bandage for the baby boom population spike, if it's gonna work,

0:24:51.960 --> 0:24:54.440
<v Speaker 2>it's it's really at the very least, it's interesting.

0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:59.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, in the troubling, I would say, at the very least, sure, Okay,

0:24:59.400 --> 0:25:01.600
<v Speaker 1>they but you they make it real easy for you

0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:03.960
<v Speaker 1>to slap a number on your little, brand new baby.

0:25:04.040 --> 0:25:06.119
<v Speaker 2>Yes, do you have to have a number for your child?

0:25:06.640 --> 0:25:08.240
<v Speaker 1>Well, like I said, if you want them to get

0:25:08.240 --> 0:25:12.320
<v Speaker 1>medical coverage and open up a savings account in their

0:25:12.400 --> 0:25:15.760
<v Speaker 1>name for like their future college or trade school, or

0:25:15.920 --> 0:25:17.360
<v Speaker 1>travels around the world, or.

0:25:17.359 --> 0:25:20.120
<v Speaker 2>You want to claim it was a deduction on your tax.

0:25:19.920 --> 0:25:22.080
<v Speaker 1>Filing, yeah, then they're going to need one, and they

0:25:22.119 --> 0:25:23.800
<v Speaker 1>make it pretty easy on you to get one for

0:25:23.840 --> 0:25:25.520
<v Speaker 1>your new, little smelly baby.

0:25:25.600 --> 0:25:29.800
<v Speaker 2>They do. Again, I'm not a fringe dweller, but they

0:25:29.800 --> 0:25:35.080
<v Speaker 2>have the very sinister sounding Enumeration at Birth program.

0:25:34.600 --> 0:25:36.280
<v Speaker 1>That's pretty bad. Yeah.

0:25:36.320 --> 0:25:39.320
<v Speaker 2>It was started in nineteen eighty nine and basically just

0:25:39.359 --> 0:25:41.680
<v Speaker 2>made it very easy for you to get a Social

0:25:41.680 --> 0:25:43.840
<v Speaker 2>Security number for your infant as part of their birth

0:25:43.920 --> 0:25:47.640
<v Speaker 2>record forms. Right Enumeration at birth.

0:25:47.800 --> 0:25:49.600
<v Speaker 1>You know, I used to I think I mentioned this before.

0:25:49.640 --> 0:25:51.359
<v Speaker 1>I used to carry my card around on my wallet

0:25:51.359 --> 0:25:53.760
<v Speaker 1>when I was a teenager because I thought it was

0:25:53.880 --> 0:25:58.800
<v Speaker 1>I don't know, I thought it made me legitimate or adult,

0:25:59.280 --> 0:26:03.400
<v Speaker 1>like it's interesting. Everyone else is everyone else is out

0:26:03.480 --> 0:26:06.840
<v Speaker 1>drinking and I was like, no, no, I got myself

0:26:06.920 --> 0:26:07.720
<v Speaker 1>a security card.

0:26:08.080 --> 0:26:09.760
<v Speaker 2>It keeps the urges away.

0:26:09.800 --> 0:26:10.240
<v Speaker 1>That's right.

0:26:10.320 --> 0:26:12.600
<v Speaker 2>Hey, speaking of social Security cards and wallets, do you

0:26:12.680 --> 0:26:14.760
<v Speaker 2>want to talk about that, lady? Oh?

0:26:14.880 --> 0:26:17.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I can't kill this Witcher.

0:26:17.520 --> 0:26:17.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

0:26:17.800 --> 0:26:22.960
<v Speaker 1>This in uh nineteen thirty seven, dude named Douglas Patterson

0:26:23.000 --> 0:26:24.000
<v Speaker 1>had a wallet company.

0:26:24.440 --> 0:26:25.800
<v Speaker 2>I'm sorry, h Ferry.

0:26:26.000 --> 0:26:27.879
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, he was the vice president and treasurer of this

0:26:27.960 --> 0:26:31.040
<v Speaker 1>wallet company, and he said, you know what we should do.

0:26:31.400 --> 0:26:36.359
<v Speaker 1>We should include a fake social Security card and every wallet.

0:26:35.920 --> 0:26:39.840
<v Speaker 2>But we'll make it look really, really realistic by copying

0:26:40.480 --> 0:26:41.680
<v Speaker 2>yours secretary.

0:26:42.119 --> 0:26:45.800
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. He basically assigned these little fake cards that like,

0:26:45.840 --> 0:26:47.240
<v Speaker 1>you know, you get a picture frame with a fake

0:26:47.280 --> 0:26:50.000
<v Speaker 1>picture in it. Yeah, they gave out wallet or they

0:26:50.000 --> 0:26:52.240
<v Speaker 1>sold wallets with a fake social Security card with a

0:26:52.320 --> 0:26:54.560
<v Speaker 1>real number. I don't know why he thought that was

0:26:54.600 --> 0:26:56.240
<v Speaker 1>a good idea or why.

0:26:56.119 --> 0:26:58.120
<v Speaker 2>She went along with it. Yeah, what was her name,

0:26:58.440 --> 0:27:01.399
<v Speaker 2>Hilda Strader Witcher? She went along with this? Did she

0:27:01.520 --> 0:27:02.840
<v Speaker 2>go along with their boss?

0:27:02.960 --> 0:27:05.760
<v Speaker 1>Maybe she didn't know, No, she knew she did.

0:27:06.040 --> 0:27:09.040
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And I guess she didn't feel like she could

0:27:09.040 --> 0:27:13.159
<v Speaker 2>assert herself at the time. But what over forty years,

0:27:13.200 --> 0:27:17.439
<v Speaker 2>something like forty thousand people used her social Security number?

0:27:17.600 --> 0:27:18.880
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they gave her newing.

0:27:19.160 --> 0:27:21.919
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and people were still using as recently as nineteen

0:27:21.960 --> 0:27:25.000
<v Speaker 2>seventy seven, there were twelve people using that as their

0:27:25.040 --> 0:27:26.800
<v Speaker 2>own because of this wallet.

0:27:27.000 --> 0:27:29.280
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, in defense of the dude. He did have the

0:27:29.320 --> 0:27:35.240
<v Speaker 1>word spitchimmen on the bottom of it Spaceman specimen, but

0:27:35.520 --> 0:27:37.359
<v Speaker 1>it was, you know, in small print, and it looked

0:27:37.480 --> 0:27:40.639
<v Speaker 1>like the real deal. It had the little emblem that

0:27:41.359 --> 0:27:42.560
<v Speaker 1>who was the guy who designed that?

0:27:44.520 --> 0:27:45.199
<v Speaker 2>Fred Happle?

0:27:45.520 --> 0:27:47.159
<v Speaker 1>That's right? And what else did he design?

0:27:47.520 --> 0:27:48.840
<v Speaker 2>The flying Tiger's logo?

0:27:49.080 --> 0:27:49.480
<v Speaker 1>Yeah?

0:27:49.560 --> 0:27:52.560
<v Speaker 2>Which what was that? Like a B two bomber logo?

0:27:52.880 --> 0:27:56.080
<v Speaker 1>Well, who knows? World War two? I guess some sort

0:27:56.080 --> 0:27:58.800
<v Speaker 1>of gunner plane or something. Okay, that'd be my guess.

0:27:58.920 --> 0:28:04.920
<v Speaker 2>The fighting Hellcats, Yeah, flying hell Fish, the Hellfish.

0:28:05.040 --> 0:28:10.720
<v Speaker 1>The Hellfish was the Simpsons. Yeah, okay, Josh, can you

0:28:10.800 --> 0:28:11.840
<v Speaker 1>get a new number?

0:28:14.320 --> 0:28:17.320
<v Speaker 2>Yes, but only in very extreme cases.

0:28:17.160 --> 0:28:21.440
<v Speaker 1>Like stalking, like stalking or fraud, a bad case of fraud,

0:28:21.480 --> 0:28:22.440
<v Speaker 1>I guess yeah.

0:28:22.480 --> 0:28:24.760
<v Speaker 2>I would imagine that the FBI can probably get you

0:28:24.800 --> 0:28:28.200
<v Speaker 2>on if you're part of the Witness Protection program. Oh sure,

0:28:28.480 --> 0:28:29.480
<v Speaker 2>which we've talked about.

0:28:29.520 --> 0:28:31.640
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, you don't have to pay for that, there's

0:28:31.680 --> 0:28:37.600
<v Speaker 1>no fee from the SSA, but you what you should

0:28:37.640 --> 0:28:40.280
<v Speaker 1>be wary of as companies that claim that they can

0:28:40.320 --> 0:28:43.400
<v Speaker 1>get you a new number to absolve your credit, like, hey,

0:28:43.640 --> 0:28:47.320
<v Speaker 1>have you led an awful bad life, become a new person.

0:28:47.320 --> 0:28:49.280
<v Speaker 1>We'll get you a new Social Security number.

0:28:49.120 --> 0:28:54.040
<v Speaker 2>Which is hilarious if you think that that that's crazy

0:28:54.480 --> 0:28:58.560
<v Speaker 2>fallowing for that. It's like buying an elevator pass in

0:28:58.640 --> 0:29:01.920
<v Speaker 2>high school as a reshmen or something like that, except way.

0:29:01.800 --> 0:29:03.880
<v Speaker 1>Worse when you have a single floor high school.

0:29:04.560 --> 0:29:07.040
<v Speaker 2>Because I'm sure they're like, not only do we charge

0:29:07.080 --> 0:29:08.960
<v Speaker 2>you a fee, but give us your sub security number

0:29:09.000 --> 0:29:10.800
<v Speaker 2>because we have to go in and like make sure

0:29:10.840 --> 0:29:11.800
<v Speaker 2>that it's wiped out.

0:29:12.560 --> 0:29:18.600
<v Speaker 1>Right, geez, where are we here? You know? The title

0:29:18.600 --> 0:29:20.640
<v Speaker 1>of this section was why does it matter if someone

0:29:20.680 --> 0:29:25.520
<v Speaker 1>knows my Social Security number? I think it's pretty obvious. Yeah,

0:29:25.640 --> 0:29:29.520
<v Speaker 1>Identity theft, Yeah, it's a big problem these days. Back

0:29:29.520 --> 0:29:30.880
<v Speaker 1>in the old days, it wasn't as much.

0:29:31.000 --> 0:29:33.440
<v Speaker 2>It's actually gone down since this article.

0:29:33.920 --> 0:29:36.160
<v Speaker 1>What four hundred thousand years what they said here, right.

0:29:36.160 --> 0:29:38.560
<v Speaker 2>It's like two seventeen. Now, oh that's good. Well that's

0:29:38.560 --> 0:29:40.920
<v Speaker 2>the ones that the FTC gets reports of, which are

0:29:40.960 --> 0:29:43.880
<v Speaker 2>probably the lion's share of them. Right, But it was

0:29:43.920 --> 0:29:46.600
<v Speaker 2>supposedly increasing, like by some crazy percentage.

0:29:46.800 --> 0:29:48.040
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, forty percent per year.

0:29:48.120 --> 0:29:52.360
<v Speaker 2>It's up eleven percent. Okay, so it's gone down some.

0:29:52.480 --> 0:29:54.720
<v Speaker 2>I think people have just gotten scared of it, more

0:29:54.800 --> 0:29:59.080
<v Speaker 2>wary about it. But I mean it's still obviously a

0:29:59.080 --> 0:30:00.000
<v Speaker 2>pretty big problem.

0:30:00.240 --> 0:30:00.520
<v Speaker 1>Sure.

0:30:00.640 --> 0:30:03.080
<v Speaker 2>Part of the problem though, is that we shouldn't be

0:30:03.200 --> 0:30:07.920
<v Speaker 2>using social Security numbers for identification for a reason. They're

0:30:07.960 --> 0:30:09.720
<v Speaker 2>just way too publicly available.

0:30:10.000 --> 0:30:13.960
<v Speaker 1>Even the last four digits. Don't use that as like

0:30:14.000 --> 0:30:14.760
<v Speaker 1>your pin number.

0:30:15.400 --> 0:30:17.800
<v Speaker 2>No, but I mean, even if somebody asks you your

0:30:17.880 --> 0:30:21.520
<v Speaker 2>last four digits, how many people have your last four digits?

0:30:21.560 --> 0:30:23.719
<v Speaker 2>How many companies do a lot? A lot, And they

0:30:23.720 --> 0:30:26.080
<v Speaker 2>also have your birth date, They also have where you

0:30:26.080 --> 0:30:28.040
<v Speaker 2>were born, your mother's maiden name. It's just kind of

0:30:28.120 --> 0:30:32.080
<v Speaker 2>like it's all out there, I know. And basically there's

0:30:32.160 --> 0:30:38.600
<v Speaker 2>no really good scheme to I guess uses as a

0:30:38.640 --> 0:30:41.840
<v Speaker 2>pass code, as a past basically a way of saying

0:30:41.880 --> 0:30:44.959
<v Speaker 2>I am me right, because if we all just relied

0:30:45.000 --> 0:30:47.360
<v Speaker 2>on some other number or something like that, then people

0:30:47.360 --> 0:30:49.800
<v Speaker 2>could find that out. There's really no good way to

0:30:49.840 --> 0:30:53.800
<v Speaker 2>do it. But social Security numbers are definitely not the answer. Yeah.

0:30:53.800 --> 0:30:56.640
<v Speaker 1>I always get a little creeped out when some business,

0:30:56.760 --> 0:30:58.960
<v Speaker 1>you know, what are the last like Comcast or something

0:30:59.000 --> 0:31:01.320
<v Speaker 1>like my cable company. Yeah, we'll see what are your

0:31:01.400 --> 0:31:03.640
<v Speaker 1>last force of your social and I'll spit it out

0:31:03.720 --> 0:31:05.320
<v Speaker 1>and they'll go, okay, Right.

0:31:05.400 --> 0:31:07.320
<v Speaker 2>You can say I don't want to tell you, I

0:31:07.400 --> 0:31:10.480
<v Speaker 2>want to answer everything else, and they'll they'll run you

0:31:10.520 --> 0:31:11.360
<v Speaker 2>through your paces.

0:31:11.480 --> 0:31:13.840
<v Speaker 1>But they know it because they're asking you for identificing,

0:31:13.880 --> 0:31:16.080
<v Speaker 1>like right for verification.

0:31:15.760 --> 0:31:19.480
<v Speaker 2>Exactly because you've given it to them already. You don't.

0:31:19.800 --> 0:31:23.680
<v Speaker 2>There's basically most companies don't have any legal right to

0:31:23.800 --> 0:31:26.880
<v Speaker 2>ask you what your Social Security number is, right, But

0:31:27.280 --> 0:31:29.440
<v Speaker 2>they can also say, well, we don't trust you, so

0:31:29.720 --> 0:31:31.320
<v Speaker 2>if you don't give it to us when you open

0:31:31.320 --> 0:31:35.560
<v Speaker 2>your account or whatever exactly, then you're out of luck.

0:31:37.120 --> 0:31:42.680
<v Speaker 2>With government agencies. You can ask for the Privacy Act

0:31:42.720 --> 0:31:46.680
<v Speaker 2>of nineteen seventy four disclose your notice, which says like, hey,

0:31:47.040 --> 0:31:48.600
<v Speaker 2>we have a legal right to ask you this or

0:31:48.840 --> 0:31:51.520
<v Speaker 2>we don't, right, and then you can say you can't

0:31:51.520 --> 0:31:52.840
<v Speaker 2>ask me that, bob.

0:31:54.520 --> 0:31:58.280
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, all the protection advice that given here is

0:31:58.320 --> 0:32:01.640
<v Speaker 1>pretty basic. You know, don't carry your card and your wallet,

0:32:03.120 --> 0:32:05.600
<v Speaker 1>cancel credit cards you don't use, don't share.

0:32:05.360 --> 0:32:08.280
<v Speaker 2>It way, don't necessarily repute that one. What don't we

0:32:08.400 --> 0:32:10.840
<v Speaker 2>just cancel credit cards you don't use. There are things

0:32:10.840 --> 0:32:14.120
<v Speaker 2>you should do, like keep an eye on your accounts,

0:32:14.200 --> 0:32:16.240
<v Speaker 2>your credit card accounts, even though you don't use them.

0:32:16.600 --> 0:32:20.400
<v Speaker 2>But that's not necessarily good advice, especially credit wise, because

0:32:20.400 --> 0:32:25.680
<v Speaker 2>there's this thing called the available credit to debt ratio,

0:32:26.040 --> 0:32:28.000
<v Speaker 2>one of the ratios that they figure your credit score with.

0:32:28.280 --> 0:32:30.240
<v Speaker 2>And if you have a clean credit card you're not

0:32:30.320 --> 0:32:33.080
<v Speaker 2>using that has like five or ten grand of available

0:32:33.080 --> 0:32:35.920
<v Speaker 2>credit on it, sure that counts, and that makes you

0:32:36.040 --> 0:32:39.200
<v Speaker 2>very attractive to people who are selling you houses or

0:32:39.200 --> 0:32:42.600
<v Speaker 2>cars or whatever. That's true, So don't necessarily go do that.

0:32:42.760 --> 0:32:44.960
<v Speaker 2>Keep them in a safe deposit box, keep an eye

0:32:44.960 --> 0:32:47.200
<v Speaker 2>on all your accounts even if you're not using them.

0:32:47.280 --> 0:32:49.520
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Boy, my credit rating is so good right now.

0:32:49.560 --> 0:32:50.640
<v Speaker 2>That's awesome, dude.

0:32:50.760 --> 0:32:54.640
<v Speaker 1>It's like top five percentile somehow. Oh yeah, and that

0:32:54.760 --> 0:32:57.200
<v Speaker 1>is I say that as a testament to you out

0:32:57.200 --> 0:33:00.320
<v Speaker 1>there who may have bad credit. You can hear it

0:33:00.360 --> 0:33:00.800
<v Speaker 1>over time.

0:33:00.920 --> 0:33:02.920
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you and Emily did good.

0:33:03.000 --> 0:33:06.440
<v Speaker 1>Huh uh. Well yeah, she's the one that helped me

0:33:06.480 --> 0:33:09.040
<v Speaker 1>get my good credit back. That's good as CFO.

0:33:09.280 --> 0:33:10.960
<v Speaker 2>Congratulations, man, that's a big deal.

0:33:11.040 --> 0:33:13.440
<v Speaker 1>Thank you. It is good and my debts, you know,

0:33:13.520 --> 0:33:15.959
<v Speaker 1>from the past were I don't want to get into it,

0:33:16.000 --> 0:33:18.440
<v Speaker 1>but they had less to do with me and more

0:33:18.480 --> 0:33:18.920
<v Speaker 1>to do with.

0:33:18.960 --> 0:33:22.360
<v Speaker 2>Like bookies, heroin, No, like dog fighting.

0:33:22.160 --> 0:33:27.200
<v Speaker 1>Bad roommates and getting screwed over by you know, like, hey,

0:33:27.240 --> 0:33:30.200
<v Speaker 1>you were supposed to pay this Georgia power bill eight

0:33:30.280 --> 0:33:32.280
<v Speaker 1>years ago and it's still in my name and I

0:33:32.320 --> 0:33:34.760
<v Speaker 1>didn't even know about it. That kind of thing, gotcha,

0:33:35.000 --> 0:33:38.760
<v Speaker 1>And just being lazy in college, like miss, yeah, I

0:33:38.760 --> 0:33:40.800
<v Speaker 1>missed my credit card payment. No big deal, I'll just

0:33:40.800 --> 0:33:41.600
<v Speaker 1>pay it next month.

0:33:41.800 --> 0:33:45.000
<v Speaker 2>Right, I'm just gonna go buy some heroin instead. I

0:33:45.080 --> 0:34:10.279
<v Speaker 2>know you're doing in college, Chuck, not that, So I

0:34:10.280 --> 0:34:11.560
<v Speaker 2>guess that's about it. Huh.

0:34:12.360 --> 0:34:16.320
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. One more piece of advice, which is actually good.

0:34:17.000 --> 0:34:22.840
<v Speaker 1>Every few years, go to the SSA website and request

0:34:22.920 --> 0:34:26.400
<v Speaker 1>a copy of your earnings and Benefit Estimate statement.

0:34:26.520 --> 0:34:27.920
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Have you heard of this before? No?

0:34:28.040 --> 0:34:29.400
<v Speaker 1>And I've never done it, and I'm gonna go do

0:34:29.440 --> 0:34:29.920
<v Speaker 1>it today.

0:34:30.080 --> 0:34:32.040
<v Speaker 2>All right, let's go do it together. We'll both go

0:34:32.120 --> 0:34:33.120
<v Speaker 2>do years together.

0:34:32.800 --> 0:34:35.160
<v Speaker 1>And we'll be like what, I've been working since I

0:34:35.200 --> 0:34:37.000
<v Speaker 1>was thirteen, So I imagine I'm doing pretty good.

0:34:37.120 --> 0:34:43.480
<v Speaker 2>Nice. Oh, we didn't talk about that. The system is waited.

0:34:43.560 --> 0:34:47.520
<v Speaker 2>The whole reason it was instituted was to help make

0:34:47.560 --> 0:34:50.080
<v Speaker 2>sure that people don't fall through the cracks or whatever. Yeah,

0:34:50.239 --> 0:34:54.960
<v Speaker 2>and to help the poor more than the wealthy. Although

0:34:55.000 --> 0:34:58.080
<v Speaker 2>you get more money out the more money you put

0:34:58.120 --> 0:34:58.920
<v Speaker 2>in right.

0:34:58.760 --> 0:35:01.000
<v Speaker 1>Which is based on your income, so the right you make,

0:35:01.040 --> 0:35:01.600
<v Speaker 1>the more you ban.

0:35:01.920 --> 0:35:06.640
<v Speaker 2>But it's also disproportionately weighted so that the people who

0:35:06.640 --> 0:35:12.840
<v Speaker 2>are earning the least get a disproportionate amount out to

0:35:12.880 --> 0:35:16.279
<v Speaker 2>help them, correct, Amanda, which is great. It's socialism at

0:35:16.320 --> 0:35:20.799
<v Speaker 2>its finest, as you said. So, uh yeah, that's about it.

0:35:21.520 --> 0:35:25.640
<v Speaker 2>That's social security numbers and pretty much social security. I

0:35:25.640 --> 0:35:28.440
<v Speaker 2>don't think any to do that again. Okay, hats off

0:35:28.480 --> 0:35:34.120
<v Speaker 2>the FDR, Pharah, new deal, great society.

0:35:34.920 --> 0:35:38.000
<v Speaker 1>Chicken in every pot that was Hoover a number on

0:35:38.040 --> 0:35:38.680
<v Speaker 1>every forehead.

0:35:40.800 --> 0:35:42.840
<v Speaker 2>Nice Chuck, thank you. We'll end it with that one.

0:35:43.040 --> 0:35:45.240
<v Speaker 2>If you want to know more about social security numbers,

0:35:45.480 --> 0:35:49.560
<v Speaker 2>you can read this exhaustive article about them by typing

0:35:49.600 --> 0:35:53.040
<v Speaker 2>in social security in the search bar at HowStuffWorks dot com.

0:35:53.040 --> 0:35:54.719
<v Speaker 2>Which means it's time for a listener mail.

0:35:57.840 --> 0:36:01.200
<v Speaker 1>Josh, I'm gonna call this following up on zero. That

0:36:01.200 --> 0:36:05.480
<v Speaker 1>one got a lot more attention than I thought. All

0:36:05.480 --> 0:36:09.480
<v Speaker 1>the math nerds came out you were like zero, very

0:36:09.480 --> 0:36:13.479
<v Speaker 1>happy that we did that. And one such nerd emailed this.

0:36:13.480 --> 0:36:16.120
<v Speaker 1>This is Stephen, and he says, I think I might

0:36:16.160 --> 0:36:18.000
<v Speaker 1>be able to put your mind to rest on a

0:36:18.040 --> 0:36:21.040
<v Speaker 1>couple of those zero properties. And a lot of people

0:36:21.080 --> 0:36:22.600
<v Speaker 1>try to explain this, and I think he did the

0:36:22.600 --> 0:36:26.400
<v Speaker 1>best first, dividing by zero. I find it helpful to

0:36:26.400 --> 0:36:31.239
<v Speaker 1>think of division as separating objects into containers. See this

0:36:31.320 --> 0:36:34.200
<v Speaker 1>guy is like talking up my alley. Yeah, yeah, I

0:36:34.200 --> 0:36:37.120
<v Speaker 1>can visualize stuff a lot better this way. So if

0:36:37.160 --> 0:36:40.799
<v Speaker 1>you have five objects and five containers, you would put

0:36:40.880 --> 0:36:43.919
<v Speaker 1>one object in each container. You still have the same

0:36:44.000 --> 0:36:48.600
<v Speaker 1>number of objects, but divided evenly across containers. Now, if

0:36:48.600 --> 0:36:52.520
<v Speaker 1>you have five objects and no containers, in other words,

0:36:52.560 --> 0:36:56.000
<v Speaker 1>dividing by zero, you still have all the same objects,

0:36:56.600 --> 0:36:59.799
<v Speaker 1>but they have not been put anywhere. You can't say

0:36:59.800 --> 0:37:03.440
<v Speaker 1>that you'd put zero per container because it's not a

0:37:03.520 --> 0:37:06.759
<v Speaker 1>lack of items, but rather a lack of containers. So

0:37:06.880 --> 0:37:10.200
<v Speaker 1>dividing by zero means you have things but nothing to

0:37:10.280 --> 0:37:12.920
<v Speaker 1>contain them, so a ratio cannot be formed.

0:37:13.239 --> 0:37:14.520
<v Speaker 2>Awesome makes sense.

0:37:14.360 --> 0:37:19.680
<v Speaker 1>Right, Yeah, As for the raising to the zero zero power.

0:37:20.960 --> 0:37:24.319
<v Speaker 1>This is one because our basis of numerology is the

0:37:24.400 --> 0:37:29.200
<v Speaker 1>number one. All things larger are functions of how many

0:37:29.280 --> 0:37:33.720
<v Speaker 1>ones it holds, and all things larger define how many

0:37:33.840 --> 0:37:38.920
<v Speaker 1>need to be combined to form a one. This, combined

0:37:38.960 --> 0:37:41.840
<v Speaker 1>with the fact that exponents don't describe a multiplication, but

0:37:41.960 --> 0:37:44.520
<v Speaker 1>rather a number of times a base measurement will be

0:37:44.600 --> 0:37:47.640
<v Speaker 1>multiplied by a factor, means that if the base measurement

0:37:47.880 --> 0:37:50.200
<v Speaker 1>is never a multiplied by the factor, you are left

0:37:50.239 --> 0:37:53.640
<v Speaker 1>with the base alone. So there you have it. It's

0:37:53.680 --> 0:37:56.880
<v Speaker 1>tempting to think of these numbers as one to the power,

0:37:57.320 --> 0:37:58.840
<v Speaker 1>but unfortunately this is wrong.

0:38:00.080 --> 0:38:02.600
<v Speaker 2>Over that again, No, I can't.

0:38:04.320 --> 0:38:07.800
<v Speaker 1>That is from Stephen, a junior software engineer. Thanks Steven,

0:38:07.880 --> 0:38:09.200
<v Speaker 1>so I will take him at his word.

0:38:10.040 --> 0:38:12.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, he sounds like he's got it down.

0:38:12.120 --> 0:38:15.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the containers. That makes total sense to me now. Yeah,

0:38:16.080 --> 0:38:16.680
<v Speaker 1>So there you have it.

0:38:17.200 --> 0:38:21.320
<v Speaker 2>So thanks Steven, junior software engineer. We are looking forward

0:38:21.320 --> 0:38:24.319
<v Speaker 2>to you becoming a senior software engineer, likely in the

0:38:24.320 --> 0:38:29.520
<v Speaker 2>near future. From your email, and if you have some

0:38:29.600 --> 0:38:34.799
<v Speaker 2>sort of illumination about a previous podcast, doesn't matter how

0:38:34.800 --> 0:38:37.040
<v Speaker 2>old it is. We always like hearing new stuff about

0:38:37.040 --> 0:38:40.480
<v Speaker 2>old stuff. Sure, You can send it in an email

0:38:40.880 --> 0:38:47.759
<v Speaker 2>to stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. Stuff you Should

0:38:47.840 --> 0:38:49.439
<v Speaker 2>Know is a production of iHeartRadio.

0:38:49.920 --> 0:38:53.120
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

0:38:53.320 --> 0:39:00.680
<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.