The SSN is supposed to just be a number that you give your employers and the IRS so that your social security (the USs blanket retirement savings/pension system) contributions get logged correctly to you and then when you retire you can use that number to get the social security benefits that you paid into. The number has ended up being used for all sorts of things because the USA is slightly broken because it is SORT OF a unique ID number for each US citizen, except of course that it wasn't intended to be that, SSNs are only supposed to be used from first social security contribution (first paycheck) to last social security payout (death) so naturally they can just be recycled.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Thanks, get it now.
So, Elon doesnt know this and thinks that multiple uses of SSN is a proof of a fraud when in reality it is just a sign for a bad system that is not used as intended or not designed as it is needed?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago

He's complaining that a number isn't unique and is being poorly used, but the number isn't supposed to be unique and he's complaining that it's not being used in a way that experts are specifically warned not to use it in.

But on a second, stupider layer, this is the system those numbers originate from. So however they use them is how they're supposed to be used.

But then, back above that first stupid layer, on an even more basic and surface level degree of stupid, the government definitely uses SQL databases. It uses just... so many of them.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago

This is a good summary. I had to go pull up wikipedia on it since I roughly knew that social security was a national insurance/pension kind of system but am actually hazy on details.

The major issue with it as id (aside from DBA's gripes about it) is that credit agencies and banks started to rely on it for credit scores and loans. You see, the US has a social scoring system (what we always accuse China of) but the only thing it tracks is how reliable you are about paying off debts. So with your home address, name, and SSN, basically anyone can take out loans or credit cards in your name. This will then damage your credit score, making it harder to get loans, buy a home, rent property, or even get a job.

That's why Americans are always concerned about having our identity stolen: because you don't need a lot of info to financially ruin someone's life.