h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Shagbark. I'm currently sub-editing an Entry on the US Social Security Pension Scheme. The current work-in-progress version is A87725415.

In the PR thread (F19985552?thread=7986063) for the original entry, you made some useful comments about it. I have tried to ensure that yours and all other PR comments have been addressed. Could I ask you to give the current version another read through? Sadly the author seems to have

I have two specifics that I would like advice on:

1. <>
There appears to be a conflict here. Which office actually issued SS numbers, local post offices or the Baltimore national office?

2. In post #30 of the PR thread you asked: <>
Are you able to confirm one way or the other whether the Entry is right or wrong>?

Any input appreciated

Thanks
h5ringer

someone recently asked if they could opt out and were told no.
http://askville.amazon.com/opt-out-Social-Security-system/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=1338366
several other sites say \: congress closed a loophole in 1983 that allowed municipal workers to opt out.

My aunt in Florida taught 26 years in public school prior to 1983 and never was in Social Security.
I will need to do further research to answer what entity issued the first Social Security numbers.

another site said that when Congress passed the Social Security Act in 1935, it excluded federal, state, and local government employees from mandatory coverage. The exclusion for state and local public employees was based on constitutional concerns about whether the federal government could impose taxes on state governments. In the early 1950s, Congress passed a law that allowed state and local government employees to be covered if they voluntarily chose coverage in a referendum.

Certain geneology sites use the application for social security to gain information. Here is one of the original forms
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stephan/maps/james.aloysius.1936.html

And here is the answer to the post office involvement
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssn/firstcard.html
Before social security set up local offices the Postal offices assigned the numbers then sent them to Baltimore to be added to the master file.

I looked it over. I think it is a bad idea ending a section with ... as if it were some sort of cliff-hanger.
Rather than say this was not always so... I would say this was not always the case.
In the section 1983 Modifications change
The individual States were prohibited from terminating Social Security coverage for State and local employees.
to:The individual States were prohibited from excluding Social Security coverage for State and local employees.
note I have changed one word and it completely changes the meaning.
(Prior to 1984 State and county employees could be excluded)

Many, many thanks for your valuable input here

<> Those were the exact words I wrote to begin with, then changed my mind First thoughts are best eh?

<>
I've clarified that section. I couldn't resist adding a footnote, taken from that Social Security .gov website, that mentions the way in which 001-01-0001 was allocated to Grace Owen only after 2 false starts. It's just that kind of little snippet that I so love about historical research.

terminating >> excluding

I've given you an Additional Researcher credit

For some reason I've never understood, Credits do not appear until after the Entry goes live

I noticed that to. I just gave Dimitri credit on my Indiana article.