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	Social Insecurity? By Declan McCullagh February 25, 1999 Shame on you. You actually believed Bill Clinton when he said in December that Social Security was 100 percent fixed, you'd get those checks on time, no problem, life is swell. "The system works, it is secure. And therefore, older Americans can feel more secure," Clinton said at the time. Guess again. Not all the work was done. As of the end of January, the Social Security Administration was still "either in the process of testing those [data] exchanges that remained noncompliant or was waiting for its partners to make the exchanges compliant," Joel Willemssen of the General Accounting Office said Wednesday. What if something unexpected happens? "SSA is scheduled to complete the development of all of its contingency plans by April 30, 1999, and to complete the testing of all plans by June 30 of this year," Willemssen told the House Ways and Means committee. Another problem -- one the IRS has too -- is Congress tinkering with the rules. "Where the agency may be required to modify compliant software in accordance with legislative mandates, these modifications will have to be retested and recertified," Willemssen said. Oh, there's no need to overreact. Don't cash in those T-bills and head for the hills. We believe that Social Security will be fine. But the moral of this particular story is an obvious one: Be careful what you believe about Y2K compliance.		FEATURES Book Reviews Y2K already has spawned its own genre. We tell you what books are worth buying. Chip 'n Little Cartoons Chip 'n Little goes on TV Chip 'n Little visits John Koskinen Chip 'n Little saves the world Warning: This cartoon has been called "foolish and tasteless." Y2K from A to Z Y2K Haiku Traditionalists may be shocked. Mad Cow Culture What does Y2K have in common with today's Mad Cow Culture? Answer: Everything. Declan McCullagh's Y2K articles Psychology of Y2K LATEST NEWS As of December 31, 1999 Get Your T-Shirt Quick Bill Gates Does Y2K Reader Feedback A Sarcastic Calendar Cooking After the Apocalypse A Real Y2K Disaster Hitchhiker's Guide Meets Y2K