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Comment on YSK that if you lose your Social Security Card (USA) more than 10 times, the Social Security Administration will have to, by law, refuse to issue anymore replacement cards, for the rest of your life.

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drzoidberg@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

I have my paper one in a safety deposit box, with my original birth certificate. I carry around a useless laminated copy for normal BS.

And yes, I say useless laminated, because for some dumb fucking reason, the US issues paper social security cards, and cannot be used officially if you do so. No government agency will accept it, because they expect a piece of paper to last 70+ years like dumb fucks.

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Fondots@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
My understanding (and it’s very possible that this is just urban legend) is that they’re intentionally made of paper so if they do get lost they’re more likely to fall apart instead of getting stolen.

They’re not really intended to be something you carry around with you all the time, it’s not like you’re usually going to be expected to produce on the spot during your daily routine. It’s more the sort of thing you’d keep at home with your birth certificate and other such personal documents.

IMO the real boneheaded move was making it a wallet-sized card instead of something more like a birth certificate. If you make something in that form factor, people are going to stick it in their wallets and carry it around with them and it’s going to fall apart.

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- arrow74@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  
  it’s not like you’re usually going to be expected to produce on the spot during your daily routine.
  
  Not yet anyway
  
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floo@retrolemmy.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
Originally, they didn’t expect them to last 70+ years. It’s just that the law hasn’t been updated as life expectancy and technology have.

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