Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Congressmen Deride 'No Match' Letters. Does Farm Bureau Leader Agree?
gvw_david_taub
By David Taub, Senior Reporter
Published 5 years ago on
April 22, 2019

Share

Last week, Congressmen Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and TJ Cox (D-Fresno) sounded the alarm about the Social Security Administration reinstating the practice of sending “no match” letters to employers.

Photo of GV Wire's David Taub
Politics 101
David Taub
The letters notify employers that an employee’s name and social security number don’t match. SSA encourages corrective action, such as filling out paperwork to fix the errors.
However, the congressmen opined that the purpose of the letters — which before March hadn’t been sent since 2012 — was nefarious.
“I’m concerned about the return of these no match letters that politicizes the Social Security Administration,” Costa said. “I’m concerned this policy will hurt our economy, destabilize communities and create greater fear.”
SSA says the letters are to notify employers of errors.
“The purpose of the letter is to advise employers that corrections are needed in order for us to properly post its employee’s earnings to the correct record,” Social Security says on its website. “There are a number of reasons why reported names and SSNs may not agree with our records, such as typographical errors, unreported name changes, and inaccurate or incomplete employer records.”

Effect on Illegal Immigrants

Costa and Cox expressed concern on how this would affect illegal immigrants.
“You can’t speak about immigration issues without speaking to ag,” Cox said. “It’s just another tactic to further marginalize and scare our immigrant communities and their employers.”
Cox speculated this could lead to higher costs for farms and more expensive produce for consumers.

Christina Beckstead
Christina Beckstead, executive director of the Madera County Farm Bureau, believes — despite the congressmen’s misgivings — there is some legitimacy to the letter’s goal of fixing potential social security errors.
“This has been a problem for a long time that needs to be addressed,” Beckstead said. “This is a scare tactic for employers.”
She notes that the current batch of letters SSA sent out are less threatening than they used to be.
There is one area of agreement she has with the congressmen about SSA’s scope.
“We just have to see how it plays out. If it is the government’s push to try and do some sort of immigration crackdown, that’s not Social Security’s job,” Beckstead said.

Provocateur Crashes Event


Before Costa and Cox got started, Ben Bergquam, the one-time staffer for Assemblyman Jim Patterson who is now best known for posting videos of himself crashing events like this — crashed the event.
Bergquam posted the entire sequence, as he usually does, on his Facebook page. He arrived on the 11th floor of the United Security Bank building at the Penstar Group offices, where the news conference took place.
As he entered, he bumped into Cox, who had a brief, albeit seemingly innocuous exchange. Then Bergquam did what Bergquam does: Yell pointed questions and accusations at elected leaders.
A staffer for Costa, as well as a representative from Sen. Kamala Harris’ office surrounded Bergquam, telling him he was unwelcome. Penstar President Leta Ciavaglia told him this was her office, and he needed to leave. In the background, world boxing champ Jose Ramirez stood by, in seeming bewilderment.
While Costa also asked him to leave, Cox responded to him directly, passionately defending his immigration policy.
Thanks to the encouragement of building security and other men in badges, Bergquam left the building and headed across M Street, where he echoed his views on immigration and politics via bullhorn. Despite being outside and eleven floors below, he could still be heard.

Cox Thanks Volunteers … in SF


A posting on Eventbrite shows that Cox, along with freshman congressional colleague Josh Harder (D-Turlock) will hold a “thank you” event for campaign workers and volunteers Friday (April 26).
It seems like a nice gesture to show appreciation to those who helped flip two Valley seats from red to blue in 2018. Of course, the event is at a hip San Francisco bar.
The host list includes dozens of names that pop up often on the federal campaign donor list.
And, how much thanks can the event be if it has a no-host bar?

Oakland Refuses to Collect Taxes in Measure with P Similarities

While a majority of Fresno voters favored Measure P last November, it was not enough to implement the sales tax to be spent on parks.
At least, that is how the city interpreted state law when it came to the percentage of votes needed to pass such tax initiatives, a majority or two-thirds.
A 2017 state Supreme Court ruling in a related tax-vote bill muddied the waters, and caused a lawsuit by parks advocates in Fresno. They say a majority is enough. That case will go in front of a judge in June.
Meanwhile, a similar situation in Oakland is taking place. There, voters thought they passed a tax measure for early childhood education with 62% of the vote. But, like Measure P, it needed two-thirds to be implemented.
Initially, the city took the lead of the 2017 Supreme Court decision and declared the measure passed. That led to a lawsuit.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that the city council voted against collecting the tax.
“For me, this is about hearing from my constituents that they are losing public trust in us here at City Hall,” Oakland councilwoman Nikki Fortunato Bas told The Chronicle. “They’re losing public trust in our elections.”
The council will next discuss a truce with the plaintiffs and possibly put the tax on the ballot next year.
A similar situation is happening in San Francisco with two tax measures that gained more than a majority, but less than two-thirds.

Hail the Chief

In addition to engaging in online surveys, the city of Fresno scheduled five community meetings over the next three weeks to discuss hiring a new police chief. The current head honcho, Jerry Dyer, is scheduled to retire in October.
graphic of community meetings on Fresno police chief search

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

DON'T MISS

CA Insurance Market ‘in Chaos,’ Says Former Insurance Commissioner. Can Lara Fix It?

DON'T MISS

Police Had About 90 Seconds to Stop Traffic Before Baltimore Bridge Fell. 6 Workers Are Feared Dead

DON'T MISS

NBC Has Cut Ties With Former RNC Head Ronna McDaniel After Employee Objections, Some on the Air

DON'T MISS

Chinese Leader Xi Issues a Positive Message to US Business Leaders as Ties Improve

DON'T MISS

Locals Urge FUSD To Keep The Process Transparent

DON'T MISS

You Might Spot a Mountain Lion in California, But Attacks Like the One That Killed a Man Are Rare

No data was found
David Taub,
Senior Reporter
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

12 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

16 hours ago

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

17 hours ago

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

18 hours ago

CA Insurance Market ‘in Chaos,’ Says Former Insurance Commissioner. Can Lara Fix It?

19 hours ago

Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Sets a Record After Wall Streets Breaks Out of Its Lull

19 hours ago

House Speaker Mike Johnson Headed to Fresno on April 4

19 hours ago

Bredefeld, Smittcamp Debate the Salary of Valley Children’s CEO

19 hours ago

CA’s Liberal Government Has a Long History of Caving to Special Interests

20 hours ago

Corrupt Process? Bullard, Edison Parents Blast Handling of Superintendent Search

20 hours ago

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

The federal government will provide a $1.5 billion loan to restart a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan, officials announced Wedne...

31 mins ago

31 mins ago

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

46 mins ago

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

Animals /
5 hours ago

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

12 hours ago

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

Composite image of President Trump and Devin Nunes
16 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

17 hours ago

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

18 hours ago

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

19 hours ago

CA Insurance Market ‘in Chaos,’ Says Former Insurance Commissioner. Can Lara Fix It?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend