Letter: Why do I need a cellphone to access Social Security website?

I received a notice from the Social Security Administration that I would need a text-enabled cellphone to access the Social Security web page (ssa.gov/myaccount). Something about two-factor authentication, as required by an “executive order.”

So the same people who tell me I can vote without providing ANY identification, also tell me I need two-factor identification to access my Social Security account?

I did try to call Social Security to ask about this policy, particularly since I don’t have a cellphone. But after five minutes talking to a machine, I got, “Your wait time is an hour and fifteen minutes.”

For those of us without the need or desire for a text-enabled cellphone, or who can’t afford them, this amounts to another tax. Worse, those “tax revenues” go straight into the coffers of the cell phone companies.

This story was originally published August 17, 2016 at 4:19 AM with the headline "Letter: Why do I need a cellphone to access Social Security website?."